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Gone are the days when grocery shopping was reserved for weekends or the rush hour after work. Thanks to online grocery stores, you can shop at noon for dinner ingredients and have them delivered by the time you get home from the office.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This trend is happening across Southeast Asia. In a consumer <\/span>survey conducted in July and August 2022<\/span><\/a>, Google found that 67% of respondents in the region had used a grocery eCommerce app in the last three months.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) companies, this consumer behaviour is both a blessing and a challenge. On the one hand, brands have more channels for enticing new customers; on the other, they must fight to keep their existing customer base. Just as consumers are changing their shopping habits, brands must also transform the way they attract and retain customers through loyalty and rewards programmes.<\/span><\/p>\n Influencer marketing has been particularly effective<\/span><\/a> for Asian consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands to foster consumer loyalty and learn more about their customers. Niche influencers are most convincing: Micro-influencers in Southeast Asia generate up to <\/span>11x the ROI of traditional ads<\/span><\/a>, while 46% of Southeast Asian consumers <\/span>trust product recommendations from nano-influencers<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For example, in 2021, Kellogg\u2019s introduced a new cereal in the Philippine market by launching a social media giveaway through parenting or \u201cmom influencers\u201d. The idea was to introduce a new cereal brand that kids may enjoy. Instead of advertising to kids directly, the brand chose to target their parents instead.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The influencers asked their mom-followers to share their photos with their kids enjoying the new cereal on social media, and 100 followers would have the chance to win a GrabFood voucher. The campaign was a win for Kellogg\u2019s and their customers alike, as they saw 100% redemption of the voucher rewards.<\/span><\/p>\n Kellogg\u2019s campaign was multidimensional, combining discounts with emotional bonds and continuous engagement. Consumers now expect such combinations of connection and transaction, especially when it comes to loyalty marketing, according to <\/span>Euromonitor<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n With so many shopping channels and a constant exposure to marketing, consumer attention has become more difficult to win and keep. Brands have risen to this challenge by crafting innovative ways to let their customers shop. For example, Procter & Gamble (P&G) launched an <\/span>immersive shopping experience<\/span><\/a> through the Shopee app in July last year.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The brand allowed customers to enter a virtual home to see various P&G products used in different parts of the house \u2014 an experience designed to feel like walking through a showroom. P&G set up games like looking for particular products in a virtual room, and winners received vouchers as rewards. The campaign was rolled out across six Southeast Asian countries, and contributed to a 20x sales uplift regionally on the campaign peak day.<\/span><\/p>\n Recognition and entertainment are great perks, but oftentimes, customers just want to be rewarded for their loyalty. One survey of global consumers found that <\/span>3 out of 10 respondents<\/span><\/a> said the second top feature brands can do to keep them in their loyalty programmes is to \u201coffer a gift just for being a customer.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n In Singapore, for instance, Colgate rewarded customers who bought a minimum dollar-value worth of the brand\u2019s products in grocery stores. Customers simply had to send a photo of their receipt to a WhatsApp number to redeem a GrabGifts voucher as a reward for their purchase. In <\/span>Vietnam<\/span><\/a>, Nestl\u00e9 launched a Gen-Z-focused campaign that allowed those who bought Milo bottled drinks in physical stores to have a chance to win prizes. Shoppers had to scan a QR code found on the cap of the bottled drink to know if they won a prize.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n These strategies are part of the omnichannel approach that FMCGs now employ to ensure they meet customers\u2019 needs, whether offline or online.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Consumers now expect brands to be innovative and creative \u2014 to meet them in the online and offline spaces where they hang out, establish an emotional bond, and reward them for purchases. As one <\/span>loyalty expert interviewed for an APAC market report<\/span><\/a> says, \u201cEmotional loyalty should be taken more seriously because it makes customers less susceptible to move to a competitor.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\nBrands use niche influencers to engage and reward audiences\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n
Shopping becomes entertaining and experiential<\/span><\/h2>\n
Gifting goes omnichannel<\/span><\/h2>\n
Loyalty must be rewarded, whether offline or online<\/span><\/h2>\n