With COVID-19 cases dropping in 2022, shoppers returned to physical stores, including supermarkets, while maintaining some of their e-shopping habits acquired in the pandemic. And in 2024, with shoppers visiting different supermarket stores and chains, and with greater frequency, we’re witnessing a new trend: the polychannel shopper. 

If, during COVID-19, we noticed physical store shoppers shifting their shopping to the digital commerce versions of their favorite retailers and firmly establishing omnichannel shopping, then that experience is shifting. 

Driven by higher prices brought on by inflation, supply chain costs and other factors, shoppers in 2024 are cutting coupons and bargain hunting like they haven’t since the financial crisis of 2009 (if not earlier). As The Wall Street Journal noted, consumers are making 8% more trips to different retailers as inflation impacts household budgets. The Journal also reported that consumers are traveling to cheaper zip codes to shop and are joining loyalty programs to take advantage of promotions in greater numbers, according to retail analysts. 

According to data from consumer insights provider Numerator, consumers purchased groceries from 20.7 retailers on average between March 2023 and February 2024, an increase of 23% over the 2019-20 period. 

Reaching the Polychannel Shopper 

Despite the market changes and resulting challenges in marketing to the polychannel shopper, there are opportunities available to fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) marketers. 

One way to reach polychannel shoppers is through retail media networks. A retail media network is an advertising network owned by a retailer that enables marketers to purchase advertising across all of the digital assets owned by the retailer. What makes retail media networks attractive to marketers is the ability to use the retailer’s (and the marketer’s) first-party data to engage with relevant shoppers through their purchasing journey. 

According to research from eMarketer, global retail media ad spending has increased from 15.1% of total digital ad spend in 2019 and is expected to reach 21.8% of total digital ad spend in 2024. 

In the future, as retailers integrate more digital screens around stores, on shelves and on shopping carts, retail media networks will be able to personalize offers to shoppers based on where they are in-store, what items they’ve placed in their carts or their shopping history as signed-on loyalty club members visiting the store. 

Empowering Category-Relevant Creators 

One of the biggest marketing trends of the last few years is the growth of marketing via creators and influencers. Using creators to market a holiday destination, makeup or fashion brand seems intuitive, given the products’ glamorous or experiential nature. But will creators be impactful in marketing an FMCG product purchased weekly at the supermarket? 

That’s why I was intrigued to read about Kerrygold butter, an Irish dairy brand that works extensively with creators to market the company’s butter. 

For a product made from two ingredients – milk and salt – the marketing team realized that their best marketing story was to focus on the connection between the people who make the butter and those who consume and enjoy it. From this insight came the positioning that ‘Kerrygold is a real Irish dairy made by people who care for people who care.’ 

For this positioning, creator-driven posts and videos are a logical fit. Working with cooking content creators like Hailee Catalano has helped make Kerrygold the second-largest brand of butter (and the largest imported brand) in the U.S. 

According to research from global media buying platform Infillion, consumers today seek real-world insights and recommendations to validate their purchase decisions. With consumers now influenced by 11 touch points on average before making a purchase decision, the growth in retail marketing opportunities across online and offline channels, accessed both in-store and on-device, will provide marketers with conversion opportunities to sell to the polychannel consumer.

Omri Argaman is the Co-founder, Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Growth Officer at Zoomd, a mobile acquisition platform. He has been in digital marketing for 20 years. Before Zoomd, Argaman was a Co-founder and VP of Business Development at mobile marketing provider Moblin, which merged with Zoomd in 2017. Argaman began his career in sales and marketing at Microsoft.