How To Drive Greater Sales Velocity by Being Retailer Agnostic

After you’ve spent months, even years, bringing a new product to market, seeing it finally on store shelves is a point of professional pride that you should relish. And, when you’re done relishing (wink), you can now think about what it takes to get that product to move! Your retailers will scrutinize your product velocity, and helping your brand maximize its success by moving products from shelf to carts will be a top priority as your item debuts. 

‍

What is velocity exactly, and why does it matter? Also known as a sales rate, velocity measures how well your product sells when it's available on retailers’ shelves. (And one more definition while we’re at it: your product’s availability at retailers is known as its distribution for these purposes.) So, to give you an easy-to-remember equation: 

‍

Velocity x Distribution = Sales 

‍

The equation above helps visualize how important velocity is to drive sales. Without it, you won’t have transactions! So, what can a brand marketer do to boost this critical measurement? That question brings us to developing a retailer agnostic marketing strategy to drive greater sales.

‍

Identifying a retailer agnostic strategy allows your consumers the flexibility to purchase your product at the retailer of their choosing versus only aligning with a single retail media network (RMN) to promote your items. However, the more specific your retail outlet distribution, the more limited your opportunities to grow your product velocity and sales. 

‍

Put another way, a retailer agnostic strategy does not limit your reach, allowing your products to land on consumers’ lists regardless of retailer preference. While enticing, RMNs restrict your reach to consumers that are only aligned with that specific retailer, limiting your understanding of your brand or new product’s potential in the broader market. Pushing to find that multi-retailer approach will allow you to reach consumers regardless of retailer preference, creating value for the long-term growth of your brand. 

‍

Current shopper behavior has much to do with why a retailer agnostic strategy is so effective. According to a recent retail transformation study by McKinsey & Company, “consumers are becoming more connected, less loyal, more informed and definitively channel agnostic.” As a result, when shopping for CPG items, consumers visit a variety of retailers based on cost, convenience, speed, the product selected, and more. In addition, these shoppers often have multiple accounts with various stores and are more often than ever planning their shopping trips using mobile grocery list apps to keep track of their household needs. 

‍

Shopping list apps are part of this organic trend toward agnostic shopping experiences. The lists are independent of specific retailers, allowing consumers flexibility in where and when they shop. What remains consistent is the list. Shoppers return to their lists repeatedly, often relying on the same items for their next shopping order. Once a brand gets on the list, you can say that you STAY on the list! 

‍

AdAdapted has been successfully working with CPG brands for years to get their brands in front of mobile list app users, getting their items on shopping lists and into retailer carts. As a brand, engaging a retailer agnostic advertising strategy allows your product more opportunities to get on consumers’ mobile grocery lists and in e-carts, driving more repeat sales (in other words, helping drive product velocity!). 

‍

If you’d like to learn more about how AdAdapted can help your brand get items onto shoppers’ grocery lists, we’d love to hear from you! Our subject matter experts can help design the most impactful campaign specifically for your product, whether you’re just coming to market with a new item or you are a legacy brand. Let us show you how we can help you drive the product velocity that has retailers excited about stocking your product year over year! 

‍