HCM City(VNS/VNA) - Maximisingthe shopping experience with the help of digital in-store solutions is key forfuture success in the consumer goods sector, delegates said at a seminar heldin HCM City on June 27.

Ho Mai Ho, General Manager of the FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) sector atDKSH Vietnam, said joint research by DKSH and Smollan revealed that while theVietnamese retail sector had healthy growth, the proliferation of retailchannels made end-consumer reach more challenging.

In an ever-growing market, the retail sector had undergone changes, with abroader array of shopping channels available than just a decade ago, he said.

Retail sales in Vietnam would continue to expand, he noted.

While traditional trade accounts for about three-fourths of total sales, moderntrade channels have been growing in recent years and will continue to expand.

With the average household size shrinking, consumption demand had changed andfamilies tended to buy less at a time, Ho said, adding that Vietnamese shopperswere increasingly buying from modern trade channels.

Bjorn Kruizenga, business development manager for Southeast Asia at DKSHSmollan Field Marketing, said that up to 70 percent of shopper decisionsglobally were made in-store, and 20 percent of shoppers made impulse andunplanned purchases.

For 28 percent of products, the choice of brand to buy is usually made beforereaching the store. In addition, about 25 percent of consumers notice that thecategory they impulsively bought was featured in a display.

Finally, one in 10 shoppers would switch to another brand inside the store, hesaid.

Maximising the shopping experience in-store was therefore key for a successfulretail execution, he added.

Ho said the company’s digital in-store solutions helped maximise the shoppingexperience and ensure shelf availability to consumer brands by providing themwith smart data to track their key performance indicators.

Field marketing in the last “mile” of the value chain had become an integralcomponent for DKSH over the years, because it converted shoppers into buyersand helps drive sales for its clients, he said.

To increase market share, FMCG brands could choose to launch new products orexpand to more outlets or online channels, he said.

"However, this requires significant R&D and marketing investments,while space on supermarket shelves is often limited."

"Despite the growing popularity of e-commerce platforms, most FMCG salesare still transacted at physical points-of-sale."

Thus, it was critical to optimise the supply of existing products in the retailspace and maximize the retail availability and visibility at every opportunity,Ho said.

Field marketing teams play a crucial role in being the enabler between FMCGbrands and retailers to help both parties drive an optimal end-to-end supply ofproducts to shoppers.

Ho said that e-commerce in Vietnam, despite accounting for just 0.3 percent oftotal retail sales in the country in 2016, would develop strongly in the comingtime.

Enterprises need to invest and conduct research about e-commerce to map outappropriate plans for the future, he said.-VNS/VNA