Purpose Marketing, Metaverse, and Facial recognition

Campaign scoop

Purpose Marketing. What if a raccoon recycled more than you? Well, this might be true considering the latest purpose-driven marketing campaign Mentos implemented. To promote their latest paperboard gum bottles which are 90% recyclable, resorted to training raccoons to recycle since only 32% of Americans recycle. If a raccoon can do it, so can you! 

Official anti-sponsor. Beer and football work great together and that’s why many beers and refreshment companies promote and sponsor the World Cup. Well, since it is going to be organized in Qatar, a place where human rights are not respected, Brewdog decided to be the anti-sponsor. Another purpose-driven campaign that increased the visibility of the brand. 

Retail technology update

Grocery selfcheck-out. Yes, shoppers love selfcheck-out. Maybe that’s why this solution is used by 40% of grocers. A new study shows that customers who use both selfcheck-out and staffed checkout lanes have the highest retention rate and best customer value. This shows, once again, that providing more options and relying on technology helps improve customer satisfaction. 

Holiday shopping event. Ready for the holiday season? Because Pinterest sure is! Pinterest is hosting its first “Shop the Holidays” event on Pinterest TV. During this event, people can shop for products from local, international and direct-to-consumer brands which the help of shoppable content. Both US and Canadian shoppers can attend and shop during this event, as Pinterest TV extended to Canada. 

Metaverse and the real world. Did you know that 48% of teenagers said they are unsure of or not interested in the metaverse? However, brands are making efforts to connect the Metaverse experience to the physical one. Beyond developing aesthetically pleasing activations in the space, retailers have started to incentivize benefits such as real-world apparel collections.

Expert opinion

Seasonal help. During the holiday season, most retailers hire more seasonal workers to handle the bigger load of work. However, this year, it seems that retailers are scaling back on seasonal help. How will this impact customer experience? Here’s what Carol Spieckerman had to say about this topic debated in a Retail Wire discussion:

Facial recognition. Will retailers use facial recognition tech to reshape store layouts? This was the topic of one of Retail Wire’s discussions. Here’s what Cathy Hotka pointed out regarding facial recognition: 

Aspirations, purchases, and warnings

Aspirations vs purchases. “Aspirational Compass” study released by InsightsNow examined shopper behavior and showed that there’s a gap between “what consumers desire (their aspirations) and what they actually purchase when in store”. One of the largest gaps between shopper aspirations and shopper realities is in the area of Sustainability, with 42% of shoppers aspiring to shop for sustainably sourced products but only 5% able to do this in reality.

Target’s warning. Due to the significant change in consumer shopping patterns, Target plans to cut as much as $3B in costs. 

CEO Brian Cornell said, “If you look at some of the syndicated data that has been released, obviously you’ve seen a significant change in consumer shopping patterns as we ended October and moved into the month of November. So clearly, it’s an environment where consumers have been stressed. We know they’re spending more dollars on food and beverage and household essentials. They’re looking for promotions and are looking for that great deal. And I would expect that promotional focus will continue throughout the holidays.”