Apps for the Fast-Moving Consumer Goods Industry

FMCG Gone Digital

Along with many others, the FMCG (Fast-Moving Consumer Goods) industry is being revolutionised by newly rolled out devices and technology, including but not limited to beacons, online shopping, mobile apps, order writing and global electronic marketplaces like Amazon and AliExpress. Fewer and fewer consumers are visiting physical stores for shopping and more of them are spending the majority of their commerce time on mobile devices, leading to the transformation of previously vibrant shopping centres into ‘’dead malls.’’ The opportunities to impress customers via traditional channels are also dwindling as they become savvier and start to pay much less attention to TV ads, website pop-ups and billboards.  

Embrace Mobile Apps 

Rather than perceiving these global digital trends as a threat, retailers have a sizeable opportunity to engage consumers in new ways and convert the growing mobile device traffic into repeat visits, leading to purchases. Mobile apps and notifications have the potential to boost brands, increase loyalty and drive purchases up, when the user experience, content and rollout have been carefully planned and executed. 

There is a number of pure business benefits of engaging in mobile app commerce for retailers. For example, it is now much easier for any retailer to sell direct to consumers rather than going through distributors. With commerce taking place increasingly online, there is much less need for retailers to keep actual stock of products and maintain expensive warehouses and distribution channels. The purchase path for consumers is much shorter, and so are sales cycles. 

Get Creative with FMCG App Features

The possibilities for building in retail and POS (point of sale) functionality into mobile applications is limitless and is made possible by a variety of emerging and established technologies. VR/AR (virtual reality/augmented reality), OCR (optical character recognition), GPS trackers, wireless and Bluetooth chips, beacons and push notifications, mobile payments, QR codes, hashtag scanners, and Facebook e-stores are among some of the possible enhancements that can be built into apps for the fast-moving consumer goods industry. 

Here is a short list of the functionality you could offer in your custom retail app:

• Let users send friends exclusive app invites 
• Invite users to share product reviews and discounts through social media
• Let users quickly locate the nearest store and its current sales
• Let users view additional product pictures, features and videos, see which influencers are using the product, and upload user-generated content (e.g. consumers personalizing the product).

Personalise Your Users’ Experience

Reaching new target audiences has never been easier through mobile apps, requires minimal investment and is an effective value proposition in an ever-changing marketplace.  Offering customised products and unique promotions, based on consumer interests and preferences can increase loyalty and sales frequency. Loyalty rewards, wish lists and additional product recommendations are features that can be easily built into mobile applications, and can delight your audiences and invite them to try more of your products. 

Drive Mobile CRM Adoption and Enable Your Salesforce

Having the most up-to-date ordering information at their fingertips without having to manually enter orders allows salespeople to support customers better and leaves more time for the real art of selling vs. having to take care of administration and support.  An automatic mobile integration with your CRM system can also increase cross- and up-selling and facilitate the work of maintenance and support teams within your organisation. 

Investing in Developing Apps

In comparison with traditional marketing channels, app development requires significantly lower capital investment and time-to-market. The benefits to your business are almost instant and tracking is already done for you, allowing you to set KPIs and measure ROI real-time.

Get in touch with PegusApps for additional client references and ideas for digitising your FMCG operation. 

Copywriter: Ina Danova