Grocery Shopping

Before I joined the FMCG industry, all the marketing concepts were just theories and paper-based projects for me. Could only picture it at high profile, high level Branding strategy. And the only interesting part hanging out in the supermkt was trying to guess the shopper's profile based on the stuff in his/her trolley. :Pp

However, after talking and working with the marketing and sales folkz... stepping into a supermkt (Cold Storage, Carrefour, NTUC, etc) was NEVER the same again. I've since become more keenly aware of all the dynamics when a person goes grocery shopping in the supermkt... Products compete for the consumer's attention.. and which level of the shelve the pdt occupies makes a difference. Even in Toys'R'Us, you learn the reason why the toys are strategically placed at the children's eye level, and those products that only parents would lookout for, at placed on the higher shelves. Package design is important too, because as the consumer scans the aisle, you have only 5 secs to capture her/his attention at the PoP (Point of Purchase). And you also learn why sometimes they have special promotions for certain products.

It also become a customary practice when it's our 1st time visiting an overseas office, the local sales staff would give us a tour at the local supermkt. It's FUN, to learn how we fare against the competition in the many markets that we operate in. :)

And in the office, we have to be careful that we don't blatantly show our support for competitors' products unless you have good justification... used to smuggle Meiji Yogurt into my room, and smugly rebutting the sales folkz when caught having my daily dose of a cuppa Milo.. heh. :Pp