Tech Transformation

Digitizing the route to market has been a priority for consumer goods companies for a very long time, and the pandemic amped the urgency to a 10. For AB InBev, this meant really stomping on the pedal when rolling out their BEES e-commerce technology, which lets retailers place their orders through a mobile app — and a lot more.

Over the past few years, its use has exploded and has transformed how the company works with retailers. In this episode of Tech Transformation, we’re talking with EJ Weiss, global director of strategy at BEES at AB InBev, about the impact the tech has had within the company and how they use these learnings and data across the enterprise.

Listen to learn:

•Where BEES fits within AB InBev's larger e-commerce strategy

•How its success is driving additional transformation within AB InBev

•How they’re leveraging learnings to improve the technology

•What drove their decision to offer third-party products to retailers

•Other ways that BEES is transforming AB InBev and its partners

No- and low-alcohol beverages have been a standout category, with sales growing more than 7 percent last year, according to IWSR. Here we talk with Jamie Lissette, COO of Athletic Brewing Company, a growing brand that’s really seizing this opportunity.

We’re talking not only about their growth strategy and how they decide which markets to enter, but also how they leverage consumer insights from their dedicated DTC base and about some of the biggest misconceptions when it comes to the non-alcoholic category.

Listen to learn:

•The backstory on Athletic, including their target customer (it may not be who you think)

•The biggest misconception about the brand and the category

•How they determine the markets for expansion

•The role of their culture when it comes to remaining nimble while scaling for growth

•How they keep teams focused on long-term goals without getting bogged down by everyday tasks

•How they leverage analytics and use it to inform decision making

•How they use consumer insights to develop new products and how they share this info with their retail partners

•Where social commerce fits into their e-commerce strategy and how it’s evolving?

•Another quickly expanding CPG brand or retailer Lissette admires

Given how quickly and dramatically consumer behavior is changing, there’s a lot retailers and consumer goods companies are taking away from other regions when building their commerce strategies. So on this episode of Tech Transformation, we’re talking with Channan Sawhney, director of global e-commerce, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Health, about some of the ways consumers are engaging differently with brands and retailers, and where she sees retailers investing to meet new needs.

We’re talking about the technologies that are used to apply these learnings across functions and segments — and also about why sometimes this just doesn’t work.

Listen to learn:

•Some of the more recent consumer behavior shifts retailers are adapting to and how these shifts differ across regions

•A recent example of how she applied learnings from an e-commerce “win” in one region to another for success

•A time this didn’t work and what we can learn

•Where she sees the most potential for generative AI technologies like ChatGPT in retail and consumer goods digital commerce

•Other upstream technologies worth paying attention to

•How solution providers can be stronger partners with retail and consumer goods companies

•Her one wish for digital commerce

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably been inundated with news and hot takes on generative AI, including ChatGPT. But what does it mean for retail and consumer goods? There’s a massive amount of potential, and it’s moving really quickly. We’re talking with Imteaz Ahamed, director of performance marketing of nutrition at Reckitt, about what it is, what the impact could be, and some of the really, really, really cool things in the future.

Listen to learn:

•How generative AI can impact retail and consumer goods, including viable use cases

•How optimizing performance marketing campaigns differs by platform, such as social media, search engines, or marketplaces (Gimmick alert: question written by ChatGPT!)

•Future trends or advancements in performance marketing that will be important for CPG brands to pay attention to (Question written by ChatGPT!)

•The startup we should all have our eyes on

•The MACH Alliance and why Ahamed is an ambassador

In this episode, we’re joined by James Reid, chief innovation officer at AllSaints. James brings a wealth of experience from both software and sales roles across various consumer goods companies and retailers. We explore AllSaints' journey, from re-platforming and shepherding innovation across the enterprise to the success of their consumer app, boasting over 150,000 downloads in the UK and US. How did they manage that? James lets us in on how and looks ahead to other features and capabilities the company is hoping to add in the future. We also discuss the buzz around unified commerce versus omnichannel strategies.

A lot of what James and I talk about chimes nicely with our Analytics Unite event in Chicago on May 1st-3rd which is themed around building the future of unified intelligence. This event is awesome every year, but we’re incredibly excited about this year in particular, as we’re going to have speakers from Tractor Supply, Amazon, Sephora, and Molson Coors. It is shaping up to be incredible. Registration is open now, so visit analyticsunite.com to sign up.

Listen to learn:
•The importance of customer focus and efficiency in innovation and implementing new technologies.
•The development and success of the AllSaints app, which has over 150,000 downloads in the UK and US.
•How AllSaints makes use of the app's ability to identify highly engaged customers and its higher conversion rates compared to other channels.
•How AllSaints maintains the DNA of its brand while tailoring messaging and experience to the needs of specific markets and geographies.
•The concept of unified commerce versus omnichannel, and why James considers one to be superior to the other.
•Why and how AllSaints is emphasizing the seamless integration of online and in-store experiences.
•The importance of experimentation and innovation in the retail industry.
•Plans for the future, including partnerships with retailers and the evolution of wholesale, concession, and drop-ship models.