Maximizing fast moving consumer goods sales

DATE POSTED NOVEMBER 19, 2024

Young woman scanning fast moving consumer goods product with smartphone.

What is the fast moving consumer goods industry?
How do you define fast moving consumer goods?
Where are fast moving consumer goods sold?
What is the market share for fast moving consumer goods?
Fast-moving consumer goods sales by global market
Harmonize and track retail data to increase FMCG sales
Technology to maximize fast moving consumer goods sales
Retail strategies to increase sales for fast moving consumer goods
The future of fast moving consumer goods

Fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) are a diverse and quickly expanding sector within the CPG space. FMCG companies face the challenge of growing sales while navigating a competitive landscape. To succeed, they must stay ahead of market trends, adapt to shifting consumer preferences and leverage emerging technologies. Explore the strategies driving growth within fast moving consumer goods to succeed on shelf.

What is the fast moving consumer goods industry?

Products within the fast moving consumer goods industry sell quickly and at a relatively low cost. It is a competitive industry due to high sales volume and quick turnover of products on shelf. The FMCG industry relies on streamlined supply chains and organized distribution to meet consumer demands efficiently.

How do you define fast moving consumer goods?

Fast moving consumer goods are products in high demand that have a short shelf life because they sell quickly or are perishable. Typically, the FMCG category includes products such as:

Packaged foods: items that are prepared processed or packaged to be more shelf stable, including candy and chocolate
Beverages: soft drinks, bottled water and juices
Dairy: yogurt, milk and cheese
Meat: breakfast meats and deli meats
Personal care and hygiene: toiletries, cosmetics and over-the-counter medications
Vitamins and supplements: items that cater to health and wellness
Household cleaning products: detergents and cleaning solutions
Non-durable household goods: paper products, diapers and batteries
Pet care: pet food and treats
Tobacco and alcohol: tobacco, beer and liquor.

Most of these products are household essentials with low prices, except tobacco and alcohol.

Where are fast moving consumer goods sold?

Because there is a high demand for many FMCG categories, these products are found in various retail channels:

Conventional grocery stores: Large-format stores offering a wide range of FMCG products
Convenience stores: Small-format stores providing easy access to everyday essentials, often at a higher price than conventional stores
Supermarkets and discount stores: Retailers offering fast moving consumer goods products at everyday low prices
Online marketplaces: E-commerce platforms ranging from mobile grocery delivery apps to online retail stores
Natural grocers: Shops focusing on specific categories like health foods or beauty products
Specialty stores: Outlets focusing on specific categories like beauty products or pet care
Drugstores: Chains and independently owned retailers, selling a variety of items, including personal care and over-the-counter medications
Vending machines: Offering quick access to packaged foods and beverages in various on-the-go locations.

Fast moving consumer goods products may perform differently across various sales channels. To address this, many FMCG companies are adopting an omnichannel approach, seamlessly integrating their online and offline sales strategies.

What is the market share for fast moving consumer goods?

The FMCG sector continues to be a powerhouse in the global economy. Recent data projects the consumer goods market to reach a staggering $148.51 billion by 2031, expecting a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.66% between 2024 and 2031¹.

While that is the global outlook, market share for FMCGs varies widely by region and product category. In some markets, like North America, private-label brands are gaining traction as a result of households' budgets tightening and costs of goods rising. In many markets, global brands maintain a stronghold by adopting competitive pricing strategies, strong promotional calendars and deploying multimillion dollar advertising campaigns.

Fast-moving consumer goods sales by global market

The fast moving consumer goods market varies across regions:

North America leads, thanks to advanced technology and brand-aware consumers⁴
Europe maintains a significant market share, as the FMCG sector has expanded across many countries over the past few decades⁴
The Asia-Pacific region offers significant growth opportunities, as more people move to urban areas and disposable incomes rise⁴
Latin America demonstrates steady growth, especially in the personal care category, as governments improve healthcare infrastructure and allocate more funds to consumer healthcare spending⁴
The Middle East and Africa show a lot of potential because of government initiatives to enhance healthcare systems⁴.

Across these regions, key market players are focusing on innovation, adapting products to fit local markets, strategic partnerships and expanding distribution networks to capitalize on regional opportunities and maintain their competitive edge in the global landscape⁴.

Harmonize and track retail data to increase FMCG sales

To determine which region and categories are growing or slowing in market share, it’s imperative for fast moving consumer goods to harmonize and track diverse retail data sets on a regular basis. Harnessing this data at scale allows companies to gain insights across regions into consumer behaviour, purchasing patterns and market trends. By analyzing this information, companies can:

Identify emerging opportunities: Spotting growth trends in specific regions or product categories allows companies to allocate resources effectively and capitalize on new market opportunities
Optimize promotional strategies: Regular monitoring of market data enables companies to adjust their promotional strategies in response to competitive behavior and changing consumer preferences
Enhance supply chain efficiency: Insights from retail data can help to optimize inventory management and distribution strategies, increasing the likelihood products are available in high-demand areas
Inform product innovation: Research and development teams can use market share data to reveal gaps in the market or spot declining product categories to guide research and development efforts for new product launches
Adapt to local preferences: Understanding regional variations in consumer preferences helps to tailor products and marketing strategies to meet local needs
Monitor competitors: Tracking a competitors' sales performance in different markets allows companies to pivot their strategy more quickly if needed.

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Technology to maximize fast moving consumer goods sales

Similar to other industries, technology continues to reshape the FMCG sector. As consumer behaviours change, CPG manufacturers are increasingly leveraging technology to stay competitive. According to recent insights, while generative AI represented only 9% of the overall financial impact on the retail industry in 2023, that number could climb up to 78% by 2029³. This digital shift is evident in various aspects of the FMCG business:

Harmonize data for omnichannel sales: Solutions like TELUS TABS Analytics harmonize global sales performance data across brick-and-mortar stores and online sources. With this capability, manufacturers can analyze their holistic business performance and understand the shifts in consumer purchasing behavior between in-store and online channels.
Understand shifting consumer behavior: FMCG manufacturers can leverage tools to predict in-market success with shopper behavior data as well as simulate in-person retail channels, using a tool like TELUS Decision Insight.
Plan effective promotions across global markets: Trade promotion management software, like TELUS Trade Promotion Management, allows manufacturers to execute and analyze their trade strategy to identify what works best for each market.
Simplify supply chains: To maintain margins across markets, improve inventory allocation and gain real-time visibility into transaction data, solutions like TELUS ERP can unify information through a single system.
Validate on-shelf success: Using an AI tool like TELUS Rapid Image Recognition, enables manufacturers to verify the correct product assortment is on shelf across channels and regions, track display compliance and view promotion performance across outlets.

By embracing new technology, FMCG companies can easily keep their finger on the pulse of local markets, and use data insights to adjust sales strategies.

Retail strategies to increase sales for fast moving consumer goods

After implementing data harmonization tactics and leveraging technology, manufacturers can use several retail-focused FMCG strategies to drive sales growth:

Strengthen retailer relationships: A good retail strategy begins with creating and maintaining positive connections. Focus on category managers, shopper marketing teams and support staff at the retailer. Field sales representatives or brokers play an important role in maintaining these connections.
Build trial and repeat purchase: To grow household penetration, it’s essential to promote trial. To grow the consumer base of a fast moving consumer goods product, offer samples in store along with an incentive to purchase. While investing in new customers, don’t forget to reward loyal customers. Consider participating in retailer programs to offer customers high-value coupons or create your own loyalty program on a direct-to-consumer website.
Launch competitive conquesting ad campaigns: Some retailer e-commerce sites and grocery delivery applications allow competitive conquesting. Consider running targeted advertising campaigns to grow category market share with sponsored product placements or banner ads.
Create in-store seasonal displays: To grow sales during key seasonal moments, work with the retailer to set up a seasonal display. Ensure these in-store activations complement your marketing efforts across other channels to create a cohesive omnichannel strategy.

The future of fast moving consumer goods

The fast moving consumer goods sector isn't just part of the global economy—it's a driving force. To thrive in this dynamic landscape, FMCG manufacturers must do more than maintain the status quo, they must lead the charge. This means constantly analyzing retail data, anticipating shifts in consumer behavior and using cutting-edge technologies to find efficiencies.

As the market continues to grow, there are many opportunities for FMCG companies. Manufacturers that are ready to innovate, adapt and expand into new channels and markets have the potential to outpace private label and multinational brands. Partnering with software as a service providers, like TELUS Consumer Goods, provides access to tools that can fuel growth across categories and markets on a global scale.