Meltwater, a global leader in social, consumer, and media intelligence, has released its 2023 FMCG report. Since fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) are some of the most ubiquitous products of daily life, FMCG brands and organisations need to adapt to consumer trends and anticipate industry shifts to remain relevant. Meltwater’s suite of data-rich media and social intelligence solutions can help these brands foresee and overcome sector-specific challenges; hence, Meltwater’s latest report covers challenges that the industry faces and offers actionable solutions.
From trend forecasting and understanding consumer behaviour to aligning brand messaging and streamlining operations, these are the challenges that Meltwater addresses in its latest report.
‘Modern consumers use digital spaces to make their opinions known, especially when it comes to the products they buy every day. FMCG brands that use sophisticated social and media data analyses in their strategies are the ones that will remain top-of-mind through cycling industry trends,’ says Guillaume Decugis, head of Consumer Intelligence, Meltwater.
Intersecting macro-economic pressures such as constant supply-chain challenges and inflation, as well as converging cultural shifts and increased climate change concerns, are mirrored by the trends that shape FMCG consumer conversations: sustainability, private-label brands, and personalisation. For instance, ‘inflation’ was the top keyword in the home care and food sectors in Meltwater’s Explore comparison analysis of FMCG and private-label brands. Another takeaway in the ‘trends’ section of the report was that the FMCG industry and personalisation experienced a year-over-year increase of 275% in 2022.
For marketers in FMCG, trend forecasting is crucial as consumer preferences are constantly changing. Florence Rainsard, global consumer insights director at Pernod Ricard, emphasises the importance of trend forecasting in hospitality: "Meltwater enables us to track conversations led by select bartenders who match the profiles of our target consumer groups. With an ongoing stream of data on what they’re into and why, we’re able to uncover new flavour combinations, food pairing opportunities, or visual aspects of cocktail making that would never come up in a more traditional research process."
When analysing consumer behaviour, the report also found pricing to be the top purchase driver, with its importance having increased between Q4 2022 and Q1 2023. Customer service and quality were also important, and, on the flip side, brand and consumer experience proved to be the least important purchase drivers.
Another challenge analysed by Meltwater was the alignment of messaging with consumer mindsets. Environmental concerns are at the forefront of consumer mindsets, and Meltwater’s findings illustrate this. For example, when comparing consumer conversations about the leading laundry detergents, the brand with the fewest mentions, a sustainability-focused one, garnered the highest proportion of positive sentiments compared to the more well-known brands with the highest shares of voice.
Overall, not only are economic and consumption trends impacting consumer segments in different ways, but consumers want continuous innovation from their favourite brands to meet their demands for customisation and convenience.
