5 CPG Marketing Trends Driving Growth For Shopify Brands

The consumer packaged goods (CPG) market is vast, with a projected value of $1476.3 billion by 2029. Unsurprisingly, this is why it's such a competitive market for even the most well-established brands, with thousands of products available in retail stores and online. 

To gain an edge, Shopify Plus CPG businesses need effective marketing strategies to reach target consumers. But what are the most popular marketing methods, and how can they help you stand out in a crowded market? 

To help you build powerful campaigns, we guide you through five of the latest CPG marketing trends influencing consumer behavior.

The Trend: Personalized Customer Experiences

Personalized customer experiences are an important CPG marketing trend. A one-size-fits-all approach won’t inspire customer interest or loyalty. Instead, CPG customers expect personalized marketing materials, website experiences, and product options.

Product quizzes create personalized customer experiences. For example, Function of Beauty customers can take a quiz to discover their unique hair, skin, or body care regimen. Users can then purchase a subscription for beauty products tailored to their needs on the quiz results page.

The Trend: Data-Driven Marketing

Data-driven marketing is another key CPG marketing trend. It involves gathering and using data to inform marketing decisions and support personalized customer experiences, including targeted digital ads based on customer demographics, abandoned cart emails, or personalized content created with user data.

Gather customer data by conducting CPG market research, like customer surveys, focus groups, and audience research tools. Look at analytics across your website, social media platforms, and email marketing tools to learn more about how customers interact with your brand online. Or, use product quizzes.

An engaging quiz encourages customers to share information about themselves and their product needs. Discover your audience’s primary motivations, their problems, and product preferences. This zero-party data can then inform your CPG marketing strategy, allowing you to segment your audience and send personalized marketing materials.

Data-driven marketing makes campaigns more relevant and more likely to resonate with the target audience.

The Trend: Sustainability

Sustainability is rising up the list of priorities for CPG shoppers. 78% of consumers say that a sustainable lifestyle is important to them, and 60% are willing to pay more for a product with sustainable packaging. Products making ESG-related claims are achieving faster growth than those without. 

Share your ESG efforts with consumers via your CPG marketing. Use product quizzes to showcase key product features (including sustainability credentials) on the result page, using detailed product descriptions or pop-ups. Then, include questions within your quiz like “How much does sustainability matter to you?” or “What matters to you in a product?” to see how your audience views sustainability.

The Trend: Omnichannel Strategies

Omnichannel shopping experiences are seamless and friction-free. Consumers enjoy a smooth purchasing journey across different devices, marketing channels, and shopping locations.

For example, many CPG stores now have in-store pickup kiosks to allow shoppers to buy online but collect their purchases in person. Customers should also be able to switch between smartphone, laptop, and tablet versions of a website without losing their place or needing to repeat information.

Marketing materials should also seamlessly continue the customer journey, supported by integrated data shared across all channels to provide a complete view of each customer’s interactions and preferences.

SKOON, a Shopify skincare brand, achieves this by integrating its Visual Quiz Builder quiz with Meta Pixel and Klaviyo email marketing software. They use quiz data to create a seamless experience, targeting consumers with ads and emails tailored to their needs and stage in the customer journey.

The Trend: Subscription Programs

Subscription programs are another of the biggest CPG marketing trends and a key part of many DTC experiences. They benefit customers (offering free shipping, product discounts, and personalized experiences) and help brands build deeper, longer-term relationships with those customers.

Subscription examples include personalized kits, “subscribe and save” models, and product bundling (which helps brands to introduce new products and seasonal items).

Semaine Health, a hormonal supplement brand, promotes a subscription option on the product recommendation quiz result page. It highlights the savings customers can make by subscribing and gives shoppers control over the frequency of their subscription.

Grow Your CPG Brand With VQB

Visual Quiz Builder makes it easy to build branded product recommendation quizzes for your Shopify website. Gather zero-party data to learn more about your consumers, personalize the customer experience and your campaigns, and put these CPG marketing trends into action.

Sign up for a free Visual Quiz Builder trial and build your first quiz today.

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CGP Marketing FAQs

What is CPG marketing?

CPG marketing is the practice of promoting a wide range of products, from food to cleaning solutions, across multiple channels. Businesses can employ various techniques to increase awareness of their products in a highly competitive industry.

An effective strategy is crucial to gain a competitive edge. Everything from a product’s logo to its online ads must capture consumers’ interest. Carefully planned CPG marketing will influence a buyer’s purchase decisions and inspire them to choose one business over others offering similar solutions.

What does CPG stand for in marketing?

CPG is an acronym for consumer packaged goods. This refers to products that consumers purchase, use, and repurchase frequently. Common consumer packaged goods include food and beverages, and personal care and cosmetics.

Consumer packaged goods typically last for a shorter period than durable goods (e.g., house appliances). Durable goods should offer a much longer lifespan and will not be replenished as often.

What are the challenges of CPG marketing?

Businesses in the CPG industry face a number of marketing challenges. These include:

• Differentiation: Fierce competition can make it difficult for businesses to differentiate their goods from other brands’, and their products could go unnoticed if they fail to catch the consumer’s eye. 

• Fluctuating consumer shopping habits: Consumer buying behavior changes over time. Buyers not only purchase goods in different ways (vs. before online shopping became the norm), but their response to marketing fluctuates too.

• Consumer goals and tastes: Businesses with decades of experience in the CPG industry need to adjust their products and marketing frequently to meet current consumer expectations and preferences. 

• Building connections: With so many competing brands, businesses may struggle to forge strong relationships with consumers and maintain loyalty. 

How do you market consumer packaged goods?

Businesses use multiple methods to market consumer packaged goods. These include:

• Product quizzes: A product quiz offers a simple yet effective way to create a personalized shopping experience. By asking potential buyers relevant, targeted questions, businesses can recommend the best products for different needs. 

• Email marketing: Emails are one of the most popular CPG marketing methods. Businesses can personalize emails to specific audience segments, based on the recipient’s current position in the customer journey. 

• Paid ads: Paid ads are commonplace in the CPG industry. These appear on search engine results pages and millions of sites in different forms (e.g., banner ads, video ads, and more). 

What are the biggest trends in CPG marketing?

Here are the five biggest CPG marketing trends:

• Personalized customer experiences: Businesses must provide personalized experiences to fit the target customer’s specific needs, goals, budget, and expectations. 

• Data-driven marketing: Collecting data on customers enables businesses to create targeted marketing campaigns for different audience segments. Data is usually pulled from focus groups, customer surveys, social media, and interviews. 

• Sustainability: The majority of consumers (60%) are prepared to pay a higher price for sustainably packaged products. Businesses can use marketing materials (e.g., product quizzes) to showcase their green credentials. 

• Omnichannel strategies: Omnichannel marketing provides consumers with a seamless experience across different devices and platforms. They won’t need to update information or miss personalized recommendations when switching between their phone, desktop, and tablet. 

• Subscription programs: Businesses that offer subscription programs can build longer relationships with consumers, provide a highly personalized experience, and offer long-term savings as a compelling hook.

  
  

What is the CPG market forecast?

The CPG market is expected to grow to $1476.3 billion by 2029. Food and beverages account for a substantial part of the market, followed by personal care and cosmetics. Household supplies and pharmaceuticals have a smaller share of the market.

Various changes are affecting the CPG market. More consumers are purchasing CPG products online, providing e-commerce businesses with a valuable opportunity to expand.