How CPG brands can use retail ecommerce tools to drive awareness at retail

For many consumer packaged goods (CPG) brands, marketing opportunities are valuable but sometimes limited assets. Understanding how and when to use these opportunities to drive awareness at retail creates a challenge. While brands often focus on their own digital experiences to drive engagement, reaching retail shoppers through the right channels is just as crucial for driving awareness, discovery, and trial.

Luckily, retail ecommerce platforms offer a powerful solution to bridge the gap between direct-to-consumer strategies and the in-store shopping experience, giving CPG brands the ability to amplify their presence at retail. Let’s explore how CPG brands can use retail ecommerce tools to drive awareness at retail, create seamless purchase journeys, and optimize their marketing efforts for maximum impact.

Implementing a retail ecommerce platform to enhance visibility

Modern retail ecommerce platforms provide a suite of dynamic tools designed to drive consumer engagement at every stage of the buying journey. Tools like shoppable product detail pages (PDPs), store locators, and shoppable media are essential for connecting shoppers with your products—both online and at physical retail locations.

These platforms work by using daily inventory scanning, so only locations with in-stock products are displayed to potential buyers. Shoppers are shown the most up-to-date list of retailers in their area, making it easy for them to find where your brand is available. It’s not just about listing where a product can be found, but offering a digital path to purchase, at chains and local stores.

Example: Belgian Boys' Store Locator

A great example of this is Belgian Boys' shoppable Store Locator, which allows consumers to see exactly where their products are available in nearby retail locations. It not only informs consumers but also makes it easy for them to click through and purchase.

Most modern retail ecommerce platforms support a suite of products, including where-to-buy embeds, shoppable product detail pages (PDPs), and/or shoppable media. Pins on a store locator or landing pages with a list of retailers are effective for general information sharing, but the real power of retail ecommerce comes into play when the tools are fully shoppable.

Shoppability means:

Showing digital purchase paths for all in-stock retailers, including local options, from each shoppable tool.
Using geolocation and rapid inventory scanning to confirm product availability in each shopper’s area.
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Using shoppable tools to amplify awareness and discovery

For today’s omnichannel consumers, the journey to brand loyalty often begins with discovering your product at retail, which eventually leads to repeat purchases. Shoppable experiences are a powerful tool for accelerating this journey, whether on your brand website (brand.com) or through media channels.

Here’s how CPG brands can optimize their online and media presence to increase awareness and drive trial:

On brand websites (brand.com):

Shoppable Store Locators: Make sure your product locator is fully shoppable, with clear paths to purchase at each retail partner. This engages high-intent visitors looking to buy instantly.
Shoppable Product Detail Pages (PDPs): Include paths to purchase at retail directly from your PDPs for frictionless purchases.
Shoppable Recipes or blog pages: Add links to your Pear-powered Store Locator or highlight in-stock retailers on your recipe pages or blog to increase awareness of where your products are available and make checkout easy.

Example: Liquid Death’s Shoppable PDPs

On Liquid Death’s website, the Shoppable PDP allows visitors to quickly find out where to buy their products, whether at a local retailer or through Amazon’s Subscribe & Save option. This creates a seamless purchase path, reducing friction in the buying process.

On social media & digital media channels

Link your paid and organic social: Use paid social campaigns, organic social posts, and influencer partnerships to highlight Shoppable Landing Pages or Direct-to-Cart Links, showcasing where your products are sold in stores.
Add your brand’s Store Locator link to your company’s social bios: Add your where-to-buy link to your social media bios as a simple, free way to create immediate awareness.
Feature links in email & SMS campaigns: Whether you're sending promotional emails, product updates, or SMS messages, include links to your specific shoppable product pages.
Support your customer service team: Reference your Store Locator or specific PDPs in customer service responses so shoppers can easily find where to purchase your products.

Example: Santa Cruz Organic’s Instagram bio‍

Santa Cruz Organic uses their Instagram bio to directly link their Store Locator, making it easy for consumers to find and buy their juices.

With the right retail ecommerce platform, anything that’s clickable can be made shoppable, converting awareness into purchase intent. By incorporating shoppability into every element of your brand’s digital presence, you can significantly expand awareness, streamline the buying journey, and create more opportunities to engage with potential customers.

Leveraging insights for data-driven marketing

Once your brand’s digital touchpoints are equipped with shoppable experiences, it’s time to take your retail ecommerce strategy to the next level. Platforms like Pear, for example, provide invaluable insights into shopper behavior at the click level. This gives brands the ability to track which elements of their marketing campaigns (i.e. product, channel, geo, audience, copy, creative) are driving actual awareness at retail.

By integrating retail ecommerce platforms with existing advertising channels, brands can build audiences from every shoppable interaction, enabling more targeted and effective marketing campaigns. Machine learning capabilities further optimize campaigns automatically, allowing for continuous performance improvements.

Audience building & optimization

With access to actionable insights, CPG brands can build custom audiences from real-time shopper data. By analyzing what’s working and what isn’t, brands can refine their strategies and optimize campaigns for greater reach, engagement, and ultimately–conversion. This approach helps brands make smarter decisions, driving not only awareness but also trial and repeat purchases.

Pear Commerce: Your partner in retail ecommerce

Pear Commerce is an advanced retail ecommerce platform tailored for omnichannel brands. By transforming shoppable tools into actionable insights, Pear empowers brands to optimize their marketing, enhance retail visibility, and accelerate the journey from discovery to purchase. With Pear, brands create seamless consumer journeys, and unlock new growth opportunities.

As the leading expert in enabling omnichannel success, Pear helps brands stand out in today's competitive market. By effectively utilizing retail ecommerce tools, CPG brands can create an engaging experience that maximizes visibility, encourages trial, and fosters customer loyalty.