The rise of retail ecommerce & how it’s changing the CPG game

Retail ecommerce hasn’t just reshaped how consumers shop—it’s transformed the entire landscape of commerce. A decade ago, this channel didn’t exist. Fast-forward to today, and it’s revolutionizing traditional shopping behaviors with unprecedented speed and convenience. 

Remember shopping in 2019?

Your choices were simple yet inconvenient:

• Option A: Order online and wait 4–7 business days (or longer) for delivery.
• Option B: Drive to a store, cross your fingers that your desired product was in stock, and, if it wasn’t, brace yourself for a second trip to yet another store. 

Then the pandemic hit, and the retail ecommerce timeline accelerated by a full decade virtually overnight. Shoppers pivoted to buying directly from retailer websites, while businesses scrambled to keep up. Concepts like curbside pickup and click-and-collect options became the norm, and the dawn of retail ecommerce began.

While this new commerce channel took off with impressive speed, many CPG (consumer packaged goods) brands struggled to execute effectively. The technology to support retail ecommerce weren’t fully built out, leaving brands to tackle three big challenges:

The challenges CPG brands faced in retail ecommerce

1. Fragmented retail distribution 

With retailers operating regionally across 40,000+ zip codes, brands found it nearly impossible to oversee and manage distribution across so many locations. It was tough for brands to grasp their retailer share of voice and know which retail partners were  successfully fulfilling their product sales.

2. Inconsistent product data

With so many different retailers and channels to manage, brands struggled to maintain consistent and accurate product information across them all. This led to confusion for consumers trying to find the right products and reduced trust in the brand itself.

3. Limited control over the shopper experience

In traditional retail, brands have more control over how their products are presented and sold. However, with ecommerce, retailers have more power in shaping the consumer experience through their own websites and platforms. This left CPG brands feeling like they had less influence on how their products were perceived by consumers.

4. Inventory unknowns 

Brands had no way to account for daily product availability, often wasting time and ad spend directing shoppers to retailers that didn’t even have items in stock. Plus, when consumers hit dead ends, they’d lose faith in the brand.

5. Lack of insight after the click 

Once a shopper left an ad to visit a retailer’s website, brands lost visibility completely. They couldn’t track purchase behaviors or campaign performance—crippling their ability to optimize.

The evolution of retail ecommerce technology 

Imagine running a promotion that sends countless shoppers to a retailer, only to have half of them encounter out-of-stock errors. Or creating a high-performing campaign but having no idea what creative drove actual sales.

A successful retail ecommerce strategy requires:

• Shoppability
• Insights

Enter Pear Commerce, the solution that’s providing never-before-seen inventory, comms control, and shopper insights for retail ecommerce.

Meet the new standard for retail ecommerce 

Pear Commerce has built the infrastructure that CPG brands need to thrive in the retail ecommerce space. No guesswork. No wasted campaign spending. Just actionable insights and seamless shoppability.

Here’s how:

1. Automatic shoppability

With Pear, you can create a personalized path to purchase for nearly any retailer’s ecommerce platform. 

• Pear automatically connects any UPC to over 3,000 retailers with daily inventory scanning. 
• Consumers only see in-stock products from nearby retailers, ensuring no more "dead links" or out-of-stock frustrations.
  
  

2. Shoppable media that converts

When you redefine awareness to include discoverability, it naturally pushes shoppers further down the path towards conversion. They not only know your brand exists, but where they can buy it in their local area, at any day they’d like.

Harnessing that same power, you can make all your brand media quickly shoppable. Shoppability doesn’t just inform, it converts—integrating seamlessly into any digital marketing campaign.

3. Actionable insights for performance marketing 

For the first time, CPG brands can access real-time, closed-loop purchase data to fuel smarter campaigns. 

• Measure every step of the funnel, from interacting on your site to taking your products to cart on a retailer’s site.
• Understand your shoppers’ preferences and optimize campaigns to perform accordingly with valuable data (think retailer, geo, and social platform—e.g., Walmart in NY on Meta vs. Target in LA on TikTok). 
• Push consumers past awareness to trial. Retarget with precision, from abandoned carts to lookalike audiences based on actual purchase data.
  
  

With Pear, your campaigns don’t just reach consumers; they deliver measurable, tangible results.

Why it’s the right time for retail ecommerce

Consider this shift as not just an opportunity but a business imperative. Modern shoppers want purchases to be quick and painless, wherever they are. With tools like Pear Commerce, brands can meet these demands head-on while driving growth and optimizing marketing tactics. 

Pear isn’t just about adapting to change—it’s about leading it. And as retail ecommerce keeps evolving, Pear ensures you stay ahead.

Curious for more?

Retail ecommerce is no longer an emerging channel—it’s here to stay. Brands equipped with the right infrastructure will be primed for unmatched growth and shopper satisfaction.

Are you ready to take your retail ecommerce strategy to the next level? The experts at Pear Commerce are here to help. 

👉 Contact our team today to get started →