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Get your free copy26 October 2012, 09:10 AM
- Food manufacturers and retailers are missing out on sales worth millions of pounds by using the internet to simply promote their brand instead of direct sales
The research, carried out by IGD, advised food companies to explore software that allows them to begin trading online, so as to not miss out in the future.
This is due to predictions that online food and drink sales will reach £11 billion within five years.
Lawrence Hene, director of marketing and grocery retail at Ocado, said, “Brand websites are there to educate, engage and get people to remember your product at the checkout. But, people are missing out the option of sales on their sites. You have them there – now you need to get them to transact.”
Mark Elkins, commercial director for Coca-Cola Enterprises, added, “Capri Sun had an add-to-basket option that would allow the shopper to post on Facebook that they had bought the product. This is creating enhanced sales out of marketing and then extra marketing from sales.
“We used to focus on packaging, so that a product will fly off the shelves. When shopping online, consumers only look at the left hand side of the screen, so your brands need a presence there. You need to fly off the screen,” he said.
