Greg Hodge

2025 will be a pivotal year in Retail. While uncertainty will always course through the industry, retailers and suppliers are taking back the reins and owning their future. At Kantar Retail, our 2025 themes are designed to guide CPGs and retailers through the complexities of this evolving marketplace. Access our latest whitepaper, Retail in 2025 and beyond: Driving commerce by accelerating agility, and learn how to successfully drive more volume-led growth in an increasingly complex and unpredictable commerce landscape. Access here: https://lnkd.in/eSGqvnUg #Retail #CPG #FMCG

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If you didn't catch the Big Sustainability Debate at our #MakeSustainabilityReal conference, take a look at the summary article below. As one of our clients said, "you brought to life the big questions that we live through every day in our companies." #Kantar #SustainableTransformation

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Consumer sentiment is choppy globally, with central banks delaying interest rate cuts and recent inflation and GDP readings surprising in the wrong way (US, Australia). The UK is far from immune to what's happening across the world, and I've said before that the path to recovery has some significant barriers to overcome. UK consumer confidence has improved a little again, and consumers seem to think there is light at the end of the tunnel. It will be interesting to see if confidence in future finances translates to a positive impact on retail sales, and to what extent that may hold back any further declines in UK inflation... and central bank cuts. It feels like everyone has forgotten that the low interest rate environment post GFC was meant to be short term before getting back to historic averages. Now that we are back to the historic average, everyone is clamouring for cuts "back to the norm". Memories are short. We might find 4-5% is the norm for a while yet!

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The HFS Research predictions panel - "Predicting the Unpredictable" had us debating and laughing (and rethinking our footwear). This was the penultimate session of the day before our fab emcee Elena Christopher and our CEO Phil Fersht wrapped us up at #HFSReinvent Here's what's up for the future, according to us... David Cushman Thanks to Agentic AI, we will see the first one-person unicorn within the next two years—a $1B start-up with no employees. Sam Duncan We will experience the “Great Enterprise Divide,” as GenAI acts as a key growth catalyst. Josh Matthews The Greenlash will be unmasked as a Greenhush. Followed by panic. Me: The future of CX is Agentic. But the impact will vary wildly by industry. Saurabh Gupta The IT services industry is ripe for disruption and cracks will start appearing in 2025. Tony Filippone Software companies compel customers to stop DIY’ing their GenAI technology. Lucky to work with this fun and smart bunch... 😃

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Our latest Grocer article - Category Strategy and some tips on how to do it well. The Grocer #categorystrategy

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Having attended this excellent conference last month, arranged by FlexMR, I wanted to share the write-up from Research Live, as I think it does a good job of summarising some important take-outs from the day... In my work with client-side insight teams, I've seen first-hand how high a priority it is for insights to be communicated with impact, if they’re going to drive real change and have commercial value. The article highlights how insight leaders are now more focused than ever on storytelling and building strong relationships internally. I've always believed that great insights should be shared in a way that inspires and provokes and facilitates actions - otherwise it's value is indeterminable. Market research and insight agencies should be helping, in this regard. The most impactful and valuable work is created when suppliers and buyers work in alignment on this. #MRX #MarketResearch #MarketingResearch #insights

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Are you ready to embrace the next era of grocery shopping? 🔮🛒 Our latest report examines the future of retail for FMCG and examines how retailers can future-proof their strategies across EVERY touch point. Shoppers are increasingly shopping across the omnichannel, switching between on and offline touch points. A lack of consistency, transparency and information availability will lead to negative experiences and push shoppers elsewhere. 🔃 Retailers must act now to secure the shopper of tomorrow. 🤝 Unlock the insights 🔐👇 https://ow.ly/vA1H30sHqQu

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📈How can you be Meaningfully Different to More People? Join this 8-min conversation with Heineken's Global CMI Director, Tony Costella, and Kantar’s Jane Ostler, as they discuss how #Heineken maintains differentiation in mature and new markets and continues to thrive as a leading alcohol brand, with great success in premiumisation for their category. Discover the routes they’ve explored to achieve it and how they operationalise Be Meaningfully Different to More People through #innovation, #distribution and #customerexperience. Kantar’s data shows that being Meaningfully Different to More People commands 5x penetration today and real advantage in penetration growth over the next two years. To find out more about the Blueprint for Brand Growth: https://lnkd.in/dC7b_mHJ #BeMeaningfullyDifferenttoMorePeople #BlueprintforBrandGrowth

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Is Retail Media Delivering the Best ROI? Retail media is booming, with the number of digital screens in stores skyrocketing. There are success stories out there – I recently highlighted one such case involving Co-op. However, I can't help but question the efficiency of the current spend and its alignment with shopper behavior, and here's why: The other day, I observed a c. 2-minute digital reel in the BWS area of a Tesco store (you can watch it below). Here are my thoughts: 1. Right Brands, Wrong Place Most advertised brands were alcohol-related, fitting the store area. But NONE of them were on the shelves below the screen. This creates friction in the purchase process, making it less likely for shoppers to convert. In fact, the Baileys Colada Limited Edition wasn't available in-store, nor was there shelf space for it – so impossible for shoppers to convert 2. Decent Content, Poor Alignment with Shopper Behaviour: The creative and messaging were generally good (IMHO), including some clever use of  cognitive biases and clear CTAs in places. But, each brand took 20 seconds to convey its story – far too long for a typical shopper. In my 30 minutes of observation, no one watched a full 20-second video… let alone the full reel (granted, this is a very small slice of trading hours!) And here’s something I’ve always wondered about multi-brand reels…what if your target shopper isn’t walking past when your brand is featured? At least with good old fashioned cardboard… you have permanent presence for your campaign's duration; and, with a good design, can get your message across in the “much less than 20 seconds” you typically have to converse with a busy shopper. I’m assuming there must be some positive results - otherwise, this trend wouldn’t continue. But is in store digital retail media the best possible version of itself right now? And if not – who pays for the inefficiencies? What are your thoughts? Are we maximizing the potential of retail media, or is there room for improvement? Mike Anthony - I'm sure you will have some thoughts to share on this! #RetailMedia #ShopperMarketing #InStoreAdvertising #icshoppers

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Blueprint for Brand Growth is now revealed! ◾ We’re bringing you the new go-to framework to help your Brand grow ◾ We’re giving you the evidence you need, to help you and your team influence your revenue and profits. ◾  We’re excited about where the Blueprint can take your Brand

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With the recent headline inflation numbers looking solid, and retail sales returning to growth in May after the April slump, you have to wonder whether the positive streak for confidence will continue next month, even with the Tory narrative of "see, you can trust us with the economy" feeling more than just a little out of touch (and unlikely to be enough to get them back in power). Consumers do like certainty, and this week's BoE hold reinforces that, with fears of worse mortgage pain to come undoubtedly quelled. But brands and retailers should be careful not to equate this result with people feeling positive overall - it is more like they are less negative. There remains a long way to go I suspect before consumers will be happy to spend more freely again, with the major purchase index barely changed from 12 months ago at minus 23. High interest rates makes savings an appealing place to put any spare money, so as long as interest rates remain high, consumers with debt and consumers without will respectively have barriers and motivating drivers to keep hold of their money.

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🌞 With sunnier days ahead, is the damp atmosphere finally set to change? Scarlet McNicol, Kantar fashion client manager, shares insights with Retail Week on how weather-driven impulse buying is reshaping retail. Despite challenges, there's optimism with seasonal trends merging and retailers gearing up for pent-up demand. Read the full article here: #FashionRetail #Summer

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This is a good news story, with a proviso! The insight function in client-side enterprises is more integrated and integral to commercial and corporate decision making than in the past - but there is still a way to go... I remember back in 2015 when the original study was conducted. I was unsurprised and pretty saddened by the fact that insight functions were not perceived as strategic or value-adding to their businesses. The situation has moved on, based on this latest study from GRBN (Global Research Business Network) but there is still opportunity and progress to be made - which I think we all know. As I see it, we need to faciliate and win a shift in the perception of insight and research, it from being treated as a cost in a business to an investment - with the accompanying recognition that if you don't invest in your business, you don't grow as effectively or expectation requires. Research and insight should be growth engines for organisations, and we are definitely making progress with this - but agencies and insight teams need to collaborate and work together to continue to move the investment positioning along... The fight goes on! #mrx #insights #marketresearch #marketingresearch

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Conscious shoppers are changing the balance of essential and discretionary purchases in the consumer basket; with profound impact on volume sales; and a new opportunity to drive category growth; from Circana's latest research study on Volume Growth. Essential items have split into a new category of items that consumers buy less, use less, stock up less, or find alternatives (not always Private Labels) - these items are still essential but the opportunity to re-engage shoppers is a huge opportunity to drive growth. https://lnkd.in/ejPMgExp

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Recent Kantar data suggests there is - after a long period of tight repertoires - signs of an increase in the willingness of some shoppers to try new things. Lunches are featuring more categories. Consumers are slowly starting to make healthier choices again. And indulging at home more (take-aways, QSR restaurant offers from Iceland) as eating out costs have rocketed. But with: 34% shoppers “comfortable” 43% “managing” 23% “struggling” And 27.9% of grocery spend bought on promo across all categories, you need to: Give shoppers a reason to trade up and feel like they’ve got a good deal. Like MOJU’s dosing bottle, on offer. Be indispensable to the centre of the occasion to warrant trade-up. Like Bold Bean Co do. Because: Premium own label is growing and trading people across from branded. #shopperinsights #Kantardata #fmcg

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The arrival of Ozempic, Wegovy and other semaglutides has sent shockwaves across the CPG space.  Are they a threat? Will they become mainstream? How should brands react? In Black Swan Data’s NEW report ‘The Ozempic Conversation’ we explore how these drugs impact consumer behavior.  Download the report here ➡️ https://bit.ly/3VYJggn

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We just completed a fascinating project for a tech client looking at a new brand strategy opportunity. Using a behavioural change model we identified specific actions for the client in each pillar of the model which should result in a successful launch. Strategic change through specific actions, simply communicated. Francis explains the opportunities for such models and how we use them at We Live Context 

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