Consumer behavior data key to future business: study

The digitization of consumer relationships and shoppers' behavioral data will be crucial for consumer goods companies to drive future business, a recent study shows.

Consumer companies and retailers should adopt new ways and adopt more digital channels to tap not only existing buyers but also consumers that have an interest in the product category who could be turned into potential buyers, according to a joint survey by Alibaba's retail site Tmall and Bain & Company.

Alibaba's marketing and big data platform, Alimama, seeks to leverage its data pool which tracks brands' performance by analyzing over 500 million consumers' behavior on its retail platform Tmall as well as offline channels to help companies target potential customers.

Local companies have achieved faster growth in the fast moving consumer goods market with a deeper understanding of local consumers and faster response to local market shifts, Bain & Company's data shows.

Hu Weixiong, general manager of Tmall's consumer goods division, said the focus on consumers and the leveraging of supply chain and data pools would be the key strategies in the upcoming Single's Day shopping festival in November.

According to a joint study by Alibaba's retail site Tmall and Bain & Company, by tracking the number of potential buyers, how those interested in products finally became buyers, and those who actively spread the word about new product offerings and new brand launches, companies can create targeted marketing activities and raise the effectiveness of marketing campaigns.

The study analyzed industries including beauty, personal care, infant products, and fresh food.

Bruno Lannes, a partner at Bain & Company's Shanghai office and head of the firm's consumer products and retail team in China, said that the digital transformation and the consumer-centric operation model would help companies further enhance their operation efficiency.

This would also give rise to new supply chain models with consumers being able to have manufacturers offer tailor-made products for them.