Retail and consumer goods marketers are working to improve cohesive customer experiences by better integrating customer journeys across departments and channels. They are increasingly leveraging artificial intelligence and personalization while also striving to balance privacy and build trust. Marketers are engaging customers across more real-time channels but still struggle with dynamic coordination across channels. Access to more customer data sources improves personalization opportunities but also challenges marketers to better unify disparate customer data.

1. Insights from nearly 900 marketing leaders
Trends in Retail and
Consumer Goods Marketing
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2. Trends in Retail and Consumer Goods Marketing
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About This Report
Salesforce Research surveyed nearly 900 retail and
consumer goods marketing leaders worldwide to
discover how:
• Cross-functional dynamics are shifting to satisfy
customer and business demands
• Data is transforming the way marketers operate
• Personalization is becoming more refined at the
crossroads of intelligence and trust
• New standards of engagement are inspiring and
challenging marketers
Data in this report is a subset of findings from the fifth
edition of the “State of Marketing” study conducted
August 13 through September 23, 2018, that generated
890 responses from full-time retail and consumer goods
marketing leaders — those holding a manager or higher
leadership role. Survey respondents are from North America,
Latin America, Europe, and Asia Pacific. All respondents are
third-party panelists (not limited to Salesforce customers).
For further survey demographics, see page 15.
Due to rounding, not all percentage totals in this report
equal 100%. All comparison calculations are made from
total numbers (not rounded numbers).
196
285
276
133
Salesforce Research provides data-driven insights to help
businesses transform how they drive customer success.
Browse all reports at salesforce.com/research.

3. Trends in Retail and Consumer Goods Marketing
Salesforce Research
3State of Marketing
Salesforce Research
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Contents
Salesforce Research
Contents
Executive Summary...................................................................................................................................................... 4
Marketers Push for Cohesive Customer Experiences.................................................................................. 5
AI and Trust Underpin Customer Experiences............................................................................................. 7
Marketers Strive for Real-Time Engagement Across Channels................................................................... 9
New Realities Up the Ante for Data Unification........................................................................................... 11
Last Look: Marketing Metrics Evolve for a New Era................................................................................................... 14
Survey Demographics.................................................................................................................................................. 15
01
02
03
04

4. Trends in Retail and Consumer Goods Marketing
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Executive Summary
Today’s shopping experience is no
longer defined by the boundaries of
brick-and-mortar. Consumers expect
companies to meet them whenever
and wherever they are, offering a
shopping experience tailored to their
individual needs. Retail and consumer
goods marketers are tapping into more
data sources and channels to create
this type of relevant and engaging
customer journey.
Here’s an overview of how the industry’s
marketers are adjusting to the evolving
retail landscape.
With insight into consumers’ needs and behaviors at each point of interaction before, during, and after
a purchase, marketers are uniquely positioned to enhance the shopper journey. However, the
effort must be integrated – across departments and channels. Fifty-four percent of retail and
consumer goods marketers view the customer journey as the primary vehicle for improving
customer experiences.
Marketers Push for Cohesive Customer Experiences
(See page 5)
01
More powerful marketing technology – including that powered by artificial intelligence (AI) — enables
marketers to craft highly relevant, cutting-edge customer experiences. Yet this revolution comes with its
own challenges as marketers need to strike the right balance between personalization and customer
trust. Eighty-eight percent of retail and consumer goods marketers say personalization has improved
their overall marketing program.
AI and Trust Underpin Customer Experiences
(See page 7)
02
Shopper journeys are more complex than ever, adding pressure for marketers to engage with
consumers on their terms, in real time. This pressures marketers to deliver a cohesive, conversational
brand communication strategy across a growing number of customer touchpoints. On average, 33%
of retail and consumer goods marketers describe their channel coordination as dynamic, up from
28% in 2017.
Marketers Strive for Real-Time Engagement Across Channels
(See page 9)
03
Access to more data expands personalization opportunities for marketers. With this comes the
challenge of managing and unifying these disparate data sources. Retail and consumer goods
marketers are still experimenting with a hodgepodge of customer identity solutions to paint a cohesive
picture of each customer’s needs; un-unified data pain points remain. Forty-nine percent of retail and
consumer goods marketers report having a completely unified view of customer data sources.
New Realities Up the Ante for Data Unification
(See page 11)
04

5. Trends in Retail and Consumer Goods Marketing
Salesforce Research
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Salesfo rce Research
Today’s consumers expect not only highly
personalized experiences, but contextualized
customer journeys before, during, and after a
purchase. Sixty-seven percent of consumers
say connected experiences — like seamless
handoffs between departments and
channels — are very important to win
their business.*
This is particularly relevant in the retail and
consumer goods world, where technology is
blurring the physical-digital divide and
disrupting how consumers shop and pay.
Today’s consumers are exposed to cashierless
stores, mobile payment and digital wallet
services, and seamless buy (or reserve) online
and pick-up-in-store programs. The result is
mounting pressure for marketers — and
their cross-functional counterparts — to
deliver hyperpersonalized, concierge-like
shopping experiences.
Yet only 13% of consumers say companies
generally excel at delivering connected
experiences.*
Increasingly, marketers are at the
helm of crafting customer journey strategies to
close this gap. Forty-four percent of retail and
consumer goods marketers say they lead
customer experience initiatives across the
organization, versus 24% in 2017.**
01 Marketers Push for Cohesive
Customer Experiences
Customer Journeys Are Expanding Marketing’s Mandate
* “Trends in Integrated Customer Experiences,” Salesforce Research, September 2018.
** 2017 data is based on responses of “strongly agree” on a five-point scale, whereas
2018 data is based on responses of “yes” on a binary scale.
54%of retail and consumer goods
marketers view customer
journeys as the primary
vehicle for customer
experience improvements
51%of retail and consumer goods
marketers are actively mapping
the customer journey across
the company

6. Salesforce Research
6Trends in Retail and Consumer Goods Marketing
Connected experiences are an elusive goal
without strong alignment and shared objectives
across all customer-facing teams, such as peers
in customer service, sales, and commerce.
Shared goals and technology, therefore, are
now table stakes across teams.
In the retail and consumer goods industry,
marketing and advertising teams are furthest
down this path, with the majority also having
integrated their technology platforms.
However, advertising and marketing alignment
is not enough. This unified front has to span the
entire customer journey. Within the retail and
consumer goods space, alignment between
marketers and their commerce and service
counterparts is less common, with only about
half saying their goals are aligned.
01 Marketers Push for Cohesive
Customer Experiences
Cross-Department Goals Are Commonplace Within Retail and
Consumer Goods Organizations
Retail and Consumer Goods Marketers Who Share Common Goals and Metrics
with the Following Teams
88% of retail and consumer goods
marketers have integrated technology stacks
with advertising teams.
62%
share common goals
with advertising teams
53%
share common goals
with service teams
SERVICE teams
51%
share common goals
with commerce teams
COMMERCE teams
ADVERTISING teams

7. Trends in Retail and Consumer Goods Marketing
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Retail and consumer goods marketers are
increasingly turning to artificial intelligence (AI)
to enhance their programs through highly
relevant, cutting-edge digital customer
experiences. One-quarter are leveraging some
form of AI, with that figure projected to
skyrocket by 176% over the next two years.
Use of voice-activated personal assistants like
Siri and Alexa is expected to nearly triple in just
one year’s time.
The growth of these technologies is not
surprising, given the confluence of consumer
expectations and business benefits. Sixty-eight
percent of millennials and Gen Zers like when
retailers personalize based on their purchase
history.*
For marketers, AI use cases span the
gamut from personalized product
recommendations to 1-to-1 emails to chatbots
that automate answers to questions like
“where’s my order?” The majority of the
industry’s marketers (88%) say that this type
of personalization improves their overall
marketing program.**
Personalization through AI also offers a
financial upside: Online shoppers who act on
AI-powered product recommendations yield
14% higher average order values.†
Marketing Is Undergoing an AI Revolution
02 AI and Trust Underpin
Customer Experiences
Retail and Consumer Goods Marketers Who Use or Plan to Use AI
Retail and Consumer Goods Marketers Who Use or Plan to Use Voice-Activated
Personal Assistants
45%plan to use within the
next two years
37%plan to use within the
next 12 months
25%currently use
29%currently use
+176%
+127%
projected growth
rate of AI
projected growth
rate of voice-activated
personal assistants
* “Shopper-First Retailing,” Salesforce and Publicis.Sapient, August 2018.
Strongly agree/agree.
** Major or moderate improvement.
† “2018 Holiday Shopping Report,” Salesforce, January 2019.

8. Salesforce Research
8Trends in Retail and Consumer Goods Marketing
02 AI and Trust Underpin
Customer Experiences
In an era when opaque data use policies and
associated scandals have prompted a crisis
of customer trust, marketers are increasingly
cognizant of balancing personalization
with privacy.
Ninety-one percent of consumers say that
maintaining control over the flow of their
personal information is important for
companies to earn their trust. Eighty-nine
percent say the same for transparency in how
their data is used, along with a commitment to
privacy on the part of those companies.
Though retail and consumer goods marketers
recognize the importance of trust, striking the
right balance between personalization and
trust continues to be a challenge, with just over
one-quarter of marketers feeling they’ve hit
the mark.
Trust Has Become a Marketing Imperative
* “State of the Connected Customer,” Salesforce Research, June 2018.
** High or moderate priority.
80%of retail and consumer goods
marketers say balancing privacy
and personalization is
a priority**
28%of retail and consumer goods
marketers are completely satisfied
with their ability to balance
personalization and privacy

9. Trends in Retail and Consumer Goods Marketing
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Personalized engagement isn’t the only
customer expectation marketers must manage.
In a hyper-connected, always-on world, speed
is critical. Half of repeat buyers make a
second purchase within 16 days of their
first. Though this purchase cycle is short, the
majority of consumers (69%) still expect to see
new merchandise when visiting a site or store.*
To win sales and increase loyalty, retail and
consumer goods marketers are striving to
engage consumers in the real-time,
conversational manner they expect.
This is no small feat, given that the average
consumer uses 10 different channels to
communicate with companies.**
Marketers in
the industry are turning to a variety of
established channels — like websites, email,
and social advertising — and are ramping up
their use of emerging channels, such as
virtual assistants, augmented reality, and
connected devices.
Marketers Employ a Growing Roster of Channels
03 Marketers Strive for Real-Time
Engagement Across Channels
* “Shopper-First Retailing,” Salesforce, August 2018.
** “State of the Connected Customer,” Salesforce Research, June 2018.
Current and Intended Usage of the Following Channels among Retail and
Consumer Goods Marketers
Website
Plan to use within 12 monthsCurrently use
Email marketing
Display/banner ads
Social publishing
Social advertising
Video advertising
Mobile app
Affiliate marketing
Mobile messaging
Native advertising/sponsored content
Customer communities
Paid search/SEM
Internet of Things (IoT)/
connected devices
Voice-activated personal assistants
Virtual reality (VR) or
augmented reality (AR)
Projected
Growth Rate
+17%
+24%
+30%
+37%
+45%
+58%
+68%
+65%
+56%
+71%
+64%
+69%
+91%
+127%
+218%
14%84%
18%76%
22%73%
25%67%
30%65%
33%57%
37%
34%
54%
53%
30%
37%
33%
36%
38%
37%
41%
54%
53%
51%
51%
42%
29%
19%
The average retail and consumer goods
marketer uses eight channels, and plans to
use 13 within a year.

10. Salesforce Research
10Trends in Retail and Consumer Goods Marketing
In an omni-channel world, the gold standard is
dynamic conversations between customers and
brands — in which messages evolve across
channels based on an individual’s actions. This
allows customers to access the same
capabilities and have the same experience
interacting with a brand no matter their point
of communication. Sixty-eight percent of
consumers say consistency across channels
is very important to win their business.*
Retail and consumer goods marketers are
making headway in their quest to drive two-way
conversations across channels. On average,
33% of them describe a given channel as
dynamically coordinated.
Yet the industry’s marketers still struggle to
meet their shoppers where they are, no matter
what channel they choose. Over one-quarter
(27%) of retail and consumer goods marketers
describe their channel coordination as
generally siloed.
03 Marketers Strive for Real-Time
Engagement Across Channels
Dynamic Messaging Remains the Exception to the Rule
Retail and Consumer Goods Marketers Who Describe Their
Cross-Channel Coordination as Follows
Base: Retail and consumer goods marketers currently using indicated channel.* “State of the Connected Customer,” Salesforce Research, June 2018.
Mobile app 23%
27%
32%
42%
39%
Website
31%
29%
Social publishing (e.g., any non-paid
marketing messages on platforms)
Video advertising (e.g., YouTube)
Social advertising
(i.e., any paid placements/ads on platform)
Email marketing
Mobile messaging
(i.e., SMS, push, group messaging)
Display/banner ads
Paid search/SEM
Voice-activated personal assistants
(e.g., Alexa, Siri, Google Home)
Dynamic (messages evolve across channels based on customer actions)
Duplicate (identical messages are broadcast across channels)
Siloed (no coordination of messages across channels)
41%
41%
41%
41%
37%
28%35%36%
24%35%
25%
26%
34%
34%
28%38%33%
27%40%33%
28%39%33%

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Marketers have more data at their disposal to
create personalized shopper experiences. With
this comes the challenge of unifying data from
an average of 16 data sources, a 60% increase
in just two years.
To understand who customers are and what
actions to take based on their unique needs,
retail and consumer goods marketers are
increasingly using second-party data — that
which is shared between consenting parties
like brands and publishers — to extend
audiences and refine growth targeting.
The use of second-party data has grown
24% over the past year.
04 New Realities Up the Ante for
Data Unification
Marketers Are Turning to More and More Data
2017
2017
2018
2018
2019
10
12
16
Median Number of Data Sources Used by Retail and Consumer Goods
Marketing Organizations
Retail and Consumer Goods Marketing Organizations Using Second-Party Data
55%
68%

12. Salesforce Research
12Trends in Retail and Consumer Goods Marketing
Data unification is a top priority for retail and
consumer goods marketers seeking to fully reap
the benefits of all available customer
information. For many of them, however, a
unified view of the customer remains a dream.
While the industry’s marketers are turning to a
hodgepodge of solutions to provide a
comprehensive view of customers’ needs and
expectations, no dominant solution exists.
This is, perhaps, unsurprising given the number
of high-traffic systems retail and consumer
goods companies must manage, such as loyalty,
point-of-sale, and commerce infrastructure.
04 New Realities Up the Ante for
Data Unification
* “State of the Connected Customer,” Salesforce Research, June 2018.
Note: Respondents were only shown a technology if they reported using the indicated technology. The base includes all respondents.
49% of retail and consumer goods
marketers report having a completely unified
view of customer data sources.
Customer Identity Solutions Run the Gamut
Most Common Technologies Used for Customer Identity Purposes
Among Retail and Consumer Goods Marketers
Customer relationship management (CRM) system
Customer data platform (CDP)
Email service provider (ESP)
Marketing database
Data management platform (DMP)
1
3
5
2
4

13. Salesforce Research
13Trends in Retail and Consumer Goods Marketing
Data management platforms (DMPs) are
gaining traction for data unification purposes
— among others — in the retail and consumer
goods industry, broadening the use of this
technology beyond its traditional use case of
media buying and optimization.
04 New Realities Up the Ante for
Data Unification
DMP Adoption and Use Cases Are Growing
76%
Marketing analytics and advertising
performance measurement
64%Content personalization
63%Media buying and optimization
60%Identity resolution and management
56%Creative testing and optimization
Current and Intended Use of DMPs Among Retail and Consumer Goods Marketers
35%plan to use within
the next two years
55%currently use
+63%projected growth
rate of DMPs
Top DMP Use Cases Among Retail and Consumer Goods Marketers
Base: Retail and consumer goods marketers who use a DMP.

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Last Look
Marketing Metrics Evolve for a New Era
As marketing leads the charge to map the
customer journey across the company, an
expanded set of metrics is needed to evaluate
success. This includes traditional metrics — such
as revenue growth — along with more granular
metrics — such as web traffic and analytics — to
measure engagement across channels.
Sales effectiveness and customer retention
rates — areas that have historically been success
indicators for sales and services teams — have
risen to the top tier of marketing KPIs. This
underscores the evolution of cross-department
collaboration to enhance the customer journey.
New Success Measures Join Tried-and-True Metrics
Top Metrics Tracked by Retail and Consumer Goods Marketers
Revenue growth
Web traffic and/or analytics
Customer retention rates
Sales effectiveness
Marketing return on investment (MROI)
1
3
5
2
4

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Survey Demographics
SUBINDUSTRY
Retail........................................................................51%
Consumer goods...................................................49%
COMPANY SIZE
Small (21–100 employees)................................................22%
Medium (101–3,500 employees)......................................61%
Enterprise (3,501+ employees)........................................17%
COMPANY TYPE
Business-to-business (B2B).....................................12%
Business-to-consumer (B2C)..................................50%
Business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C).........38%
COUNTRY
United States..........................................................13%
Canada...................................................................... 9%
Mexico....................................................................... 9%
France........................................................................ 8%
Japan......................................................................... 8%
Germany................................................................... 7%
India........................................................................... 7%
United Kingdom/Ireland....................................... 7%
Australia/New Zealand.......................................... 6%
Brazil........................................................................... 6%
Hong Kong................................................................ 6%
Belgium..................................................................... 4%
Netherlands.............................................................. 3%
Singapore.................................................................. 3%
Nordics...................................................................... 3%
REGION
Europe.....................................................................32%
Asia Pacific..............................................................31%
North America.......................................................22%
Latin America.........................................................15%
DEPARTMENT
Executive management.......................................17%
Marketing................................................................83%
ROLE WITHIN MARKETING
CEO, owner, or equivalent...................................17%
CMO........................................................................21%
VP of marketing.....................................................12%
Director, manager, or equivalent........................51%
GENERATION
Baby boomers/Traditionalists (born before 1965)........ 5%
Gen Xers (born 1965–1980)...........................................51%
Millennials/Gen Zers (born 1981–1999)......................44%

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