Over the last 12 months, shopper, trade and customer marketing have been forced out of ‘business as usual’ and into a world where value‑hungry shoppers, margin‑squeezed retailers and AI‑mediated discovery are rewriting the rules of influence at shelf – both physical and digital.
What used to be three adjacent disciplines is rapidly becoming one connected commercial engine – plugged into retailer data, retail media, and AI‑driven decisioning.
Here’s what’s changed, and what it means for FMCG leaders.
1. Shopper Marketing: From “In‑Aisle Theatre” to Precision Value Delivery
Shopper marketing has undergone a quiet revolution. The shopper is back in‑store – but they’re not the same shopper we knew pre‑2023.
What’s changed:
- In‑store is back, but digital‑first: Physical grocery shopping has rebounded strongly, yet 70%+ of shoppers now use their phone during the shop – price‑checking, coupon‑redeeming, comparing value.
- Value beats loyalty: Money‑off mechanics are outperforming deferred rewards. Shoppers are more promotion‑sensitive, more promiscuous, and more willing to switch.
- AI is accelerating content and insight: CPGs are using AI to generate creative variations, localise messaging, and analyse shopper missions at speed – but only a minority have embedded it into their operating model.
What this means: Shopper marketing is no longer about “nice creative in aisle”. It’s about precision value delivery — right offer, right channel, right moment – powered by data and AI.
2. Trade Marketing: From Buying Volume to Influencing Algorithms
Trade marketing has arguably changed the most.
What’s changed:
- Retailer algorithms now shape demand: Search ranking, digital shelf placement, and recommendation engines increasingly determine which brands shoppers see first – often before they reach a physical shelf.
- Trade spend is shifting into retail media: Retail media is no longer a “marketing add‑on”. It’s a negotiation lever. Access to data, audiences and digital visibility is now part of the trade conversation.
- RGM + Trade are merging: Pricing, pack architecture, promo strategy and trade investment are being pulled into integrated decision systems – often AI‑supported.
What this means: Trade marketing has evolved from “buying volume with discounts” to co‑engineering the algorithm. The battleground is visibility in retailer ecosystems, not just case deals.
3. Customer Marketing: From JBP Decks to Always‑On Growth Partnerships
Customer marketing has expanded beyond its traditional remit.
What’s changed:
- Broader commercial ownership: Customer marketing teams are increasingly responsible for category strategy, insight, activation, and at times RGM too.
- JBPs are becoming data‑led growth platforms: Retailers and CPGs are co‑investing in loyalty ecosystems, test‑and‑learn programmes, and retail media – not just negotiating annual terms.
- AI‑supported collaboration: Both sides are experimenting with AI to simulate promo outcomes, optimise assortments and personalise offers to loyalty segments.
What this means: Customer marketing is shifting from “relationship management” to joint value creation – with data, media and insight at the centre.
4. The Blurring of Boundaries: One Connected Commercial Engine
The biggest shift? The lines between shopper, trade and customer marketing are dissolving.
Why:
- Shared data spine: Shopper insights, retailer loyalty data and internal analytics now feed the same decision systems.
- Retail media as the connective tissue: Funded by trade budgets, targeted using shopper data, governed through customer teams.
- Omnichannel planning becoming the norm: In‑store, digital shelf, retail media, promotions and category strategy are increasingly planned as one journey.
The result: What used to be three separate teams is becoming one integrated commercial growth function.
5. What “Great” Looks Like for the Next 12 Months
Here are the signals of maturity I’m seeing across high‑performing FMCG organisations:
- Unified measurement frameworks across shopper, trade and customer.
- Retail media embedded in JBPs, not bolted on.
- AI‑assisted promo and assortment planning as standard.
- In‑store and digital activations planned together, not in silos.
- Commercial teams reorganised around data, not channels.
What does this mean for Talent?
The evolution of shopper, trade and customer marketing isn’t just a capability shift, it’s a talent shift and businesses are now prioritising and seeking talent that have breadth across these areas.
The need for commercial data fluency, omnichannel planning, retail media expertise and strategic customer engagement has created a new type of commercial athlete who is part marketeer, part analyst, part category strategist, part RGM and part digital operator.