Predictions in CPG industry that will define 2021

2020 was definitely a year of milestones. The pandemic of COVID 19 changed our everyday lives and forced us to accept the ”new normal”. 2021 and the following years will be the period of recovery.  Since a lot of things have changed for the CPG industry, especially digital adoption that has skyrocketed in the first three months of 2020 by the same amount it had in the previous ten years, 2021 is continuing with transformations which will be base for upcoming predictions.

Automatization of in-store execution

During the COVID-19 crisis, e-commerce has seen tremendous growth. But what happens to physical stores where CPG companies are placing their products? In 2020 and further in 2021 more and more CPG companies already started to work on the reinvention of in-store execution and product placement on shelves with the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning. Towards the end of this year, a great deal of the leaders in CPG will somehow automatize their business processes in the Retail segment with beneficial consequences such as monetization of their investment, expenses reduction, and sales increase.

The dramatic shift in consumer behavior

Lately, consumers’ habits are constantly changing, and the only solution to keep up with them will be the automation of existing performances in retail mentioned above. AI softwares that offer computer vision and big data analytics will be the main weapon to track situation in stores and identify consumers actions and track sales. This is a very important component since store shelves are often shoppers’ first point of interaction with products so how they are displayed can make or break the sale.

Revolution will make evolution

Although the period we are going through is unprecedented, the wide niche of CPG will have to scramble to install or adopt new technologies under intense pressure and this time of crisis. Some of the systems will show strong and some will come out clunky, but every problem needs to be taken as an opportunity to reconfigure and improve digital and omnichannel business models. To the extent that they do so, greater productivity will follow.