As a digital communications professional I like to take a step back from my day-to-day job of actually doing digital communications and look at FMI’s Food Retailing Industry Speaks with a practitioner’s eye. I like to look at the tactics my fellow communications professionals are pursing in their B2C efforts and examine what is working and what is not. I’ve shared my thoughts in previous blog posts, but I’ll be honest, today I’m a bit surprised by what I’m going to write.

Here’s some news: When shoppers are at home, they’re often staring at their computer screens to get information about the products they want BEFORE they hit your food retail aisles. Retail Dive tells us 67 percent of shoppers research products online before they head for your store. Another study points out that half of all Millennials use their phones in-store to research products they’re looking for.

This week, Hannah Walker, senior director, technology and nutrition policy, Food Marketing Institute, immersed herself in a digital shopper experience at the newest AmazonGo store in Chicago with Lee Foley, a member of the Amazon Public Policy team.

With our GM/HBC Committee partner, P&G, and research partners at Acosta, we looked at how retailers can invest in the untapped potential of these products.