Making the most of the CPG omnichannel world: Part 2 – Emerging consumer touchpoints

The metaverse can play many different roles within a brand’s omnichannel strategy. Unlike a new pure-play retail opportunity, such as last-mile delivery, there are a myriad of options ranging from branding opportunities to digital points of sale connected with existing fulfillment options to net new sales channels. Across the opportunities, it will be important for CPGs to consider how the metaverse channel is connected to other channels across the consumer journey. Deloitte categorizes three ways companies might leverage the metaverse:³

• The Promoters will use the metaverse to advertise existing offerings and increase overall brand awareness (e.g., via virtual reality storefront or billboard).
• The Plussers will augment existing offerings (e.g., creating a metaverse storefront or visualizing products in consumers’ homes).
• The Pioneers will architect new offerings (e.g., determining net new ways that consumers will interact with your brand in 20 years).

A test-and-learn approach can help CPGs decide and enhance their omnichannel strategy over time as CPGs can experiment with what types of digital products elicit strong consumer engagement and/or what meets their metaverse goals.

CPGs have a great opportunity in the metaverse as their products are easily consumable and shareable across virtual and non-virtual worlds. There are opportunities to provide fully virtual experiences, such as advertisements or product purchases within virtual worlds. In addition, there are hybrid opportunities where consumers can buy products in both the physical and virtual worlds. CPGs can continue using the metaverse to build their convenience value proposition by making it easy to engage with products or purchase additional products virtually and physically.

CPGs will determine how to invest in creating unique digital experiences distinctive to the metaverse using digital wallet integrations, digital asset management, and digital channel management. Enabling this channel will require an assessment of current capabilities and adjustments to fit needs—potentially including investing in new technology platforms, operating model adjustments, upskilling, and training. Given that the metaverse is still a nascent channel, CPGs may need to leverage partners to develop new capabilities. For example, CPGs can partner with retailers who are already building their metaverse presence. Some retailers have started collaborating with gaming companies to create virtual supermarket experiences where consumers can shop for their avatars. CPGs can work with retailers to position their brands effectively in virtual shopping experiences.

To fully enable these capabilities, strategic roles, and partnerships, CPGs can strategically plan their operating model. As metaverse is a new channel that leverages cutting-edge research, current teams may have limited familiarity and expertise with this space. A centralized digital team structure may be beneficial to quickly adopt new technology platforms and upskill digital resources. Alternatively, a decentralized team may be beneficial to create stronger collaboration across key teams such as marketing, sales, and commerce. Across both options, it is critical that CPG teams maintain an omnichannel lens and build consistent, cross-channel messaging and consumer experiences.