Richard J. George, Ph.D.

P&G Opens eStore to the Public

May 20, 2010

FROM RETAILWIRE:
Back in January, a Procter & Gamble spokesperson told The Wall Street Journal that the consumer packaged goods giant was looking at its new eStore pilot project as a "learning lab." What, if anything, does P&G's eStores and other manufacturer online ventures mean for the future of consumer packaged goods sales to consumers?      [more...]

P&G may be the leader but I expect many CPG companies to follow quickly. By 2014 (not too distant) the prediction is that over 50% of our purchases will either be made online and/or influenced by the Internet.

If the center of the store, where P&G plays, is not dead yet, it certainly is on life support. If you are a center of store product you will need new venues to engage and to sell to the customers who venture less frequently into these canyons of the "bricks & mortar" outlets.

Social media has allowed firms to listen to and to dialog with customers. However, to date, little has been done to complete the transaction at the time of customer interaction. P&G is the first wave of what I expect to be an opening floodgate.