Reaching Shoppers at Every Stage of the Funnel with Chicory
The way consumers shop for groceries has changed. They no longer wait until they’re inside a store to decide what to buy—shopping starts the moment they begin meal planning, building grocery lists, and seeking inspiration.
Brands that rely solely on retailer-controlled environments may be missing key moments in the shopping journey. This explains why some brands like Tillamook are looking to contextual commerce media solutions to fill that gap.
Chicory’s contextual commerce solutions help brands meet consumers before, during, and after their shopping trip, ensuring products are visible in the moments that matter. Let’s explore how brands and retailers can reach shoppers in each stage of their journey.
Pre-Shop: Inspiring and List-Building
The consumer journey often begins before they even step foot in a store or open an app. During this phase, shoppers seek meal inspiration and plan their grocery lists. Our State of Online Recipes Report found that 91% of consumers use online recipes to discover new meals, plan shopping trips, and explore different brands.
In fact, online recipes inspire pre-shop consumers in a number of ways. Check out these additional findings from our report:
Chicory seamlessly integrates brands into this browsing experience through shoppable recipe ads, allowing consumers to add ingredients directly to their digital carts.
In a report conducted with the Winterberry Group and Mars United Commerce, we reinforced that engaging consumers before they enter a retailer’s ecosystem is key to driving intent. Contextual commerce media enables brands to capture demand at the earliest stages of shopping by placing products where consumers naturally browse.
Instead of waiting for shoppers to search within a retailer’s platform, brands can proactively influence decision-making by embedding themselves in high-intent moments, like when consumers are exploring recipes for meal and grocery inspiration.
Mid-Shop: Influencing Real-Time Decision Making
Once consumers are in-store or actively shopping online, their decisions become more immediate.
Our State of Online Recipes Report shows that 75% of shoppers use their mobile devices to look up recipes while shopping. It’s critical that brands are visible during this moment of real-time inspiration, and guide shoppers toward relevant products.
By integrating product recommendations directly into recipe content, Chicory ensures that brands are part of the consumer’s real-time decision-making process.
Again, this underscores how important it is to reach shoppers beyond retailer-controlled environments.
Brands that prioritize RMNs as their primary ad environment might not be reaching full potential when it comes to reaching new and lapsed shoppers.
Contextual commerce media solutions help brands reach consumers in the mid-shop stage—driving incremental sales in a helpful, integrated way.
Post-Shop: Cooking, Sharing, and Future Planning
The journey doesn’t end once the groceries are purchased. Consumers turn to recipes to prepare meals, share experiences, and plan future shopping trips.
By embedding relevant products into recipe content, Chicory creates opportunities for brands to drive repeat purchases and long-term brand loyalty.
Contextual commerce solutions don’t just drive immediate conversions. By continuing to provide relevant content post-purchase, brands can strengthen their relationship with consumers and encourage brand loyalty.
Ultimately, shoppers will continue to turn back to relevant content for their meal planning and grocery list building, and recipe inspiration needs.
Conclusion: Reaching Shoppers in the Moments That Matter
Consumers aren’t making shopping decisions in just one place—they move between inspiration, research, shopping, and cooking. If brands aren’t visible at every stage of the journey, they risk missing out on high-intent moments throughout various points of the purchase journey.
By integrating contextual commerce media into their advertising strategy, brands can engage consumers before they start shopping, influence them mid-shop, and remain top-of-mind post-purchase.
