9 min read
9 min read
The customer journey in the consumer goods industry is the path a shopper follows from the moment a need appears, through discovery, consideration and purchase at the shelf or online, to using the product and recommending it. Because the brand rarely owns the point of sale, CPG companies must design that journey across retailers, media and digital channels together.
The consumer goods industry, also called CPG (consumer packaged goods), represented 635 billion dollars in the United States in 2019, according to industry estimates. The United States is home to the industry's leading companies and has the largest consumer goods market. Its economic weight is larger still. A study by PwC for the Grocery Manufacturers Association estimated that the industry contributes about $2 trillion to US GDP and supports 20.4 million jobs. For leaders in this sector, small gains in conversion at the shelf or in repurchase translate into very large numbers.
The industry covers a long list of sectors, which opens market opportunities for both large and small companies. Examples include food, beverages, clothing, tobacco, makeup and household products, and leading players include Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble and Nestlé.
In a world where consumer expectations keep evolving, understanding the customer journey has become a strategic necessity for consumer goods companies. More than an interaction map, it is an opportunity to connect with customers at every stage, anticipate their needs and build lasting relationships. The industry faces specific challenges, from fragmented touchpoints to growing demand for personalization, and the companies that design consumer-centric strategies gain a clear competitive advantage. This article explains each stage of the journey in CPG and how to turn every touchpoint into a growth opportunity.
Picture the annual joint business planning session between a beverage manufacturer and its largest supermarket customer. The brand arrives with a presentation about a new campaign and a record of social media engagement. The buyer on the other side of the table asks about something different, which is why the brand's flagship product sat out of stock on a third of the shelves during the holiday week and how the product page on the retailer's app compares with that of a private label. The marketing team has invested for months in the first stage of the journey while the sale was lost at the fourth. The conversation changes tone, because everyone realizes that the journey belongs to the shopper, and the shopper does not distinguish between marketing, logistics and trade.
Four traits make the customer journey in CPG different from other industries:
These traits explain why the journey must be designed jointly for two customers, the shopper who buys and the retailer or distributor who decides what reaches the shelf.
A differentiating factor among companies that want to compete in this market is their relationship with the customer. This is where the Customer Journey Map comes into play for any company that wants to improve its customers' experience. To illustrate it, consider the journey of any customer in a supermarket.
The customer journey begins long before the customer sees a product on the shelf of the nearest supermarket. The first thing to understand is why the customer wants to buy that product in the first place, which inbound marketing calls identifying the customer's need.
The need can be seasonal, that is, the customer buys at specific times such as holidays or events like Christmas. Even so, these moments are limited, and much of the time companies must proactively create the need.
To explain the stages of the journey in the CPG industry, it is important to specify the channels where the need first arises. These channels are:
These channels matter because the customers of this industry are as diverse as the channels that bring them into the awareness stage. This stage is critical in the customer journey, because if a customer does not know you exist, they cannot buy your product.
Once customers enter the consideration stage, they actively weigh options to meet their need. In CPG this stage is much shorter than, for example, when buying a car. That is why it is important for your product to appear in Google searches, including local searches known as "near me" queries.
In essence, these are the search engine's recommendations to potential customers of your product, and you should take action to improve your position in them. In practice, that means accurate product information, availability by store, ratings and reviews, and a consistent presence on the retailers' own websites and apps.
The third stage is the purchase itself. The point of purchase is the moment the customer interacts with your product and decides to buy it. In 2005, Procter & Gamble labeled this phase the first moment of truth, and it is vital to the customer journey. A good experience at this moment and in subsequent purchases is essential for your customer.
For a CPG executive, the decision stage depends on levers that are often negotiated with retailers rather than owned by the brand, such as shelf space, price and promotion, packaging, availability and the product page on e-commerce sites. A missing product or a confusing price at this moment can erase the effect of everything invested in awareness.
The second moment of truth is when the customer finally tries your product. This post-purchase moment is often accompanied by a search for how to use the product correctly. Customers usually look for information on:
In this industry, the most important questions at this stage are how the product performed and whether the price matches its ingredients or taste. The answers will determine whether the customer buys again.
To understand how this differs from a digital product's path, see Difference between Customer Journey and User Journey.
Advocacy closes the cycle. If your customer's journey is well defined and their experience is satisfying, they will do everything possible to get family, friends and acquaintances to buy your product. Your customer base grows and your product's reputation benefits. It is at this stage that customers become long-term customers.
The traditional funnel assumed that shoppers start with many brands and narrow them down to one. Research on the consumer decision journey shows a different pattern. McKinsey found that brands in the initial consideration set can be up to three times more likely to be purchased, that consumers often add brands during evaluation rather than removing them, and that up to 40% of consumers change their minds in the store because of what they see, learn or do there.
For consumer goods companies, these findings have three practical implications:
Digital channels add new loops on top of the physical one. A shopper may discover a product on social media, check reviews on a retailer's app, buy it in store and later reorder it online. Leaders need a single view of that path, even when the touchpoints belong to different partners.
The five stages apply to the whole industry, but the weight of each one differs by category. In snacks and beverages, purchases are frequent and often impulsive, so availability, visibility at the point of sale and price promotion carry the most influence. A brand in this space wins or loses at the shelf and in the refrigerator door, and its digital effort is justified largely by how well it drives shoppers to look for the product once they are in the store.
In personal care and beauty, consideration is longer and more emotional. Shoppers read reviews, watch tutorials and ask friends before trying a new product, and the experience stage includes the question of whether it worked for their skin or hair. Brands in this category depend on credible content, ratings and the willingness of satisfied users to recommend the product.
In household cleaning and baby products, trust and habit dominate. Parents who find a diaper or formula that works rarely change, which makes the first purchase decisive and the cost of a poor first experience very high. In these categories, the sampling programs, pediatrician endorsements and consumer service that answer questions quickly are among the most valuable parts of the journey. Seen together, the categories show that a single journey map for an entire company is rarely enough, and that the best results come from designing the journey for each category and shopper segment.
The stages above can be turned into a management view that connects each moment with the levers and indicators the leadership team controls:
| Stage | Key levers | Indicators to watch |
|---|---|---|
| Awareness | Media mix, content, influencers, seasonal campaigns | Reach in target segments, brand awareness |
| Consideration | Search presence, product information, ratings and reviews | Search visibility, product page views, review scores |
| Decision | Availability, shelf and digital shelf, price and promotion | Out-of-stock rate, conversion, price realization |
| Experience | Product quality, usage guidance, consumer service | Complaints, satisfaction, repurchase intent |
| Advocacy | Loyalty programs, community, user content | Repurchase rate, recommendations, share of wallet |
Mastering the customer journey in consumer goods is not just about mapping interactions but also understanding emotions, needs and expectations at every touchpoint. Brands that prioritize a customer-centric strategy stand out in a crowded market by delivering smoother, more personalized and memorable experiences.
Harnessing data, technology and automation is essential to optimizing every stage, from discovery to loyalty, so that each interaction adds value and strengthens the relationship with consumers. For a deeper look at the loyalty side, read Improving customer loyalty through a superior CX in consumer goods.
For the executive committee, these considerations mean treating the journey as a shared commercial responsibility rather than a marketing exercise. A CEO who asks for a single view of the shopper's path, from awareness to repurchase, will find that supply chain, sales, trade marketing and consumer service each hold a piece of it. A CFO can make the case more concrete by linking lost sales from out-of-stocks and weak digital shelf execution to the media investment that created the demand in the first place. A chief commercial officer, finally, is well placed to bring retail partners into the discussion, since many of the most valuable improvements require joint plans on assortment, promotion and data sharing. The trade-off to acknowledge is that retailers hold much of the data, and sharing it requires negotiation and trust built over several planning cycles.
To structure the work, use the Customer Journey toolkit, which helps your team map stages, touchpoints and opportunities for each shopper segment.
Starting on Monday can be quite simple. Take the product that matters most to the next quarter and follow it through the journey as a shopper would, searching for it online, finding it in a store, buying it and then looking for guidance on how to use it. Photograph the shelf, capture the product page, and read the last twenty consumer comments and complaints. Bring those materials to the next commercial meeting and ask each function what it would change first. The exercise costs very little, creates a shared and concrete picture of the experience, and usually reveals at least one fix that can be implemented within weeks.
ICX Consulting works with consumer products and food and beverage companies to connect the shopper journey with commercial strategy. We map journeys through customer journey mapping, align trade, pricing and promotion decisions with our pricing and revenue management practice, and design loyalty and service models that bring consumers back. Methodologies such as ICX Compass turn those insights into owners, metrics and a roadmap.
Do you know where shoppers are dropping out of your category's journey? Request a diagnostic with an ICX consultant.
A retailer owns the store and most of the shopping experience, while a CPG brand competes inside that store for attention, space and price perception. The brand must therefore influence moments it does not control, which requires joint plans with retailers, strong shopper insight and a presence in the digital channels where consumers search and compare.
Yes, increasingly. Loyalty programs, recipe and usage content, consumer service channels, subscriptions and direct-to-consumer sales give brands first-party data and a direct conversation. The goal is not to replace retail partners but to understand consumers better and use that insight across every channel.
Start where the data shows the largest loss. For many brands that is the decision stage, because out-of-stocks, poor shelf placement or weak product pages waste demand that marketing already created. For others it is the experience stage, where product or service issues prevent repurchase.
The future of the customer journey in consumer goods belongs to brands that adapt to new trends and deliver experiences aligned with ever-changing expectations. An effective strategy improves the experience and drives growth and profitability at the same time. If you want to find the moments that matter most in your category, talk to an ICX consultant.
To see how a journey welcomes and retains customers after the first purchase, read Welcome aboard: Customer Journey (CX).
Leonardo González : Aug 25, 2025
ICX Consulting, a customer experience and commercial strategy consultancy, sees improving customer loyalty through a superior CX in consumer goods as...
Jorge Sánchez : Jun 02, 2025
Elevating the customer experience in the food and beverage industry means managing every moment of the consumer's relationship with a brand, from...
Aileen Pierce : Jun 05, 2025
Retailers should apply the customer journey because they own the last and most visible link of the commercial chain. Mapping how shoppers discover,...
/ICX_Insights%20content/Folder%20icon%20for%20insights.svg)
/ICX_Insights%20content/Folder%20celeste.svg)
/ICX_Insights%20content/Print%20gris.svg)
/ICX_Insights%20content/Print%20celeste.svg)
/ICX_Insights%20content/Share%20icon.svg)
/ICX_Insights%20content/Share%20celeste.svg)
/ICX_Insights%20content/Subscribe%20icon.svg)
/ICX_Insights%20content/Subscribe%20celeste.svg)
/ICX_Insights%20content/Start%20Here%20icon.svg)
/ICX_Insights%20content/Start%20here%20celeste.svg)