Taking part in reviews is an important part of the purchasing journey for many of us. Smartson has generated honest reviews from test pilots in both beauty and home electronics for a long time. The market is now also paying attention to reviews for both food and FMCG - and we are very much looking forward to being a part of that journey.
Worldwide FMCG reviews
Several actors in the USA and UK are today leaders in online shopping and online recommendations for FMCG. Through surveys conducted by the Food Marketing Institute (FMI), you can see a development where online shopping has doubled in recent years and by 2022, it is expected that as many as 70 percent of US consumers buy some of their food online. In Sweden, you can see a change in the purchasing behaviour as more and more people place demands on quality, prices and the opportunity to shop online. Sweden and the UK are at the top of the leaderboard in Europe when it comes to buying food online and submitting reviews.
Kaveh Sabeghi, CMO and Co-founder at Matspar.se can clearly see an increased need for FMCG reviews in the market, given the growth of e-commerce in Sweden over the past year. More and more online services and logistics companies within FMCG are appearing, and they all work towards the same goal - to reduce delivery time and shipping costs. That also means that consumers now expect transparency on the internet, something they haven’t done before.
FMCG reviews in Sweden
Matspar.se collects food from different stores and allows the consumers to compare prices and read product reviews. We are incredibly proud to start a collaboration with Matspar.se, which will for the first time see us having online reviews in the FMCG segment. Sara Andersson, Digital Strategist at Smartson, sees this as a partnership that is right on time.
“It will be exciting to see the interest of our test pilots because you can see an increased need to be able to buy food online at low prices. That makes us at Smartson and Matspar.se perfect partners.”
Matspar.se is the first price comparison service for food in Sweden, in addition to the annual price service conducted by PRO. Through Matspar, the customer has the opportunity to compare the price of the products and order online from a nearby store. Thanks to their rating and review system, you as a customer know what you are getting, and you help other customers choose the right products through honest recommendations.
Kaveh Sabeghi says that their greatest loyalty is to consumers, but that their business model also helps other companies and brands reach consumers through advertising.
Reviews in other markets
Consumers are met daily with recommendations, whether it’s in the grocery shop or on social media. Both Matspar and Smartson’s business model have in common that they help consumers make smart choices in their purchasing journey, which is a good aspect to share in an initial collaboration, says Sara Andersson.
In our partnership with Matspar, we create a shopping experience for Smartson’s test pilots where they can try Matspar.se’s service in exchange for honest recommendations on social media. This type of strategy creates experiences that build trust and loyal customers, which in the long run increase revenue and conversions.
Studies continue to show that Word-of-Mouth marketing is the most effective way to build credibility and trust among consumers which in itself leads to a higher conversion rate.
“Matspar has always worked with credibility and transparency.”
Kaveh Sabeghi continues to talk about Matspar. “Our business concept focuses on meeting the needs of consumers in the market and we already know that product reviews linked to purchases are super important for many consumers, and offered in most industries. Within FMCG, the behaviour is in its infancy but is growing in step with the rapid growth of e-commerce. Given the transparency that the internet enables and that consumers demand, this is the right step to take and drive the reviews from one independent player like Smartson to another independent player.”
Interested in further talks about FMCG reviews? Let’s chat over a coffee: hello@smartson.se.