Why Offline-to-Online Consumer Journeys Demand a Different Strategy to Online Product Discoveries

In the food and beverage industry, consumer journeys are increasingly diverse. While online consumers discovering a brand for the first time interact at their leisure, offline consumers those transitioning online via tools like product QR codes operate in entirely different contexts.

For offline consumers, the shift from a physical product in-hand to an online experience is not about exploration but validation. Their needs, shaped by the immediacy of their environment, demand a tailored strategy one that a Connected Packaging Platform (CPP) or smart packaging solution is uniquely designed to deliver.

Understanding Online Consumer Journeys in Food & Beverage

The online journey is marked by discovery. It often begins with a consumer encountering a social media ad, a recommendation from an influencer, or a visit to your website. These consumers are in a relaxed state and have the time to engage deeply with your brand.

• Environment: Online consumers are scrolling on the couch, waiting in line, or browsing during a quiet moment.
• Behaviour: They explore your homepage, learn your brand story, and compare products. They’re open to being pitched with offers like buy-now discounts or bundle offerings from e-commerce-optimized experiences.

This leisurely engagement is about curiosity and connection, serving as a contrast to the offline-to-online consumer’s journey, which is rooted in immediacy and a need for verification of the product they already hold in their hand.

The Offline-to-Online Consumer Journey: Validation in Context

Offline consumers begin their journey in a retail environment, physically interacting with your product. Unlike online consumers, their actions are driven by the need for immediate answers, and their entry into the online space via a connected QR code must serve this purpose seamlessly, offering clarity on the many things they may be seeking validation for without pigeonholing their experience into a single category.

At Orijin Plus, we’ve identified two distinct offline-to-online consumer types:

1. The In-the-Moment Shopper

This consumer is standing in the grocery aisle, weighing their options. They’ve picked up your product but haven’t yet committed to buying it. The QR code becomes their tool for validating claims like:

• “Is this product genuinely certified organic?”
• “Was it made locally, or what does sustainably sourced even mean?”
• “Can I trust the certification logos displayed on this packaging?”
• “Is this free from XYZ?”

This is a decisive moment. Orijin Plus data reveals that when a QR code directs shoppers to a generic homepage instead of product-specific content, the bounce rate averages under 6 seconds. Equally disruptive is a DTC-focused digital packaging experience that overlooks their immediate need for validation especially when they already have the product in their hand. These shoppers are often just five meters from checkout, and irrelevant content like ecommerce discounts only frustrates them. This disconnect can quickly push them back to picking up a competitor’s product they are already comfortable buying, positioned right next to yours.

Further to this, a QR code optimized for online sales can annoy retail category buyers, who take the risk of stocking your product at their store. They expect the QR code to enhance the shopper’s confidence in-store, not redirect them to your own online sales or offer discounts. A well-balanced offline-to-online journey does not need to hide the availability of DTC but must prioritize answering the consumer’s immediate questions while subtly introducing online options respecting the buyer holding the product in their hand and the retailer stocking your product.

2. The Post-Purchase Validator

This consumer engages with your packaging after buying the product, often at home. Perhaps they’re at their kitchen table or unpacking groceries when a claim like “certified organic” or “sustainably sourced” catches their attention. They scan the QR code for a variety of reasons: to verify the claim, understand what a certain attribute logo actually means, enter a competition, or explore additional details.

This moment of validation is pivotal. For many consumers, one positive experience is enough to eliminate doubts and turn them into lifelong loyal customers who may even recommend your product, saying, “I buy XYZ because they at least show me…”

Don’t aspire to have consumers needing to scan your product every time for validation, aim to delight them on their first scan. Empower them with the knowledge that your brand is truly different, one that substantiates its claims. Empowering through visibility and the ability to verify is the key differentiator that consumers value.

Enhancing Offline-to-Online Consumer Journeys with Connected Packaging Platforms

Meeting the unique needs of offline consumers requires a tailored approach, and a Connected Packaging Platform (CPP) is purpose-built to address these challenges. These platforms combine advanced traceability systems, dynamic QR code experiences, and consumer engagement tools, offering far more depth than traditional websites or e-commerce solutions.

A superior CPP simplifies product and ingredient traceability throughout your supply chain, delivers transparency at both product and batch levels, and provides tools to serve bespoke, real-time content into live QR codes. CPPs also integrate features like loyalty rewards and competitions, supported by management and analytics tools that turn consumer insights into actionable marketing strategies.

Key Features of Connected Packaging Platforms

• Comprehensive Traceability Systems: Collect supply chain data seamlessly using mobile app’s, GPS trackers and leverage technologies like GS1 2D barcodes and GS1 Digital Links to display certifications, sourcing details, and sustainability claims at the batch level.
• Dynamic QR Code Journeys: Tailor every scan to deliver product-specific, real-time content that answers consumer questions instantly while leaving room for engagement features like competitions and loyalty programs.
• Integrated Consumer Engagement Tools: Run receipt-validated promotions, offer targeted incentives, and design on-pack competitions all supported by robust analytics to refine marketing efforts and grow ROI.
• Holistic Transparency Solutions: Empower brands to substantiate claims and demonstrate accountability with clarity, building consumer trust and loyalty in competitive markets.

These tools empower brands to provide transparency, build trust, and stand out in their category.

Orijin Plus: Built by a Food Brand, for Food Brands

At Orijin Plus, we know the challenges food and beverage brands face in connecting with offline consumers because we’ve been there. As a food brand, we struggled to:

• Communicate traceability and transparency effectively.
• Build trust in competitive retail environments.
• Connect with end consumers without direct access to them.

These experiences inspired us to develop a Connected Packaging Platform that empowers brands to:

• Provide instant, product-specific information that builds trust.
• Engage consumers through loyalty programs, competitions, and promotions.
• Gain actionable insights into offline consumer behavior, refining marketing strategies and driving growth.

What started as an internal solution has grown into a platform that transforms consumer journeys and helps brands win market share through transparency and tailored engagement.

FAQs

1. Why do offline-to-online consumer journeys require a tailored strategy?
Offline consumers interact with your product in a retail setting, holding a product in their hand, transitioning online for validation. Their decision-driven needs require targeted, product-specific, and even batch-level content delivered instantly.

2. How do Connected Packaging Platforms provide traceability?
CPPs use tools like mobile applications to simplify supply chain data collection and leverage GS1 2D barcodes and GS1 Digital Links to deliver instant access to certifications, sourcing details, and sustainability claims.

3. What are the two types of offline-to-online consumers?
The first is the in-the-moment shopper, scanning in-store to validate claims and make a purchase decision. The second is the post-purchase validator, scanning at home to confirm claims and build trust in the brand.

4. How do CPPs engage consumers beyond validation?
CPPs enable tools like receipt-validated loyalty programs, interactive competitions, and promotions, turning packaging into a gateway for deeper consumer connections.

5. Why shouldn’t QR codes lead to e-commerce pages?
Redirecting offline consumers to DTC e-commerce pages optimized for discounts disrupts their in-store decision-making process, potentially frustrating both consumers and retailers. A well-balanced offline-to-online journey does not need to hide the availability of DTC but must prioritize answering the consumer’s immediate questions while subtly introducing online options.

Social Media Captions

1. "Offline-to-online journeys demand trust, not distractions. See how connected packaging empowers consumers and builds transparency. #FoodTraceability #ConnectedPackaging"
2. "Turn packaging into a gateway for trust. Discover the tools that redefine offline-to-online consumer engagement. #GS12DBarcodes #Transparency"
3. "Bridge offline and online seamlessly with connected packaging tools that engage, validate, and transform. #ConnectedPackagingPlatform #FoodTraceability"

‍