1. Prioritize KPIs that improve performance
These numbers tell your organization what’s working and where to put your energy and resources, so it’s essential to focus your strategy on key performance indicators that directly impact profitability, such as digital share of the shelf, conversion rates, and product availability. Conducting regular strategic reviews of shopper behavior, product performance, and campaign effectiveness can help ensure that investments are aligned with evolving consumer needs.
For example, by monitoring out-of-stock alerts and taking immediate action, you can recover lost revenue while strengthening your brand’s credibility on digital channels. These practices allow leaders and teams to quickly identify areas for improvement and ensure that every decision supports both short-term results and long-term growth goals.
2. Coordinate cross-functional teams
As the digital commerce landscape evolves, organizations are realizing that digital commerce is no longer just a marketing and e-commerce responsibility, but spans sales, supply chain, insights, and brand management.
Aligning teams around shared goals and performance metrics fosters transparency, accountability, and collaborative execution. For example, dashboards and cross-functional scorecards help visualize each team’s contribution to overall digital performance and ensure that priorities are consistent across the enterprise.
At Hormel Foods, we recently completed a comprehensive digital shelf maturity assessment to pinpoint where we need to focus our resources and energy over the next year. This assessment clearly visualized priority areas for improvement. Armed with these insights, we are now establishing enterprise-level goals and key outcomes to align cross-functional teams and drive measurable progress.
In addition to cross-functional collaboration and coordination, leadership involvement is equally important. Executives don’t need to manage day-to-day activities, but they need timely, actionable insights to make informed strategic decisions that impact the broader organization. Seeing clear, measurable impact often encourages management to invest in initiatives like content optimization without getting hung up on operational details.
3. Establish a culture of testing and learning
Digital commerce is dynamic, with shopper behaviors, platform algorithms, and technology tools constantly evolving. Leading organizations embed a test-and-learn culture by testing new ideas, learning from results, and quickly iterating on actionable insights. For example, experiments such as adjusting pack sizes, improving product images, and optimizing search terms provide evidence-based direction for strategy and execution.
Equally important is building a culture that celebrates learning along with success. Establishing a forum to share results across teams fosters organizational learning, reduces repeat errors, and accelerates capacity building.
in hormel foodstrengthens a culture of testing and learning through a structured annual agenda that prioritizes experimentation and innovation. This agenda serves as a clear roadmap, ensuring focus and consistency throughout the year. Additionally, we regularly offer development sessions to challenge conventional thinking and inspire teams to adopt new approaches to driving results. Over time, this approach fosters both agility and confidence in large-scale decision making.
4. Leverage technology that aligns with consumer behavior
As the digital commerce landscape changes, so too will the technology across the industry. Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence can improve productivity and decision-making if applied carefully.
AI applications such as paid search optimization and improved content recommendations are now key, and the real differentiator is strategic deployment aligned with consumer behavior. For example, natural language search is changing the way shoppers find products.
Rather than typing in keywords, consumers are increasingly asking, “What’s the best snack for a road trip?” Not “Peanuts”. Ensuring that digital content is visible in these situations requires a proactive content strategy and smart application of AI to predict how consumers interact with the digital ecosystem.
The opportunity is not just to use AI, but to use it strategically to reach consumers wherever they are searching.
Put the shopper at the center
Above all, it’s clear that digital success starts with the shopper. Technology, analytics, and processes are enablers, but they are only effective based on a deep understanding of consumer needs, preferences, and expectations.
From digital content decisions to team structures and investments, when people know they can see real results from their digital efforts, they become champions and that mindset spreads throughout the organization.
By putting the shopper at the center, breaking down silos, investing wisely, giving teams room to maneuver, and adopting a test-and-learn approach, consumer goods brands can compete effectively on the digital shelf and ensure their products are chosen by consumers again and again.
Lisa Selk is senior vice president of branded fuels for Hormel Foods.
