This research is unlike any RSR has conducted in the past. While we have long maintained that merchandise planning has been more about what retailers and their suppliers want to sell than what consumers necessarily want to buy, consumers are increasingly vocal that this model no longer works for them. As a result, we elected to query both sides – retailers AND CPG providers – to find out their challenges, internal struggles and future plans in order to make real progress.

This report is the result of a survey of all involved, and seeks to answer questions about how retailers and CPG provider collaborate now to bring products to market. We wanted to understand the extent of product category managers’ current and future realities on both sides of the trading relationship. We also wanted to home in on how planners use technology, particularly geo-location data and analytics, to better localize and refine assortments, prices and promotions.

What did we find, and who’s to blame? Are retailers and suppliers in the fight to bring more relevant products to shoppers together? Or are they truly worlds apart?