During my many years as a supermarket retailer I saw my share of panic buying related to natural disasters like blizzards and hurricanes. Like many, I lived through the 9/11 crisis and its impact. But I have never experienced anything like what we are currently going through.
I’ve talked with many people across the supply chain these past few days, from brand manufacturers to distributors to retailers. I have been in our local stores seeking supplies but also watching how retailers are responding to a never-before environment.
While healthcare workers are always thought of as the front lines in a pandemic like we are experiencing, it is just as true that the workers in supermarkets and drug stores are equally on the front lines. The commitment by people across the massive grocery industry to serve the people in their communities during this crisis is to be commended. They don’t have to be there - they can stay home like many others, taking care of their families, and self-quarantining. But these store workers are unselfishly putting themselves on the front line of the coronavirus battle, realizing that feeding and providing needed supplies for their communities is as important as the doctors and nurses caring for the ill.
When the current crisis abates - and it will - I believe the retail industry can step back to realize what it has accomplished….
When a customer enters your store for alcohol, they have an idea of what they’re going to pay. They are loyal to your location and watch advertisements, or they have visited a competitor and purchased the same product at their store. Either way, they have a price they expect to pay and won’t accept buying a case of beer for more than they anticipated. So, if your customers won’t accept a variance in what they expect to pay for alcohol, neither should you.
In the grocery space…
A significant trend in grocery marketing and the merchandising of grocery products has been the widening chasm of strategies between the traditional Retailer and Consumer Package Goods (CPGs) in how they market and sell to the consumer. This chasm is not created by diverging goals, as both are working towards getting closer to the consumer, but at the pace at which the use of new technologies and engagement techniques are being deployed. Studies now show…
For a long time, the grocery industry was a major holdout on the move to ecommerce. Most grocers lacked the resources to make online grocery buying as convenient and satisfying as in-person shopping, and it was easy to assume that it couldn't be done.
Those assumptions are still holding the industry back. As of early 2019, only 3% of sales in the grocery retail sector happened online – compared to around 10% for all retail sectors. Online grocery has…
In food service retail, the adage “convenience is king” still rings true. What has changed is the understanding of — and associated expectations for — what it means to be convenient. Gone are the days of location being the primary factor in whether a food service retailer is a convenient place to shop. On-demand culture, gig economy vendors, and rapidly-evolving technology have vastly impacted consumer expectations for their retail experiences.
True convenience means getting exactly what you want instantly. It means…
