IoT Connected Experience In Stores

The in-store shopping experience is going to continue to be more interactive.  Digital relationships are a must for the store of the future, happening today.

I first really jumped at this with BLE, bluetooth, interactions with smart phones and then smart watches.  That is still ongoing but there is a real opportunity to do it a different way and it appears Kroger is teaming up with Microsoft to do just that.

Read the story here:

https://www.mobilepaymentstoday.com/news/microsoft-kroger-to-test-connected-experience-grocery-stores-in-pilot/

Here is the blurb that should catch your eye:

Store associates will also be able to use the technology to speed up curbside pickup and Kroger will use the Edge technology to sell digital advertising space to consumer packaged goods brands, according to the release.

Thank to a few of the folks previously from MCX who pointed this piece out on LinkedIn.  You know who you are.  :-)

What we absolutely know is the impact the great recession, combined with ever-improving store brand generics is having on traditional consumer packaged goods. During a recession shoppers cut back.  They try out the store brand version of whatever CPG widget or food stuff they think suits them.  The quality of these has increased dramatically over the decades and the average consumer likes it, then never goes back to the more expensive "name brand" version.  CPGs are desperate to get customers back and they have huge advertising dollars to work with.  Enter the Edge technology system.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

BRotD - Entry 0264 Grocery App Usage Increase

Best Reading of the Day

Forbes.com has a great piece out about mobile apps and supermarkets.  That's something I know a little bit about as I led an effort for 3 years in that space.  They predict the apps will see a 50% increase in usage.  That is something else I know a little about having written a few papers on the subject.

Here is a snippet from the piece:

When the fridge is empty, and you are too tired to put on real clothes to go shopping, reaching for the phone to use a grocery app is an easy solution. You are not alone when you do this. According to a study from eMarketer, grocery app usage will grow by 50% this year, and 18 million Americans will order food this way. However, brick-and-mortar grocery stores are not going away and can take advantage of this industry shift.

Here is the whole story:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lanabandoim/2018/09/11/grocery-app-usage-will-grow-by-50-what-this-means-for-the-industry/#752a389164dd

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Amazon Acquires Whole Foods - What Does It Mean?

When the news broke that online retailer and all-around everything super-center Amazon was acquiring Whole Foods my instinct was to get straight to my blog.  I have thoughts on this, of course, but I also knew there would be a slew of industry leaders leaning in on this deal.  So I decided to wait a bit and gather the best articles in one place.

First, my thoughts.

Clearly Amazon wants to become more like Walmart as Walmart continues to try to be more like Amazon.

If I were to look in to the future of retail and how digital will ultimately impact it I think we'll see a new normal settled upon in the very near future.  Within that normal there will be room for all kinds of players so long as they define a clear space that differentiates them from others.  Pure online, pure mobile, pure physical retail, and everything in between will be the new reality.  The largest players will be heavy in physical AND digital, while smaller players will excel at only one or the other.

So Walmart might one day be 70/30 physical to digital and Amazon might become 30/70 physical to digital.  Something like that.  You'll still see the mom & pop shop on Main Street, and the little niche mobile-only player that gets the job done too.  Great time to be a customer huh?

The Food Marketing Institute back around 2012 was predicting roughly 10% of current Supermarket business would shift online.  Most of that, 80%, would be taken from packaged center store goods that were easily shipped and often good targets for subscription models (such as diapers).  Don't see any reason this prediction was off and that means big changes for Supermarkets across the country.  They are suddenly too large for their needs.  We should see stores removing aisles to make room for more fresh and prepared in-store options.  Combined with a robust digital presence the best Supermarket chains will survive and thrive (Wegmans).

Now to it and there is a lot of reading for you should you choose to do so.

RIS weighs in with their slew of experts:
https://risnews.com/experts-weigh-amazon-snatches-organic-grocer-whole-foods-137-billion

Re/Code tell you how to keep Amazon from swallowing your business too:
https://www.recode.net/2017/6/19/15832958/amazon-whole-foods-jeff-bezos-acquisition-aws-vendor-tips-cloud-open-source

RetailDive tells us how the war between Amazon and Walmart is accelerating:
http://www.retaildive.com/news/amazon-vs-walmart-why-the-whole-foods-deal-escalates-the-war-for-the-amer/445294/

Bloomberg tells us Amazon is after every single thing you buy (which is exactly what Walmart is after by the way):
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2017-06-20/amazon-s-real-target-isn-t-whole-foods-it-s-everything-you-buy

Digital Transactions tells us why Amazon is changing the checkout (payment) process with this acquisition:
http://www.digitaltransactions.net/news/story/With-Its-Deal-for-Whole-Foods_-Amazon-Could-Usher-in-Seismic-Change-for-the-Checkout

Business Insider is always a good read and they say Walmart and Kroger (supermarket) should be terrified by this deal:
http://www.businessinsider.com/amazons-whole-foods-acquisition-should-terrify-walmart-kroger-2017-6

Finally the NRF (National Retail Federation) tells us the retail reinvention is just getting started but also cautions against the belief that traditional retail is imploding (correct):
https://nrf.com/news/retails-reinvention-story-is-just-getting-started

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Grocery Delivery 2.0

Interesting approach:

http://www.retailleader.com/top-story-tech___logistics-coming_soon__grocery_delivery_2.0-6207.html

Here is a snippet of the news:

According to the Sacramento Bee, Instacart has teamed up with personalized nutrition service provider PlateJoy to offer same-day delivery of groceries tailored to individual nutrition requests.

That fits.  The hyper-personalization approach opens doors to anything imaginable.

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant

Grocery and the Digital Shopper

Great little read from the folks at FMI.

For the folks who don't know the Supermarket retail sector here is a quick note to help you.  "Grocery" is not the store you go to.  That is called a "Supermarket".  Grocery is all the stuff in boxes, bags, plastic or glass bottles, etc. in the center of the store.  Combine that with fresh produce, meats, deli and bakery and you get more than just a "Market" you get a "Supermarket".  Hard to order your fresh apples online, but easy to get that box of diapers.  Yes?  Yes.

Read the whole story here:

http://www.fmi.org/digital-shopper

Happy Reading,

J.W. Gant