$2.5 Trillion Opportunity For Grocery Brands
More than $2.5 trillion is available for the opportunes globally as consumer behavior shifts more towards in-home dining. But, who will take a bite?
We know, COVID-19 pandemic has shifted behaviors. We also know, it has resulted in consumers becoming more health-conscious but at the same time struggling with controlled budget constraints. That has resulted in a lot of people becoming first-time buyers of groceries. And with so many people now preferring to eat at home, the opportunity is far-and-wide for those who act.
At the same time, being an online brand is not an option. It has become a necessity. Since consumers are now more open to experimenting and trying out multiple channels to order their groceries from.
Meal kit sales are up since the outbreak—as much as 40% to 60% over 2019 sales in developed markets.
Going by history, after a pandemic, some habits become permanent or are evident even after the crisis is over. For instance, after the SARS epidemic of China in 2003, e-commerce adoption observed exponential growth resulting in the built-up of one of the largest e-commerce ecosystems. So, here are some trends which open up the trillion-dollar opportunity for retailers worldwide.
The Ascension of Online Channels
Since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis, many e-commerce retailers have observed 100% YoY growth in orders in many regions across India. But, it’s easier said than done. Especially for retailers who have just started working towards building their online presence. Grocery retailers need to draft and follow a strategy to be able to build a robust operating plan that delivers profit and growth. The plan should cover everything from the development of an order accepting website/app to a dependable logistic channel & inventory management. At the same time, not to grow too fast. Instead, scale slow and being rigid.
Using Online Behaviour Data For Offline
Retailers can also use their geographical customer behavior data to understand and streamline many aspects of their businesses. For instance, having the know-how of customer purchasing behavior for different regions can help brands to optimize their inventory management efforts. This way, brands can minimize the losses due to fluctuation shocks. Retailers should remap their supplier networks, adding sufficient backups and redundancy to secure smooth product flows no matter the conditions. The data can be collected from POS and online ordering systems that the brand uses. Making it a strategy both offline-driven or online-driven brands can leverage.
Personalised Communication > Mass Communication
Time and time again, it has been proved, that if your care for your customers, they will be with your forever. The times of Mass Communication and Discounts is over. The consumer of today wants personalised discounts on the products they want with ads on channels they prefer. That is why it becomes important for brands to leverage data. Understand where your customers prefer to buy the product, what type of products they are looking for, and when they are most likely to buy, is it during month-start or mid-month.
Though these may sound simple, the tips in this email are the best way for any retailer to go move forward with right now. The complete landscape for every industry is changing at such a pace that brands can neither simply sit nor can risk doing something too bold. At a time like this, it’s best to play smart and focusing on keeping the sales and revenue coming.