Convenient retail destinations that hero food are popping up everywhere, writes Nancy Truscott and Brooke Hankinson from Shopper Tracker Australia.
Arguably the most exciting part of our day is when we get to eat, snack or drink. I mean, you’re already thinking about when you get to eat next. What will it be? Where will you go to get it? Will it be easy to shop and meet your need?
Shopping is changing. Shoppers have more options and less time. We have seen a 23 per cent increase in shopping for the immediate need in the past 18 months. Delivering to the occasion is becoming more important for all channels. Quick ‘foodvenience’ solutions are key in today’s hectic environment.
Shoppers now buy and eat in new ways, which has evolved out-of-home on-the-go solutions. It’s about product and experience. Retailers need to differentiate the two to win. While we, as an industry, may delineate channels as P&C versus grocery versus QSR, our shoppers don’t. They are all convenient destinations, anchored in food to go. It started with coffee, but every day, new retail concepts that hero food are popping up everywhere.
The shopper challenge
What today’s customers are challenging the retailers with is authenticity. Customers want it fresh, made/delivered daily, healthy and nutritious without compromise on taste, and packaged conveniently without doing too much harm to the environment at a price point that is value for money.
The line between food-retail outlets and gastronomy is becoming increasingly blurred, with the emerging challenges of this environment raising questions such as which channel and/or retailers are winning share of wallet for meal occasions like breakfast, lunch and dinner? Where does snacking and beverages play a role?
Wining the ‘foodvenience’ shopper is not just limited to the P&C channel. QSR and grocery continue to evolve their offer, as do the P&C retailers.
How to win
Winning in ‘foodvenience’ is on every retailer’s and supplier’s mind. Traditional retailer roles are being challenged. Boots in the UK is a great example of pharmacy becoming a destination for ‘foodvenience’, with its sandwich lunch offer. What does this mean for the Australian landscape? What does this mean for the convenience channel? What does this mean for snacks, drinks or food companies? Who is competing for your share of stomach? From a retailer’s perspective, what categories do you focus on, who is stealing your shopper? There are implications and opportunities for all.
To understand how to win this important shopper, we firstly need to understand the shopper. What is their mission, why are they buying, who are they, where and when are they shopping for a solution?
In 2018, Shopper Tracker Australia has taken convenience to the next level. Our new state-of-the-industry report answers these questions and more. Our focus is on helping you understand not only your shopper, but also where else they go for solutions you deliver and where you focus to win with them. We will unlock the needs and motivations of the out-of-home, on-the-go, ‘foodvenience’ shopper and help you identify where to invest to win in the changing shopper landscape.
For more information, please contact Nancy Truscott Nancy.truscott@shoppertracker.com.au or Brooke Hankinson brooke.hankinson@shoppertracker.com.au.
About Shopper Tracker Australia
Shopper Tracker is a quantitative-measurement research program based on shopper interviews, covering all major categories and retailers in one benchmarking process. It provides objective, comparative data on what category shoppers want, and how satisfied they are at a category level in each retailer, together with a range of attitude and behavioural metrics.
