Grocers need to stay ahead of the curve or lose serious market share

In the latest sign of the times, according the Charlotte, NC Observer on Feb 16th, “For the first time, the Charlotte market’s leading grocer by sales isn’t a grocery store at all – at least, not exclusively. It’s Walmart.”  As the economy continues to trudge along and people continue to fear for their jobs, their 401k plans and making the mortgage, it’s no wonder that people are flocking to Walmart to get screaming deals.  At the end of the day, the Campbell’s soup at Walmart is exactly the same as the one at your favorite store and at HALF the price.  Walmart is just one example of what progressive companies do in tough times.  They grow. They may not be loved by everyone, but they are suddenly the biggest grocery store in country? They cater to the masses and they may even lose some profit along the way but make up for it in a new customer base and moving higher volumes.  Both of those make for a good retailer for the manufacturer looking for the best portal to sell their product and price it accordingly.  FMI, NGA and Progressive Grocer, all offer great innovative ideas and should be read by the industry insiders daily. All of that being said, what can your company do right now to engage your customers without the ridiculous “buy 5 boxes of cereal and pay only $1.25 ea.”  Here are the suggestions of SmartyMarket.com.

One- Become an internet magnet and allow your customers to shop online more efficiently.

Two- Innovate inside your store.

Three- Partner with your retailers on both sides of your store and inside your parking lot and become a destination for the family rather then being used as an afterthought or last minute item store. Heck Costco serves up hot dogs and a drink for $1.50.  That seems pretty simple to duplicate.  I am not sure you can trademark something like that.  Don’t get greedy.  But that is simple and another reason to get more business to your store from the lunch crowd living on a budget.

Let’s look at the first suggestion.  The internet growth is undeniable.  There are many variables to making a successful website. First and foremost, identify your end customer. Then, put yourself in their shoes.  I am sure all of your executives out there have been on the internet.  Well what do you like about websites you always visit? I’ll tell you.  You like to be on a site and be quickly engaged and get what you came for and get off the site.  So why are most of the major stores filling their homes pages with needless, wasteful and frustrating content.  I have visited hundreds of grocery specific sites in the past 12 months and most have no pricing, have complicated product tree’s, and just way too much going on with that first screen shot.  Simplify.  Engage your customer.  What can you help them find.  Too many of the sites are “screaming” at the customers.

Two-Innovate inside your store.  You have engaged them on the website and maybe you don’t offer home delivery(which I still think is wayyyyyy down the chain of wants from the customer), so the customer needs to come in. That is great! So, why don’t you steal a page from Walmart and get someone to thank the person for coming. Maybe the Store Manager, or a bagger.  I have been in and out stores and never got a hello.  That being said, the ones I love to go to, have a great friendly staff and one in particular has the store manager ALWAYS roaming the aisles greeting and talking to the customers.   That is not to complicated and can be done today. As far as true innovation, what about a recipe kiosk, or an automatic product finder(for the store that can’t afford extra personnel on the floor), maybe a Vizio TV broadcasting something that will keep your customer in the store longer and give you more value.

Three- You want to really help your customers out right now in this economy.  Why not offer a collective saving at the corner Gas Station, the nearby restaurant, and the hair salon.  None of these places compete, they are all in most grocery store parking lots and 90% of your customers would use a discount to these fundamental services.  Talk about being a value add to the community.  how far would this good will go when the next Big Box drops in a 200,000 sq ft store in your neighborhood.  I think one of the problems grocery stores have had is getting comfortable.  I would say to Store management, take off your name badge and walk around the store and throw out a comment like, “boy, can you believe the price of this cereal?”, and see what the mom says to you standing in the aisle.  You might get out of the aisle in 30 minutes if you’re lucky. Heck Costco serves up hot dogs and a drink for $1.50. That is simple and another reason to get more business to your store from the lunch crowd living on a budget. You may not be able to lower your prices, but don’t be shocked when you see fewer customers because your failed to innovate.

Above are all ideas just to get you more engaged and creative.  There are some fabulous stores out there doing some wonderful things. Another idea, how about registering your boss on the TV program ” Undercover Boss“.  That would make for great press!

SmartyMarket.com firmly believes that we can provide a valuable service by not only comparing prices between stores, but by being that third-party non affiliated business partner, we can DRIVE business to the stores.  With an assortment of engaging techniques, and technical applications, your store can reach your customers once a week, but daily, and not just YOUR customers, but ALL the customers in your footprint.  Email us today for further discussions and say hello to your very next customer that walks through the door!

SM

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