Grocery And Convenience Store IT News For VARs — December 16, 2013
By Anna Rose Welch, Editorial & Community Director, Advancing RNA
In this week’s news, a study shows CPG executives are underestimating consumer expectations and intent to purchase online. Also, research shows online shopping is boosting grocery chain sales, and c-store penetration increased in Q3.
CPG Industry Missing Out On Digital Commerce Opportunities
In the first of its two-part study, “Digital Commerce in the Supermarket Aisle,” Deloitte has found that consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies could benefit from digital channels. In interviewing CPG executives and consumers, Deloitte discovered that consumer expectations and intent to purchase goods online far exceeds executives’ expectations. While execs only expect to see 35 percent growth in online sales in the next year, consumers expect their online purchases to increase by 67 percent. The study also reveals that only 43 percent of CPG execs believe their company has a clear digital commerce strategy. Developing a digital strategy is key for the CPG industry, considering 41 percent of CPG consumers neither like nor dislike shopping at supermarkets for CPG products. These shoppers in particular are more likely to consider e-commerce, and because of this, CPG clients should be doing all they can to reach out to these consumers.
Research Suggests Online Grocery Sales Raise Profits
Brick Meets Click interviews Dr. Andrea Pozzi about his current research into the impact of online sales on brick and mortar sales. Pozzi’s study, which focused on a major U.S. supermarket that introduced online sales, reveals that online shopping brought about new sales for the chain. Furthermore, the rate at which these sales were accrued was twice what was lost to cannibalization, suggesting that online sales can pay for its implementation costs. In addition to discussing some of the factors that encouraged this retailer’s online success, Pozzi also discusses the characteristics of early and fast online shopping adopters.
C-Store Penetration Increasing
The NPD Group reports that there was a rebound in c-store penetration in the quarter ending September 2013. The percentage of individuals that purchased gas and other c-store products in an average 30-day purchase increased 55.5 percent. These increases are being attributed to the steadier gas prices, as well as discount rewards and loyalty programs. Overall, the third quarter was a strong one for the c-store industry in terms of traffic, which saw a 1 percent increase in total product purchase visits.
Hispanic Smartphone Owners Likely To Take Advantage Of Mobile
Convenience Store News discusses the results of a new shopping analysis performed by Experian Marketing Services. The study reveals that Hispanic adults more frequently visit retailer websites, and a large amount (54 percent) of these visits are conducted on smartphones. This demographic could be particularly interested in c-store mobile offerings, considering that Hispanic smartphone owners are twice as likely as non-Hispanics to express interest in mobile advertisements. Indeed, this demographic is 58 percent more likely to purchase a product advertised on their phones. The study also showed that Hispanics are less likely to use mobile apps, revealing an opportunity for c-stores looking to increase downloads of their apps and better reach this demographic.
Grocery And Convenience Store IT Talking Points
Daymon Worldwide released a new study entitled “Men on a Mission” that profiles 6 types of make mission-oriented shopping trips and male shopper archetypes. The study shows that 52 percent of male shoppers in the US purchase 78 percent of all groceries for their household. This makes the male demographic increasingly important for retailers to cater to with customized products and services. The study highlights the six different attitudes male shoppers possess about gender roles, cooking, and shopping, such as the Confused Male, Primal Male, and Heckled Male. The study also discusses the six types of shopping missions men venture out on, including “Stockpiling the Man Cave,” “Man-riety,” and “On DeMANd” missions.
Grocery Headquarters says that the top areas of supermarket shoppers’ satisfaction are often based at their experience at the front end of the store. Retailers should consider placing merchandise that customers have forgotten and “need” as opposed to “want” in the front end of the store. There are predictions however, that the front end of the store might someday cease to exist because of the rising importance of bandwidth, rendering location less important. The article also discusses the use of coin counters and security systems.
According to Brick Meets Click, there have been some developments in digital technology that enables a person to look at a food product on a screen and taste it. A taste simulator called the “digital taste interface,” transfers electric current and heat to the tongue in order to stimulate taste buds. Experts from BMC say this could enable shoppers to evaluate products more easily, cutting down on stores’ costs of product introduction.
For more news and insights, visit BSMinfo’s POS & Payment Processing Tech Center.