Jewel, Mars Team to Revamp Checkout

Jewel-Osco, the Chicago-area grocery banner of Boise, Idaho-based Albertsons Cos., has tried to remodel its checkout lanes to resemble those at electronics big box Best Buy, using theater ropes to direct people to the shortest lanes. Yet the plan failed when neither store employees nor shoppers could figure out how to navigate the new system. However, Mars Chocolate and Wrigley had a solution when the grocer sought a better approach.

"We really didn't have the data and research to help us make the right decisions," Jeff Hancock, Jewel-Osco's assistant sales manager of confection and beverage, said during a May 24 panel discussion at the Sweets & Snacks Expo in Chicago. "Mars came to me with presentations outlining ... data from other retailers with similar configurations and had great insights on those queuing lines to meet our shoppers needs."

Mars had finished a massive research project in 2016 that explored how shoppers think about, research and buy confectionery. While they found that consumers love the category, the manufacturer also learned that they hated shopping for it.

Read more about the Jewel-Mars-Wrigley partnership at Progressive Grocer's sister brand, P2PI.org.