Small Formats, Personalization and Other Ways to Make Your Stores Stand Out
Finding Your Specialness
Let's face it: Operating a grocery store with brand-centered style and grace is hard work, and then you have to do it all again the next day. But store owners haven’t exactly helped either -- strict adherence to ease, rigor and uniformity has cost grocery its specialness. The vibrant future of grocery depends on its becoming special again.
The rise of ultra-convenience vis-à-vis small-format and personal shoppers/BOPUIS (buy-online-pick-up-in-store) are two responses to the shopper’s pursuit of rewarding experiences. One interesting twist on specialness is Kroger’s decision to get into the restaurant business. In 2017, the grocery chain launched its Kitchen 1883 restaurant, which currently has locations in Union, Ky., Cincinnati and Anderson Township, Ohio.
So, how does grocery today create the kind of specialness that leads to rewarding shopping experiences for customers? If every product you sell has a story to be told, then today’s grocer needs to focus on the stories for products that go at higher margins and require more frequent trips, such as prepared foods. We all need to eat and drink, so we all need to go to the grocery store at least once a week on average. By choosing carefully the stories that you tell, you create more frequency and drive demand.
The grocery business remains as challenging as ever, but perhaps it’s comforting on some level to know that the latest trends are leaning toward more personalized convenience for shoppers, not less, and more creativity in your store branding. In other words, exactly as it was when that century-old photo of my grandfather was taken.