Did you see, “Home cooking is dying”? Only 10% of people love to cook in the US.
What is happening?
· We value Quality time. Millennials have taught us “to enjoy the moment” by devoting time to the activities we value. More time is available for your hobbies if you shop with only a few clicks through Amazon. More time is available to share a meal with your favorite people if you buy “prepared food” instead of planning a meal, shopping, cooking from scratch and cleaning the kitchen.
· We are more Health Conscious. Millennials value a “healthy look” and to “be healthy”. That desire motivates them to embrace fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains and to choose “Clean food”. “Clean food” has no artificial preservatives, sweeteners, flavors and no colors from artificial sources.
· We are becoming Savvy. Millennials will try not to overspend at restaurants and will go to a supermarket to eat well. They will buy a frozen pizza, their favorite cheese and other flavorful ingredients.
These values are inspiring Supermarkets to innovate:
· Whole Foods created Whole Foods 365 (a new store format) which focuses on Quality time and Health. Quality time by offering cooked meals and packaged meals to purchase and eat at home. It has a bar where customers can eat dinner and relax. Health by offering a large Produce area (organic and non-organic) and the 365 brand in the center of the store which is considered “Clean”.
· Amazon is focusing on Quality Time. It started delivering groceries, including produce at customers’ door.
· Walmart, known for their low prices and large stores, is focusing on Quality Time. It just announced its store delivery offering for “busy” customers, like Millennial moms with little children. They will purchase their groceries online and pick them up at the store without getting out of their cars.
· Kroger is focusing on Quality time. This chain is planning to offer wireless scanners so that customers can scan their products while they shop and avoid checkout lines. They are also testing a restaurant format.
What should be in the supermarket of the future? It would be a combination of a restaurant and a grocery store, now called “grocerant”:
o A Bar and Buffet area with fresh cooked food, pre-packaged food and meal kits with the right ingredients to cook.
o A Produce area with organic and non-organic fruits and veggies.
o A selected variety of the healthiest and “cleanest” groceries.
o A wireless scan system to avoid check-out lines.
o An online system to purchase groceries and household staples, where customers can pick up their groceries at the store.
A question for you: Do you share Millennials’ values of Quality Time, Health and Savviness? What should the Supermarket of the future be like?
COMARKA empowers marketers to develop fruitful emotional connections with their customers through dialogue.
For more information, please contact the author: Isabel Aneyba at ianeyba@comarka.com and (512) 299-2077
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