Business success is generally enjoyed by those individuals who have the foresight to lead their organizations and industries. Such individuals possess the knowledge that success within their own industry is quickly copied. To remain industry leaders, innovators must always remain one step ahead of their competitors.
At Imaginary Voyage, we firmly believe a paradigm shift is forming in the Grocery Industry. Innovators within the Grocery Industry are beginning to capitalize upon the lessons learned by the retail industry. The retail example (the Disney Store, FAO Schwarz, and other themed retail establishments) shows clearly that the buying public rewards the impresario who creates an engaging and entertaining environment in which to shop.
When examining today's changing supermarket consumer in Progressive Grocer, Buck Jones made this observation: "To get the total picture we need to look outside the supermarket arena at how customers are using other retail outlets to satisfy the needs that we could be addressing."
The success of such establishments as Planet Hollywood, ESPN Zone, and Hard Rock Cafe provide examples of the public's desire to be entertained. With shops like the Disney and Warner Brothers stores, the bar has been raised rather high for the retail environment. These may be extreme examples as compared to the present Grocery Industry. However, these examples point the way for those business leaders clever enough to learn the lessons they offer. The practice of getting by solely with die-cut cardboard displays is no longer sufficient to excite the modern consumer.
The respected industry leader Gene Hoffman lamented this reality in Progressive Grocer when he observed: "Ask 100,000 consumers if any of them ever jump up and shout in glee, 'Hooray, I'm going food shopping today!' - they'll look at you in astonishment." However, Mr. Hoffman suggests that the companies who will have an edge over their competition will be "..innovators who can provide their customers with a new, happy dividend-valued store experience while easing their time-stress and hunger pangs."
To compound matters, the Grocery Industry is daily faced with a harsh reality. A significant number of parents do their grocery shopping with small children in tow. It is widely known that the longer a customer spends shopping tends to directly increase the size of his or her purchases. It is also true that the duration of a shopping trip for a parent, is largely governed by how compliant their children may be.
Sandra Wendelken, in an article for Store Equipment & Design, examined the positive effects which may be enjoyed by stores who are attuned to the needs of parents shopping while accompanied by their children. She cites various techniques which store owners have employed to entertain children, and thus allow the parent to slow down the shopping experience, "Does the 'slow down' strategy work? You bet...average sales per customer have increased 20 percent."
The challenge to the modern grocer, therefore, is to devise ways to attract and entertain both child and parent alike, for the duration of the shopping experience. One must adapt the lessons learned from retail and apply them to the unique challenges of Grocery.
