Me, Myself and My Shopping
The grocery industry didn’t convince the American consumer that maximum return on stimulus checks could be achieved right in the supermarket aisles," says Precima General Manager Brian Ross
He should know for his firm just published a survey of 1,948 consumers to find that while 89% shoppers continue to remain loyal to their neighborhood grocery store of choice, as many as 72 percent said they’ve made fewer trips to buy groceries in the past six months.
The problems for Grocery Retailers however may just be getting worse with what the Minneapolis Star Tribune calls "trading down" by the value conscious shopper who is
buying cheaper, generic products instead of the more expensive national brands .... also buying more items on sale, and using more coupons.
The SuperValu's Jeff Noodle speaking to the same newspaper had this to say on how his firm intends to attract the Value Conscious Shopper back to the Supermarket Aisle
the company is working more closely with food manufacturers to design innovative promotions and coupons.
So how can Retailers like SuperValu engage shoppers innovatively with promotions and coupons ?
Can technology make a difference ?
Shopper strategy consultancy TNS Magasin conducted a multi country survey on how consumers shop and how retailers can engage shoppers.
the report reveals that a majority of online consumers in every country surveyed, except Japan, believe that networked shopping will be available by 2015
And what exactly is networked shopping ?
technology will be able to monitor the products household members use, create shopping lists and even communicate with other networked devices to arrange deliveries.
But why exactly should "me" the shopper have to wait for the Networked Fridge in 2015 to improve shopping?
Is there not technology that can innovatively engage "my self" based on the knowledge of "me" and my "shopping needs" ?
There is technology but it is all online. The Pittsburgh Live had this story on how Ralph Stores had changed its coupon policy much to the annoyance of its shoppers. But there was something more interesting in the story that caught this blogger's attention.
When I read that claim I quickly went to the online grocery coupon database at my Web site, www.CouponMom.com and analyzed the coupons issued by the Los Angeles Times over the past four weeks. In fact, there were 527 grocery coupons issued in the SmartSource, RedPlum and Procter & Gamble coupon circulars over the previous four weeks. Only 13 percent of the coupons were valued at 50 cents or less. I imagine the coupon use at Ralphs reflects the coupon distribution in the major newspapers
CouponMom.com has 700,000 members and promises to cut the grocery bill by half.
What if I had the power of a CouponMom.com on demand in the super market aisle as I make my shopping decision ?
Wouldnt that be a paradigm shift ?
Well change maybe coming soon, much sooner than 2015, keep an eye on this blog.
Also read
