Phil Lempert, The Supermarket Guru®, on the impending supermarket trends and post-COVID-19 world
Meet Phil Lempert, The Supermarket Guru®:
For more than 25 years, Lempert, an expert analyst on consumer behavior, marketing trends, new products, and the changing retail landscape, has identified and explained impending trends to consumers and some of the most prestigious companies worldwide. Known as The Supermarket Guru®, Lempert is a distinguished author and speaker who alerts customers and business leaders to emerging consumer and corporate trends and empowers them to make educated purchasing and marketing decisions. As one of America’s leading consumer trend-watchers and analysts, Phil Lempert is recognized on television, radio, and in print.
In this podcast episode you can learn about:
• Emerging trends in the supermarkets: in light COVID-19, what will stay and what will change? How would masks, curbside pickup, online shopping, and home delivery change the supermarket experience? What should retailers and supermarkets focus on to generate the revenue needed to continue to operate? Will large assortment offerings still be around?
• Pre-COVID-19 the average American went 2.2 times a week to buy groceries and spent around 22 mins on every shopping trip. Now the average American goes once a week, in and out as quickly as possible. Given the average American consumer spends $5,400 per year* on unanticipated and impulse purchases, what does the new consumer shopping behavior mean to retailers?
• What technology are retailers and supermarkets investing in today? How will "space" in the post-COVID-19 world begin to be leveraged? Will we see more ghost supermarkets: stores transfer existing spaces only to fulfill online orders?
• How hard is it for CPGs to get their products on supermarket shelves as space and range are being re-examined completely? With the category "resets" happening just twice a year, the future of product availability and variety is at risk. Phil believes while the online assortment range can cater for over 40 thousand products, physical stores will see a reduction to 20 or even 15 thousand products! This means that optimizing space and assortment at a store-specific level is going to be even more critical.
• How can retailers thrive in the new normal? Phil shares powerful insights into what retailers and supermarkets should do to prepare, especially around assortment planning. Spoiler alert! Zip Code assortment specific recommendations. "Gone are the days of the same assortment in all stores."
• Is the category advisory under threat? Will it still be around? Phil believes retailers are no longer relying on CPGs for category planning. Instead, they are turning to science and technology as it becomes smarter and more accessible.
• Finally, Phil covers his predictions on what changes to expect in the supermarket and other retail spaces: from aging truck driver force to product and store consolidation to indoor farming...
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