digital

Third Party Grocery Delivery? Omnichannel Grocers Wrestle With Choices

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grocery delivery

THIS MORNING on RetailWire.com I jumped on my high horse again with this little screed about grocery delivery strategies for supermarkets. As usual, I didn’t shade my opinion about 3rd party solutions, and I know some will take exception. That’s OK. The debate is important.

For perspective, when I founded the VStoreNews e-letter in 1998 I posited a world where grocery stores delivered everything – their own products plus those of other local retailers. Hasn’t happened yet.

The Grocery Delivery Debate

My comments today on RetailWire.com:

I’m squarely in the camp that advocates for own control of all customer-facing services by the retailer. High delivery costs remain a challenge, but this factor must be accounted for in a comprehensive manner. What do you really risk when you put digital moments of truth in the hands of an outside solution provider?

Third-party services intermediate the retailer’s service experience and divert essential data about shopper behavior. I could never agree to hand over control of my brand relationships to gig-workers directed by a company that is angling to become my competitor.

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In-Store Marketing Experts Demystify the Shift to Digital

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in-store marketing banner

THE SHIFT TO DIGITAL over the past 12 months raises questions about the ongoing relevance of stores and in-store marketing. Not to worry – even as more shoppers buy more of their goods online, stores remain the primary selling channel – for most categories.

Retail has never evolved faster. The ripple effects will continue to impact this industry for many years, even after the chaos of the COVID-19 pandemic fade in memory.

For this expert roundup, our good friends at Tokinomo gathered some of the most influential voices in the industry to share what they expect is next for in-store marketing. I was privileged to participate and offer some detailed comments.

How will in-store marketers respond? My esteemed colleagues and I offer a range of observations and opinions, encompassing: “The Year Ahead”; “In-Store Promotions Tools”: “Hybrid Shopping”; “COVID-19 Impact” and more.

The discussion was a golden opportunity to share some of my best licks with some of the brightest minds in our industry. A few highlights to whet your appetites:

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Retail Tech Innovation or Consumer Change: Which Came First?

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retail tech innovation or shopper behavior

THE EXPANSION of omnichannel retailing presents our industry with a chicken-and-egg problem: Does consumer behavior drive changes in retail tech innovation or does retail tech drive changes in consumer behavior?

This is much more than a philosophical musing. It’s a question that matters greatly to retailers. Retailing becomes more intricate over time at a pace that exceeds growth in consumption.

This means the next incremental dollar you add to your top line will be a little bit harder to obtain than the last one. Omnichannel requires retailers to maintain, optimize and adjust to keep pace with shopper expectations and behaviors. Those expectations change fast. They are elevated by shopper experiences and shaped by forces outside the retailer’s control.

I call this the Law of Equivalent Experience: The best service standard experienced anywhere is instantly expected everywhere.

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NRF 2019: Three Vibrant Themes from Tenser’s Take on BrainTrust LIVE!

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NRF 2019

LIVE FROM NRF 2019: My BrainTrust LIVE! report from the Big Show in New York, Jan. 14 2019.

Tenser’s Tirades reports from the crossroads of the Big Show floor as hundreds of attendees flow past. This year’s event boasted 37,000 registered attendees, 900 members of the media and more than 120 keynote, breakout, and vendor-sponsored educational sessions.

BrainTrust LIVE! January 14, 2019 – With James Tenser

Topic: Our BrainTrust panelist, James Tenser, reports in from the floor of NRF’s Big Show and boils things down into three areas of innovation he’s seeing as most prevalent at the show. [13 minutes][Posted by RetailWire on Monday, January 14, 2019]

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