Grocery Guys

A recent monthly category report indicates that, when it comes to groceries, consumers are very much fluctuating between what, how much, what brand, and where they purchase — all as a reaction to the impacts of inflation.

Along those lines, the July category update from 210 Analytics (with data provided by Circana) found that during the same visit, consumers might purchase some premium products, while going ultra-value on other items.

So it’s a toss up. Consumers have all kinds of purchase intents when they arrive at the grocery store, and their baskets reflect that. 

Supermarket News Executive Editor Chloe Riley spoke with Anne-Marie Roerink, president of 210 Analytics, for a look at what’s driving some of this behavior (in addition to inflation), as well as a category update across meat, seafood, and produce.

Take a listen.

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In early August discount grocery store operator Save A Lot sold the last of its 18 stores to become a wholesaler and licensor to the Save A Lot store network.

It was a natural transition for Saint Ann, Mo., based retailer, which will now focus on providing the right core offering and the right framework for its network of independent retailers.

“As we’ve made a strategic shift to become a licensed wholesaler, it’s clear that our long-term growth momentum must be rooted in the success of our strong network of retail partners,” said Leon Bergmann, CEO of Save A Lot, in a statement following the 18-store selloff.

The move to a wholesaler actually started in 2019 before Bergmann became CEO of Save A Lot, but he believes it was the right move to make.

Bergmann sat down with Supermarket News Senior Editor Bill Wilson to talk about the move to a full-fledged wholesaler as well as other topics like food deserts and grocery price inflation, which Bergmann believes has not reached its peak.

In this episode you will hear about:

• Why Save A Lot made the pivot to the wholesale level
• How Save A Lot will focus on fresh offerings in its distribution network
• Save A Lot’s strategy to promote a fresh approach
• Save A Lot’s pricing approach throughout its network
• The impact of food deserts in the U.S.
• The status of grocery price inflation

Take a listen.

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Have a pitch for the podcast? Reach out at [email protected]. And thanks for listening.

Dutch multinational retail and wholesale holding company Ahold Delhaize, which operates the Stop & Shop, Giant, Food Lion, and Hannaford brands in the U.S., is coming off a strong second quarter that saw group net sales increase 4.3% year-over-year and comparable sales excluding gas rise 3.6%.

Net consumer online sales improved 9.3% vs. Q2 2022 and the underlying operating margin was 4.1% with a modest decline in the U.S. Ecommerce penetration in the U.S. reached 8.1% during the first half of the year.

Ahold Delhaize now expects free cash flow in the range of $2.2 billion to $2.4 billion and is holding onto its 2023 projections of an underlying margin greater than 4%.

But success this year has gone beyond the numbers for Ahold Delhaize, and Supermarket News Senior Editor Bill Wilson was able to check in with company CEO Frans Muller to talk about everything from inflation to store operations.

In this episode you will hear about:

• Ahold Delhaize’s private label brand
• Muller’s take on inflation moving forward
• The store’s omnichannel strategy
• U.S. business outlook for the rest of 2023
• Labor challenges
• Sustainability
• Plans for store expansion and upgrades

Take a listen.

Are your shelves stocked? And if not, why not? That’s the question we’re exploring today with Greg Buzek of global research and advisory firm IHL Group, which just released new research around global retail sales. 

In 2023, the total cost of inventory distortion is projected at $1.77 trillion, according to the IHL research — down $172 billion from 2022 with out-of-stocks accounting for $1.2 trillion and overstocks totaling $562 billion.

The study also looked at the true cost and experiences of consumers who reported the reasons they left stores without buying the items they planned to purchase.

According to the study, although consumers have seen improvements in on-shelf availability, they list various reasons for leaving without their items including: sizes not being available, lack of employee help, products locked up or in the stockroom, or empty shelves. 

Take a listen.

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Grocery food prices may have reached a tipping point. For the second straight month, the Consumer Price Index for food-to-home was relatively flat. However, shoppers are still paying 23% more on average per unit for food and beverage across the store.

Trips to the grocery store are on the rise, but the amount purchased with each trip has become smaller as shoppers continue to grapple with inflation.

In this episode of SN Off the Shelf, Supermarket News Senior Editor Bill Wilson talks with Jonna Parker, principal of the Fresh Foods Team Lead at Circana, about the inflation story over the last year.

In this episode you will learn:

• The latest data and trends about grocery prices and the impact at the grocery store
• The current trade efficiency from store promotions
• How current shopper behavior is affecting purchasing
• The influence of the “price cliff”
• Strategies grocers can implement for the rest of the year

Take a listen.

Have a pitch for the podcast? Reach out at [email protected]. And thanks for listening.

Retail theft is on the rise across the country, and grocers are doing all they can to neutralize the threat.

However, in New York City, politicians are working to take away an important tool which grocers say deters crime — facial recognition software.

The New York City Council is currently considering a measure that would make it illegal to use facial recognition software within city limits. Grocers are fighting the move, saying that if the legislation becomes law, they will have to go back to taping up photos of repeat offenders near cash registers in the hopes a worker recognizes them when they enter the store.

Grocers say they also believe the rise in crime is putting their own workers in the line of fire. Many retailers depend on employees to either stop theft before it happens or get in the way of it while it is going on in the store. Some have used store design to prevent crime, like a Walgreens in Chicago that put most of its merchandise behind the counter. A Safeway just outside of San Francisco recently added security gates.

Avi Kaner is the co-owner of the Morton Williams supermarket chain in Manhattan. Kaner said he feels that small businesses cannot combat theft effectively without tools including facial recognition, adding that he personally  hired off-duty New York police officers for the chains’ 16 locations, costing him over $1 million to curb shoplifting.

Supermarket News Senior Editor Bill Wilson caught up with Kaner and talked about the challenges he faces and his concerns around the potential loss of the software. 

In this episode you will learn:

• The current efforts in the city to ban facial recognition technology
• Why some New York grocers are concerned about the potential loss of the tech 
• How the Morton Williams supermarket chain currently deals with theft

Take a listen.

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Have a pitch for the podcast? Reach out at [email protected]. And thanks for listening.

The IDDBA show floor was busy at Anaheim, Calif. this year (attendance was way up according to show officials) and several vendors mentioned both “quality and quantity” among attendees — meaning lots of retail buyers.  

The concept of “indulgence” was also going strong on the show floor. The message at IDDBA was that it’s okay for retailers to encourage a little indulgence among consumers, and it can be included in the overarching message around health.

Supermarket News Executive Editor Chloe Riley spoke with SN Contributor Mark Hamstra, for a breakdown of the trends he saw on the show floor at the recent IDDBA show in Anaheim, Calif.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why the concept of “little indulgences”is still going strong among consumers
• Key challenges retailers face right now in the dairy-deli-bakery area
• Other trends still going strong in dairy, bakery, and deli
• Why grocers need to up their delivery game
• This was the first show with IDDBA’s new president and CEO, David Haaf: find out what his vision is like for IDDBA moving forward 

Take a listen.

Have a pitch for the podcast? Reach out at [email protected]. And thanks for listening.

A recent report indicates that some 80% of retailers said their ability to attract and retain workers has been challenged over the past year. In our recent SN Fresh Trends Survey, grocers also confirmed that labor continues to be a challenge. 

Retail and grocery are asking associates to do more with less. The average store has 44-plus point solutions running the shopping experience; and disconnected solutions are guaranteed to make an associate’s job harder. Overworked, unhappy associates can easily lead to poor shopper experiences.

In this special edition of our SN Off the Shelf podcast — SN TechWire — SN spoke with Shamus Hines, CEO of Upshop, a tech firm focused on optimizing store operations, about how grocers can be leveraging tech to retain employees. 

On today’s TechWire podcast, you’ll learn:

• Why institutional knowledge is being lost in the industry and what you can do to counteract that loss  
• Why it matters to shift from a focus on “process improvement” to “people empowerment”
• How gamification can be an opportunity for success
• Tips for how grocers can get associates to lean into and embrace technology  

Take a listen.

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Have a pitch for the podcast? Contact the SN staff at [email protected]. And thanks for listening.

Grocery stores are using technology to reach out to shoppers on-site, and over the next couple of years the experience is expected to be completely different compared to how it is today.

In late May, Kroger announced it was expanding its retail media strategy with the addition of digital screens that facilitate video advertising across 500 stores.

Cara Pratt, senior vice president at Kroger Precision Marketing, said the screens will be integrated with the retailer’s 84.51 degrees data science platform “to create an engaging and valuable experience for our customers, associates, and brands.”

Earlier in the year, Cooler Screens conducted a survey that involved 3,750 brick-and-mortar shoppers on the effectiveness of in-store media and digital ads and found:

• 79% reported a positive impact on their shopping experience
• 82% found in-store digital ads memorable
• 56% made unplanned purchases prompted by the ads they saw

So where is this trend heading and how will grocers use the technology to reach customers effectively? Supermarket News Senior Editor Bill Wilson talked with Arsen Avakian, CEO of Cooler Screens, about the movement and where it is headed.

Take a listen.

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Have a pitch for the podcast? Reach out at [email protected]. And thanks for listening. 

Consumers are still crazy for candy. With household penetration at 88% in 2022, candy is still going strong (especially chocolate, which had a 56% share of sales in the category in 2022) — this according to a report from 210 Analytics.

Supermarket News Executive Editor Chloe Riley spoke with Anne-Marie Roerink, president of 210 Analytics, for a breakdown of the trends they both saw on the show floor at the recent Sweets and Snacks show at McCormick Place in Chicago. 

Take a listen.

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Have a pitch for the podcast? Reach out at [email protected]. And thanks for listening.