Retail food consumers are dynamic not static. While food retailers are a fragmented group.Consumers on the other hand have a plethora of universal commonalities thatindicate just where they may be headed next when buying food. One of thecommonalities is speed of service. Todayconsumers want what they want when they want it. Breakfast for lunch or Dinner for Breakfastas an example however they all want it fast.
McDonalds Café is an example of expanding day-parts and menure-alignment with a focus on beverage and “snacking”. While they call it snacking, consumerresearch informs us that consumers are searching for portion, price reductions. This is driven in large part by theconfluence of obesity messaging and the economy. Many convenience stores have focused onprice and reduced portions size combined with speed of service to offer $0.99take-away food while capturing traditional QSR’s consumers. In fact Sheetz now calls itself a chainrestaurant that sells gas. We agreeSheetz is a food retailer selling fresh prepared food more important consumersbelieve it as well.
While consumer are not all focused on price Panera Bread isbeginning to offer drive thru’s service because it complements their catering and take-Away business which isnear 50% of sales. Consumers do not takesteps backward. They have grown accustomto quick service yet have a test for “better for you” food and Panera Breadfits that bill.
Kroger is now testing convenience stores again research highlightsthat the overriding universal commonality in food retailing that consumersdesire for speed of service. It’s simplesmaller store less time to get in and out. Whole Foods has reduced the size of all new stores to 30,000SF whileincreasing ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh prepared food.
Clearly retail foodservice channel disruptions are underway andlead by the consumer. Exactly the way itshould be. Food retailers must react and focus on consumer commonalities forsuccess. Migration Marketing helps legacy retailers create differentiation in aworld where the line between restaurants and food retailers is growing eventhinner.
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Steven Johnson is Grocerant Guru at Tacoma,WA based Foodservice Solutions, with extensive experience as a multi-unitrestaurant operator, consultant, brand / product positioning expert and publicspeaking. Facebook.com/Steven Johnson, Linkedin.com/in/grocerantortwitter.com/grocerant
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