Amazon. com New Releases: The best-selling new & future releases in Grocery & Gourmet Food

Which brands topped Amazon’s best sellers lists in 2015?

Hot on the heels of the release of our January 2016’s FastMovers, we’re releasing our full-year 2015 rankings for three food and food-related categories on Amazon. com: Grocery & Gourmet Food, Candy & Chocolate, and Prime Pantry. Brands are ranked by their average monthly number of FastMovers—products which were among the top 100 best-selling items.

KIND easily took the #1 brand spot on the Grocery & Gourmet Food FastMovers rankings Although the Candy & Chocolate category was driven by seasonal spikes of Hershey’s and Lindt, Jelly Belly edged out the competition for the 12-month period Prime Pantry winners were big-name brands, particularly Nature Valley and Tide, but the nature of Pantry’s assortment meant no brands dominated the FastMovers rankings

Congratulations to those brands at the top of 2015’s FastMovers rankings. In this post, we’ll rank each category’s top brands, try to understand their success, and gather insights about each category’s particular dynamics.

Grocery & Gourmet Food: KIND Is Amazon Shoppers’ #1 Choice

KIND’s line of healthy, gluten free bars has remained an incredibly popular choice for Amazon food shoppers.

With an average of seven products per month, KIND led the list of top brands in Grocery & Gourmet Food for eleven months. (In November 2015, San Francisco Bay Coffee temporarily took the spot of #1 brand with seven FastMovers, compared to just six for KIND.)

We can deduce a few reasons for KIND’s success:

An excited shopper base left an average of 3,265 reviews per KIND FastMover as of January 2016 More reasons to choose: KIND FastMovers had an average of 9.2 images per product in January 2016, compared to 6.7 for all Grocery FastMovers And Amazon’s heavy-spending Prime households, who skew younger and wealthier than the general population, might be more attracted to this kind of tasty, healthy product

We’ll be keeping an eye on the Grocery list in 2016 to see whether KIND maintains its lead.

Below, KIND products rank #1 and #6 on the February 25 th, 2016 best sellers list for Grocery & Gourmet Food. Screenshot from Amazon. com.

Candy & Chocolate: Jelly Belly, Hershey’s Top FastMovers Rankings

Jelly Belly, with 7.3 products per month on average, and Hershey’s, with 6.9, topped the Candy & Chocolate FastMovers lists in 2015.

Unlike Grocery & Gourmet Food, seasonality appears to drive significant changes in the composition of the Candy & Chocolate FastMovers 100.

In the Easter season (April 2015), Lindt topped the charts with the addition of several truffles boxes. Around Halloween in October, Hershey’s skyrocketed to 16 FastMovers, up from 5 in September. And in the Christmas season, Lindt joined Hershey’s in the top spots.

Throughout the year, however, Jelly Belly consistently had between 5 and 9 FastMovers—enough to give Jelly Belly the #1 brand spot for 2015.

Below: number of FastMovers per month for top brands in Candy & Chocolate

The influence of seasonality on this Amazon category means it’s not a constant battle for #1 on the FastMovers list but, instead, a battle for #1 at the right times.

Prime Pantry: Big-Name Brands Lead Without Dominating

Nature Valley and Tide, with an average of 2.6 FastMovers per month, tied for the #1 brand spot in Prime Pantry in 2015.

These are big brands with huge offline presences – Nature Valley from General Mills and Tide from Procter & Gamble – rather than the niche brands that can sometimes lead the FastMovers lists for other categories. This reflects Pantry’s relatively limited assortment and, perhaps, shopping habits on Pantry.

However, the Prime Pantry FastMovers list was relatively evenly distributed among top brands: there was no month in 2015 in which a single brand had more than four FastMovers. Top brands in Grocery & Gourmet Food and Candy & Chocolate, on the other hand, had 7.3 FastMovers on average.

Will 2016 see changes?

Part of the nature of Amazon and eCommerce is that small offline players can make disproportionately large online impacts, and the vast assortment means the landscape is less likely to be dominated by a few large brands. The question is not whether 2016 will see changes to these categories’ winners and losers—but how extensive those changes will be.

Profitero monitors Amazon’s best sellers pages daily and provides monthly FastMovers reports showing which brands and products are winning, climbing, and falling. Click here to download the most recent reports.

Amazon Wants to Rule the Grocery Aisles, and Not Just at Whole Foods

SEATTLE — In early 2017, a memo circulated inside Amazon that imagined an ambitious new grocery chain. The document was written like a news release, a common practice for ideas being weighed inside the company, with the title “Grocery Shopping for Everyone.”

The new stores, the document envisioned, would have robust sections for produce, fresh food and prepared meals. Nonperishable products, like paper towels or canned beans, would be stored on a separate floor, away from customers. Shoppers could order those items with an app, and while they shopped for fresh food, the other products would be brought down in time for check out. There would also be an area to pick up groceries ordered online and to manage packages for delivery drivers.

The faux news release, which has not previously been reported, cited a fictional grocery expert named Hal Apenyo, as in the chili pepper, declaring success in just six months. “The conversion from offline grocery shopping to mixed format shopping has been massive,” the character was quoted as saying.

A few months later, in June 2017, Amazon barged into the grocery business in a different way, by announcing a blockbuster deal to buy Whole Foods for $13.4 billion. The purchase catapulted Amazon near the top of the $700 billion grocery industry, and sank stocks of traditional grocers on fears that they would be outmaneuvered into oblivion. The memo and other big grocery proposals stopped circulating inside Amazon, as Whole Foods demanded everyone’s attention.

But two years later, instead of Whole Foods being the answer to Amazon’s grocery ambitions, it seems to have only whetted executives’ appetites.

The marriage has made clear the difficulties of selling fresh food inexpensively, either in a physical store or through delivery. Bananas are not the same as books.

But the combination has also shown glimmers of success, particularly in delivery. And that has provided some fuel to Amazon executives pushing to add another food-selling option — one built from the ground up that would change how people buy groceries.

The company is now quietly exploring an ambitious new chain, probably separate from Whole Foods, that is not far removed from the one outlined in the old memo. It would be built for in-store shopping as well as pickup and delivery. As the discussions heated up this year, employees passed around a slightly updated version of the memo.

The details of Amazon’s challenges and ambitions in the grocery business are based on interviews with more than 15 people who have worked at or with the company. Most spoke on the condition of anonymity because they have nondisclosure agreements or were not authorized to speak publicly.

“People really need to understand — Whole Foods is the beginning, it’s not the end,” said Brittain Ladd, who worked on Amazon’s grocery operations until 2017. “It’s not everything.”

An Amazon spokeswoman, Rachel Hass, said the company “doesn’t comment on rumors or speculation.”

Before it bought Whole Foods, Amazon was an afterthought as a grocer, well behind chains like Publix and ShopRite. The food it sold was limited to mostly canned and dry goods, and its decade-long effort to sell perishables through a pickup and delivery program called AmazonFresh never caught on.

Whole Foods had struggles of its own. The company was fending off activist investors and had stopped expanding. While its base remained loyal, grocers like Kroger and Walmart had started selling many of the products that once set Whole Foods apart, like organic kale or kombucha.

“Whole Foods was broken — we shouldn’t forget that, which is why they could buy it,” said Phil Lempert, a food marketing analyst.

It was clear from the start that the two companies differed culturally. John Mackey, Whole Foods’ co-founder and longtime chief executive, had written a best seller about how companies should have a social conscience and consider all stakeholders in their decisions. Amazon corporate principles say good leaders “do not compromise for the sake of social cohesion.” But Amazon pushed ahead with some changes that were once held up as points of pride for the grocer.

In an effort to shed Whole Foods’ “whole paycheck” reputation, Amazon bought more from national food distributors and cut back on the local farms. United Natural Foods, a leading organic distributor, has increased its sales to Whole Foods by 38 percent over the past two years. And inside stores, employees stopped making signs on chalkboards by hand. Now, Whole Foods prints signs with black ink on paper in a font that resembles handwriting but requires less labor.

Other price-cutting efforts failed. The former head of a major produce company said Amazon told him it wanted to sell marquee fresh items at low prices every day. The executive said he had to explain that certain products, like berries or lettuce, may be available all year thanks to global supply chains, but that they cost more in the off-season. Forcing flat, low prices would put too much risk on growers.

Amazon executives, the person said, were caught off guard by the response. It didn’t seem as if they had fully appreciated how seasonality made predictable pricing far harder than selling cereal or paper towels.

The mixed results are reflected in prices at Whole Foods today. A standard basket of goods has fallen about 2.5 percent since the acquisition, according to Gordon Haskett Research Advisors. Amazon has said its Prime members, who get charged $119 for an annual subscription, have saved hundreds of millions of dollars in discounts at Whole Foods. But over all, Whole Foods is still more expensive than other major grocers, particularly for items like meat.

Amazon has also run into some trouble integrating Whole Foods into its delivery machine.

Amazon never saw delivering cold milk and fragile fruit to doorsteps as something for the masses, according to former employees. Instead, executives thought of it as an option for people who wanted high-quality foods and could afford a premium price to have fragile and fresh items arrive at their doorstep.

In theory, that was a good fit for Whole Foods and its affluent shoppers. Within six months, Amazon began making two-hour deliveries from Whole Foods in four cities for Prime members. Six months later, that had expanded to more than two dozen cities. It’s now available in 90.

But Whole Foods stores are not like Amazon’s delivery warehouses. Because Whole Foods sells so many fresh items, its stores have smaller back-of-house areas than a standard supermarket. That means employees who pick products for online orders must gather more items from the same shelves as shoppers. They roam aisles with scanners in hand, asking associates on the floor when they can’t find something.

In addition, items in grocery stores are grouped together. Walk into a Whole Foods, and a picker for an online order might be standing there trying to see if the identical tubs of Parmesan she’s grabbed are grated or shaved. In a warehouse, similar items are kept far apart to avoid confusion.

Still, deliveries have shown big potential, making up almost all of Whole Foods’ growth.

The promise of serving customers, but doing so more efficiently, has Amazon thinking again about aggressive investment in groceries.

Rather than dramatically substantially expand Whole Foods, several former employees said, Amazon is considering designing stores specifically with pickup and delivery in mind, and with a smaller area dedicated to fresh shopping — as the old memo imagined.

While it is unclear what hybrid design Amazon has in the works, a recent job posting for a store designer on “an exciting new team” was looking for someone interested in “creating multiple customer experiences under one roof.”

And Amazon has been looking for spaces close to Whole Foods locations, indicating a hub-and-spoke approach where one store serves as the warehouse and commissary for others. Experts say it could take more than a decade to build a new chain from the ground up.

To be a major grocery player, Amazon would need a little more than 2,000 stores, the old memo estimated. That’s far fewer than the 5,000 run by Walmart, the country’s top grocery seller, but more than the roughly 1,200 operated by Publix. Whole Foods got Amazon about a quarter of the way there.

A store designed with different shopping options, “Mr. Apenyo” predicted in the old memo, would be “highly scalable.”

An earlier version of this article misstated the name of a grocery store chain. It is Kroger, not Krogers.

Top #10 Best Sellers in Grocery & Gourmet Food On Amazon 19/1/2019

List 10 Best Sellers in Amazon Grocery & Gourmet Food

MCCAFE Premium Roast Coffee, K-CUP PODS, 84 Count Nespresso Variety Pack Capsules, 50 Count Kind Bars, Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew + Antioxidants, Gluten Free, 1.4oz Orgain Organic Plant Based Protein Powder, Creamy Chocolate Fudge, Vegan, Gluten Free, Kosher, Non-GMO, 2.03 Pound, Packaging May Vary ChocZero’s Keto Bark, Dark Chocolate Almonds with Sea Salt. 100% Stone-Ground, Sugar Free, Low Carb. No Sugar Alcohols, No Artificial Sweeteners, All Natural, Non-GMO (2 bags, 6 servings/each) The Original Donut Shop Keurig Single-Serve K-Cup Pods, Regular Medium Roast Coffee, 72 Count Orbit Wintermint Sugarfree Gum, 12 packs Essentia Water; 12, 1-Liter Bottles; Ionized Alkaline Bottled Water; Electrolytes for Taste; Better Rehydration; pH 9.5 or Higher; Pure Drinking Water; For the Doers, the Believers, the Overachievers Viva Naturals Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, 16 Ounce Soylent Meal Replacement Shake, Cacao, 14 oz Bottles, 12 Pack (Packaging May Vary)

#1: MCCAFE PREMIUM ROAST COFFEE, K-CUP PODS

Product description

MCCAFE Premium Roast Coffee, K-CUP PODS, 84 Count #1 Best Sellers in Grocery & Gourmet Food

Medium roast with rich aroma and delicious taste Smooth and balanced 100% arabica coffee For use in all keurig k-cup brewers 84-count single serve k-cups

Product information

Product Dimensions: 12 x 6 x 9 inches (30.5 x 15.2 x 22.9 cm) Item Weight: 1.81 pounds (821 g) Shipping Weight: 4.9 pounds (2.22 kg) ASIN: B00TY15GO6 UPC: 743272202924 028005267846 743272205390 731631085677 743272200418 732976285227 773821981000 743272196902 700538205341 043000064986 Item model number: 00043000064986 Average Customer Review:4.4 out of 5 stars (783 customer reviews) Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2 in Grocery & Gourmet Food

Customer reviews

#2: NESPRESSO VARIETY PACK CAPSULES

Product description

Nespresso Variety Pack Capsules, 50 Count #2 Best Sellers in Grocery & Gourmet Food

NESPRESSO ORIGINAL LINE VARIETY PACK ASSORTMENT: A variety of 5best-selling coffee blends for the Nespresso OriginalLine System CONTENTS: 50 Capsules – 10 Roma, 10 Capriccio, 10 Livanto, 10 Arpeggio and 10 Ristretto. ROAST LEVELS: Dark & medium roast coffees – Nespresso Intensities 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10. WE RECYCLE: Aluminum capsules ensure 100% recyclability and guarantee coffee freshness ORIGINAL LINE ONLY: Capsules are not compatible with VertuoLine machines

Product information

Product Dimensions: 11 x 7.6 x 1.4 inches (27.9 x 19.3 x 3.6 cm) Item Weight: 4 pounds (1.8 kg) Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (430.9 g) ASIN: B0099HD3YA UPC: 802276373358 028000278755 111115511319 602561217998 028000278748 028000279820 885656016236 616983227602 028000248451 028000278762 028000261993 885424600117 Item model number: 3610-DI/2 Average Customer Review:4.2 out of 5 stars (2,213 customer reviews) Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2 in Grocery & Gourmet Food

Customer reviews

#3: KIND BARS, DARK CHOCOLATE CHERRY CASHEW + ANTIOX >

Product description

Kind Bars, Dark Chocolate Cherry Cashew + Antioxidants, Gluten Free, 1.4oz #4 Best Sellers in Grocery & Gourmet Food

Contains 12 – 1.4oz KIND Bars Gooey and delicious with bing cherries, whole cashews and almonds drizzled in dark chocolate for that perfect snack fix no matter where your day takes you. A satisfying, nutty snack that only seems indulgent. Gluten free, No Genetically Engineered Ingredients, 0g Trans Fat, Kosher Low glycemic index, low sodium, good source of fiber

Product information

Product Dimensions: 2.5 x 6 x 7 inches (6.4 x 15.2 x 17.8 cm) Item Weight: 1.2 pounds (544.3 g) Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (544.3 g) ASIN: B003TMZQC8 Item model number: 17250 Average Customer Review:4.7 out of 5 stars (1,168 customer reviews) Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3 in Grocery & Gourmet Food

Customer reviews

#4: ORGAIN ORGANIC PLANT BASED PROTEIN POWDER, CREAMY CHOCOLATE FUDGE, VEGAN, GLUTEN FREE, KOSHER, NON-GMO, 2.03 POUND, PACKAGING MAY VARY

Product description

Orgain Organic Plant Based Protein Powder, Creamy Chocolate Fudge, Vegan, Gluten Free, Kosher, Non-GMO, 2.03 Pound, Packaging May Vary #4 Best Sellers in Grocery & Gourmet Food

Includes 1 (2.03lb) Organic Plant Based Creamy Chocolate Fudge Protein Power >

Product information

Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 5.5 x 5.5 inches (24.1 x 14 x 14 cm) Item Weight: 2.03 pounds (920.8 g) Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (1.04 kg) ASIN: B00J074W94 UPC: 680642202903 851770003179 Item model number: 851770003179 Average Customer Review:4.0 out of 5 stars (5,499 customer reviews) Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3 in Grocery & Gourmet Food

Customer reviews

#5: CHOCZERO’S KETO BARK, DARK CHOCOLATE ALMONDS WITH SEA SALT. 100% STONE-GROUND, SUGAR FREE, LOW CARB

Product description

ChocZero’s Keto Bark, Dark Chocolate Almonds with Sea Salt. 100% Stone-Ground, Sugar Free, Low Carb. No Sugar Alcohols, No Artificial Sweeteners, All Natural, Non-GMO (2 bags, 6 servings/each) #5 Best Sellers in Grocery & Gourmet Food

Dark chocolate is good for you, but it’s even better when it isn’t sweetened with sugar. Sweetened exclusively with monk fruit, our bark uses no sugar alcohols and no artificial sweeteners. Low carb: only 2g net carbs per serving(1 ounce). 100% stone-ground ​premium cocoa beans ​for a unique creamy texture​.​ All natural, non-GMO, soy free and gluten free. Made proudly in the USA.

Product information

Shipping Weight: 12.8 ounces (362.9 g) ASIN: B0799CH1ZZ UPC: 753070499051 Average Customer Review:4.5 out of 5 stars (1,376 customer reviews) Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4 in Grocery & Gourmet Food

Customer reviews

#6: THE ORIGINAL DONUT SHOP KEURIG SINGLE-SERVE K-CUP PODS

Product description

The Original Donut Shop Keurig Single-Serve K-Cup Pods, Regular Medium Roast Coffee, 72 Count #6 Best Sellers in Grocery & Gourmet Food

NOTE: This is a medium roast Extra Bold coffee, Extra Bold (contains more coffee than regular K-Cup pods). Extra Bold does not pertain to the roast profile of the coffee Not too harsh, not too bitter – just right Extra bold (contains more coffee than regular K-Cup pods) Medium roast, caffeinated coffee Ensure high-quality coffee every time with pods specially designed to work in Keurig brewers with exact grind and extraction

Product information

Product Dimensions: 5.1 x 4 x 6.4 inches (13 x 10 x 16.3 cm) Item Weight: 3.3 pounds (1.5 kg) Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (1.6 kg) ASIN: B00I08JAYG UPC: 885137702276 Item model number: 4694 Average Customer Review:4.4 out of 5 stars (5,726 customer reviews) Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5 in Grocery & Gourmet Food

Customer reviews

#7: ORBIT WINTERMINT SUGARFREE GUM

Product description

Orbit Wintermint Sugarfree Gum, 12 packs #7 Best Sellers in Grocery & Gourmet Food

Orbit Wintermint Sugarfree Gum in a 14-count pack, 12 packs Make the most of the moment with the clean and fresh mouth feeling of Orbit Gum Weather any storm with the rush of cool mint flavor from Orbit Wintermint Gum A sweet treat for 5 calories or less per piece Orbit Gum has received the American Dental Association Seal of Acceptance in recognition of the oral-care benefits of chewing sugar-free gum

Product information

Item Weight: 14.6 ounces (413.9 g) Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (408.2 g) Domestic Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U. S. and to ASIN: B001IZHSII UPC: 689139216065 689139180922 885897690783 885782060707 785923182759 022000114884 Item model number: hfs-koi-zk-a12766 Average Customer Review:4.6 out of 5 stars (272 customer reviews) Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #55 in Grocery & Gourmet Food

Customer reviews

#8: ESSENTIA WATER

Product description

Essentia Water; 12, 1-Liter Bottles; Ionized Alkaline Bottled Water; Electrolytes for Taste; Better Rehydration; pH 9.5 or Higher; Pure Drinking Water; For the Doers, the Believers, the Overachievers #8 Best Sellers in Grocery & Gourmet Food

Essentia’s electrolyte water for taste, optimized for better rehydration*, invites users to go farther for longer, whether jogging, running, hiking, walking, rowing, biking or climbing Utilizing an innovative, unique ionization process that sets them apart, Essentia Water transforms H2O from across the world into clean-tasting, smooth alkaline drinking water Overachieving H2O? Believe it with Essentia’s supercharged alkaline water with a pH of 9.5 or higher, carefully processed for better rehydration*; drink up more of life and embrace the extraordinary Prov >

Product information

Product Dimensions: 6 x 6 x 6 inches (15.24 x 15.24 x 15.24 cm) Item Weight: 28.7 pounds (13 kg) Shipping Weight: 28.7 pounds (13 kg) ASIN: B005HG9ESG UPC: 657227000339 736983894588 778894808285 657227002104 030684811081 657227012103 Item model number: 362020 Average Customer Review:4.3 out of 5 stars (1,617 customer reviews) Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7 in Grocery & Gourmet Food

Customer reviews

#9: VIVA NATURALS ORGANIC EXTRA VIRGIN COCONUT OIL

Product description

Viva Naturals Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil, 16 Ounce #9 Best Sellers in Grocery & Gourmet Food

MADE FROM FRESH, ORGANIC COCONUTS – Cold-pressed from fresh, organic coconuts, Viva Naturals Extra-Virgin Coconut Oil delivers rich flavor and aroma that’s nutrient rich and naturally delicious. PERFECT FOR COOKING, FRYING & SPREADING – With a naturally high smoke point (350°F/177°C), coconut oil is perfect for baking, frying and sautéing. Spread it on muffins or toast for a delightful and delicious alternative to butter. NUTRIENT-RICH SKIN & HAIR-CARE TREATMENT – Super useful outs >

Product information

Product Dimensions: 3.5 x 3.5 x 4.1 inches (8.9 x 8.9 x 10.4 cm) Item Weight: 1 pounds (453.6 g) Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (544.3 g) ASIN: B00DS842HS UNSPSC Code: 12181600 UPC: 632930605811 Item model number: Viv-3652 Average Customer Review:4.6 out of 5 stars (14,439 customer reviews) Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #9 in Grocery & Gourmet Food

Customer reviews

#10: SOYLENT MEAL REPL

Product description

Soylent Meal Repl #10 Best Sellers in Grocery & Gourmet Food

FOOD REFORMATTED. Soylent is a ready-to-drink, nutritional, complete meal replacement shake in a bottle. COMPLETE, CONVENIENT NUTRITION. Each 400 calorie nutrition drink contains 20% of your daily vitamins and minerals. RICH CACAO. Soylent Cacao has a rich chocolatey flavor that you’ll love time and time again. 20g OF PROTEIN PER BOTTLE. A perfect breakfast replacement, a convenient lunch on hectic days or an after-workout nutritional shake. PLANT BASED, VEGAN FRIENDLY. Non-dairy, gluten-free ingredients include soy protein isolate, slow-burning carbs from beets, and all essential vitamins and minerals. Soylent contains no animal products.

Product information

Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 7.9 x 11.1 inches (20.83 x 20.1 x 28.2 cm) Item Weight: 10.5 pounds (4.76 kg) Shipping Weight: 12.8 pounds (5.8 kg) ASIN: B01NBIF6WS UPC: 858369006085 Item model number: R1-00CACO Average Customer Review:4.0 out of 5 stars3,350 customer reviews Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #16 in Grocery & Gourmet Food (See Top 100 in Grocery & Gourmet Food)

The Grocery Store of the Future is Closer than You Think

Source: CSA – DAVID CIANCIO // July 3, 2019

Forget the headlines. Grocery stores are nowhere near extinction due to the battle between online and brick-and-mortar grocery stores. Although online grocery is now the fastest growing grocery channel with a CAGR of 19.5%, it represents only 2.0% to 4.3% of the $700 billion U. S. grocery market, and has a long way to go to dethrone physical grocery stores. According to IGD, the U. S. online grocery market was $23.9 billion in 2018 and is predicted to grow to $59.5 billion by 2023, still less than 10% of the size of the entire grocery channel.

Grocery stores are in fact in a new period of growth and reinvention. Although the Amazon effect is placing pressure on both brick-and-mortar and online retailers, it is also ushering in a future of transformative changes for grocery stores. Here are some of the changes coming.

CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE WILL BE HUGE

In the future, stores will cater to shoppers’ insistence on a seamless experience whether they are in the store or shopping online. Retailers will create experiences that easily guide customers through the store to make shopping trips faster and easier. For example, some stores are activating customer data and working closely with brands to create new in-store experiences that make shopping easier for customers including organizing product sections around consumer needs, such as gluten-free and organics, or moving ready-to-eat meals to the front of stores. Metro, Canada has created new in-store experiences in dairy, frozen food, and beverage and snacks.

Grocers will also be taking a page from retailers that are creating “experience destinations” based on the needs of their communities. For example, Raley’s is building a new flagship store that “will emphasize healthy living and destination meal offerings, with key features including a loft dining area, wine tasting room, sushi and bakery departments and 25,000 square feet of outdoor seating.”

Future shoppers’ grocery store visits will be driven by a desire for inspiration in their leisure time, instead of just needing to restock their kitchens. They’ll visit to experience new products in-person and via augmented reality, participate in cooking demonstrations, and enjoy activities like wine tastings.

CONVENIENCE WILL BE CENTER STAGE

Twenty years ago Jeff Bezos predicted that brick and mortar stores would survive only if they provided either entertainment value or immediate convenience, and that has proved largely true for grocery stores. Shoppers in the future will continue to be pressed for time and will want to shop at stores that are conveniently located, have the right variety of products to meet their needs, and where they can get into and out of quickly.

Before even leaving for home, the shopper’s integrated smart home will help inventory what items need to be purchased and add those items to the list that is then automatically relayed to the retailer to prepare for the shopper for either home delivery or click and collect in store. Once the shopper arrives, the retailer will alert the shopper of real-time promotions that are based not only on their shopping patterns but also on other variables such as the weather. On a rainy day, a shopper may have soup coupons displayed on their phones, whereas on a hot day a shopper may have coupon deals for a barbecue dinner.

Once inside, shoppers can open a mobile app to enable personal pricing on digital shelf edges. They will also be able to scan and pay for their items with their phone. Before exiting, shoppers will also have “infinite” options available for home delivery or click and collect.

GROCERY STORES WILL SHRINK

While the superstores and hypermarkets still command the largest share of the customer basket today, future grocery stores will be one third to one half the size of what they are today. The average grocery store built over the last 10 years has a footprint of 45,000 square feet but newer stores are already shrinking with many closer to 20,000 square feet. Future grocery stores will be even smaller.

The stores will carry about 5,000 items compared to today’s stores that have 45,000+ SKUs. The stores will focus more on local, regional offerings as well as on private brands. Dark stores will likely attach to the smaller footprint store from where products will be picked and staged for pickup or delivery.

DISCOUNT GROCERY SHARES WILL CAPTURE INCREASING MARKET SHARE

Beginning with the Great Recession, consumers have become very price conscious and have grown used to looking for the lowest prices for their groceries. And more than 10 years later, consumers remain very price conscious resulting in the price sensitive and low-income consumer demographic is the fastest growing demographic. So, it’s not surprising that 2018 saw a 30% increase over 2017 in new grocery store openings according to JJL that were largely propelled by the number of discount stores openings.

Aldi opened 82 stores in 2018, accounting for nearly 16% of all grocery stores opened during the year.

Aldi alone opened 82 stores accounting for nearly 16% of all grocery stores opened in 2018. Over the next five years, the discounter will build 800 more stores and have just shy of 3,000 stores in the U. S. In fact, Aldi plans to be the third largest grocer – after Walmart and Kroger – by 2022. Trader Joe’s, part of the Aldi Global family, also plans to add 25 to 30 new stores this year and due to its superior focus on price and quality was named for the second year in a row as the top-rated grocery retailer in dunnhumby’s Grocery Retailer Preference Index. Lidl recently announced plans to open 25 more stores in the U. S. as it continues its expansion in the U. S. market.

Discount stores are the second fastest growing grocery channel next to online grocery and are expected to grow at a CAGR of 5.8% and will be $514 billion by 2022. With discount stores offering lower prices, private brands that consumers are growing to love, and with nimble stores to get into and out of quickly, it is not surprising they are expected to continue growing at a brisk rate in the future.

THE ROBOTS ARE HERE – AND MORE ARE COMING

Robots, drones and other forms of automation have already arrived to a number of grocery retailers and more will be coming. Some retailers are already using automation and artificial intelligence to closely monitor inventory and picking in the warehouse and to make sure their inventories can be replenished within a day instead of weekly. Drones will also be used to hover above the aisles and scan inventory. In fact, Pensa, a startup based in Austin, drone solution that does just that is expected to be in stores by the end of the year.

Grocery stores will be automating routine and time-consuming tasks, to not only save money but also free up customer service people to engage with customers. Retailers that have built up troves of customer data through loyalty programs over the years will also be at an advantage. By utilizing video analytics and artificial intelligence, retailers will be able to predict customers’ state of mind and then be able to make timely recommendations to customers as they shop.

Autonomous vehicles delivering groceries, similar to the ones Kroger has introduced, will also be in play delivering groceries to customers who don’t want to shop in the store. And, robotic assistants like Giant Food Stores’ “Marty” will be common place scanning shelves, identifying spills, and even scrubbing floors.

Online or offline, customers will demand an exceptional experience from retailers. And the best way for retailers to ensure they are creating the store of the future their customers want is to make sure they understand not only the technology on the horizon, but more importantly are listening to what their customers are already telling them through their data.