What are the top five trends shaping the US grocery retailing landscape?

By Elaine WATSON

- Last updated on GMT

 top five trends shaping the US grocery retailing landscape

Related tags Supermarket

American eating - and shopping - habits are changing. But are retailers adapting to accommodate this new reality?

Some better than others, according to a new report by Planet Retail’s US research director Sandy Skrovan: ‘US Grocery Retailing: Top trends shaping tomorrow’s landscape.’

According to Skrovan: “Five years from now, the retail grocery landscape will look markedly different than it does today… Retailers can no longer expect shoppers to come to them, but instead must prepare to be where the shopper is.

“This could easily mean thousands of small boxes dotting the competitive landscape, locating closer and closer to where shoppers live, work and play. It could mean no stores at all, as online and mobile shopping ramp up. And a Drive concept which is fundamentally non-existent today in America, compared with overseas developments, gains traction.”

Sprouts-Store interior
Smaller store formats from Sprouts to ALDI are growing faster than big box supermarkets

In her report, Skrovam analyzes five trends reshaping the grocery landscape:

Smaller stores​: “Six of the top 10 banners on Planet Retail’s fastest-growing US retailer list are small-box formats, like CityTarget/TargetExpress and Walmart small formats. In aggregate, we project these six growth-oriented banners will grow sales at an average pace of 18% a year through 2018 – quite favorable when stacked up against the less than 4% annual growth we project for US grocery channels as a whole.”

Good-for-me retail​: “The shift is on for retailers as ‘wellness advocates.’ Today we see drugstores transforming into healthcare hubs and grocers going after a holistic health experience. The door is open for a lot of innovative and distinctive products, services and solutions to find their way online and on store shelves.”

Sea-change for Walmart​. “We see 2014 marking an inflection point for Walmart. Hundreds of small formats coming on board; the Drive concept emerging as the next-gen Site-to-Store model, and a supply chain reinvention to further fuel the productivity loop – all quite possibly sparking Walmart’s next round of growth.”

Door to Door Organics

Grocery-to-go grows up​. “We view the AmazonFresh roll-out as a huge game-changer, disrupting existing grocery models. We forecast click & collect services to accelerate and the Drive concept to gain legs. Retailers will need to rethink their go-to-market strategies.”

Digital disrupts shopper journey​. “Planet Retail’s proprietary online shopper survey findings suggest that two out of five online shoppers want to receive real-time offers via their smartphones while they shop. A third wants to use their smartphones to help them navigate the store to find items. These types of functionalities will become ubiquitous in just a few years.”

To download a sample of the report click HERE​.  

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