Category: E-Commerce & Online Grocery

With pumpkin spice season nearing, Target is gearing up with a variety of new seasonal grocery items. 

The retailer’s additions to its grocery aisles this fall will include more than 150 private label items and more than 500 new national brand items, Chief Commercial Officer Rick Gomez said on the retailer’s second-quarter earnings call Wednesday morning.

“We know consumers are eager for their apple and pumpkin spice favorites,” Gomez told investors. “So we’re excited to bring back these fall flavors while introducing some new and trending ones as well.”

New seasonal items this year will include pumpkin donut holes, jack-o’-lantern sandwich cookies, pecan pie ice cream, Good & Gather turkey stuffing, as well as sweet and savory potato chips, Gomez said.

Last year, Target leaned heavily into new apple and pumpkin flavors for seasonal private label grocery items. The retailer also offered Halloween treats under its Favorite Day brand.

In Q2, Target reported a 2% increase in comparable sales and a nearly 9% lift in digital sales. Target said that food and beverage drove traffic and sales during the quarter.

Gomez noted to investors that Target has rethought traditional assortment strategies recently, such as by transitioning its candy aisles to feature popular trends like better-for-you options, lower sugar treats and “wellness candies.”

“While this category was already growing, these changes raised the bar,” Gomez said. 

Earlier this month, Target shared that its food and beverage sales have grown by more than $8 billion since 2019, to $24 billion per year. 

In May, Target unveiled plans to cut prices on about 5,000 popular items across its assortment, including nondiscretionary grocery, household, and health and beauty items. That same month, Target also said it would add more than 125 new items to its Favorite Day and Good & Gather brands this summer as part of its plans to stand out as a snacking and food destination.

Better catering to Generation Z and young millennial consumers has been a learning experience for grocers over the past few years, especially as the former generation’s spending power continues to rise.

Gen Z shoppers, currently ages 12 to 27, make up 21% of the U.S. population and possess $984 billion in spending power, according to Kantar Retail IQ. Meanwhile, millennial consumers, currently ages 28 to 43, make up 22% of the population and accounted for nearly $2 trillion in retail spending over 12 months, according to Capital One Shopping research.

On the whole, younger consumers are often perceived as health conscious, price sensitive and seeking out differentiated assortments. 

But a recent report by Advantage Solutions breaking down various “Grocery Purchase Attitudes” shows that millennial and Gen Z consumers are not as aligned in their purchasing priorities as grocers may assume. 

Aside from age, the report takes a close look at various characteristics like gender, race, income and marital status to provide a detailed and well-rounded makeup of the five Grocery Purchase Attitudes: Care About the Classics, Price Hunter, Health Concerned, Buyer of the Best and Trend Seeker.

The Advantage 2024 Shopper Outlook report published last month is based on more than 8,000 responses to an online survey conducted between Oct. 31 and Dec. 5, 2023.

The trendy shopper may not be who grocers think they are

Despite Gen Z often being associated with social media savviness, the term “Trend Seeker” shoppers, as Advantage Solutions calls them, refers primarily to young, married families interested in trying “new, trendy products,” according to the report. 

Nearly 40% of Trend Seekers are between the ages of 25 and 40, making the majority of the group millennials, and nearly 40% have higher-than-average incomes ranging between $100,000 and $150,000. This group is also the most likely of the shopper cohorts Advantage Solutions identified to have children at home. 

The Trend Seeker is the most ethnically diverse group, the report noted, with 71% White, 17% Hispanic and 14% Black. 

“Selection is key to where they choose to shop,” Advantage Solutions said, noting that 55% of people in this group have purchased an impulse item after sampling.

Who is budget-minded? 

White Gen Z and young millennial shoppers comprise what Advantage Solutions calls the “Price Hunter” consumer. Women make up nearly two-thirds of this group, the report noted. 

This group relies heavily on private label items: “These shoppers look for the best value and/or lowest price. They’re more likely to choose store brands than the average shopper,” the report stated. A key store choice motivator for the Price Hunter category is “everyday low price” offerings. 

A smaller percentage of Price Hunters are married compared to Trend Seekers. Twenty percent live alone and some live with their parents or roommates. Price Hunters also have tighter budgets, with 30% making under $50,000.

Health-conscious & produce focused

One of the groups Gen Z is least likely to be categorized as is “Health Concerned,” according to Advantage Solutions’ survey findings. Rather, these shoppers are primarily millennials and members of Gen X. 

Just 8% of the Health Concerned group are between the ages of 18 and 24, while 31% are ages 25-40 and 33% are ages 41-60, according to the report. Another ethnically diverse group, with 14% Black, 15% Hispanic and 7% Asian, these shoppers are more likely to be employed and male than the average primary shopper. 

“These shoppers want ‘the best’ products,” the report noted. As with Trend Seekers, samples often drive purchase decisions for this group. The Health Concerned consumer also takes quality produce, product exclusivity and the experience of trained sample specialists into high regard when choosing where to shop.

SEATTLE – Digital collided with brick and mortar on Aug. 24 when Amazon announced its acquisition of Whole Foods Market would be finalized on Monday, Aug. 28. That same day, Whole Foods Market will lower the prices of some “best-selling grocery staples across its stores, with more to come,” according to Amazon.

Jeff Wilke, CEO, Amazon Worldwide Consumer

“We’re determined to make healthy and organic food affordable for everyone,” said Jeff Wilke CEO of Amazon Worldwide Consumer. “Everybody should be able to eat Whole Foods Market quality — we will lower prices without compromising Whole Foods Market’s long-held commitment to the highest standards. To get started, we’re going to lower prices beginning Monday on a selection of best-selling grocery staples, including Whole Trade organic bananas, responsibly-farmed salmon, organic large brown eggs, animal-welfare-rated 85 percent lean ground beef, and more. And this is just the beginning – we will make Amazon Prime the customer rewards program at Whole Foods Market and continuously lower prices as we invent together. There is significant work and opportunity ahead, and we’re thrilled to get started.”

Amazon plans to add its lockers to Whole Foods stores.

Amazon also announced that after a period of adjustment, Amazon Prime will become Whole Foods’ customer rewards program and available through such platforms as Amazon.com, AmazonFresh, Prime Pantry and Prime Now. Whole Foods’ private brands also will be available through each of the platforms.

“It’s been our mission for 39 years at Whole Foods Market to bring the highest quality food to our customers,” said John Mackey, co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods Market. “By working together with Amazon and integrating in several key areas, we can lower prices and double down on that mission and reach more people with Whole Foods Market’s high-quality, natural and organic food. As part of our commitment to quality, we’ll continue to expand our efforts to support and promote local products and suppliers. We can’t wait to start showing customers what’s possible when Whole Foods Market and Amazon innovate together.”

A new addition to Whole Foods stores will be Amazon lockers. Customers may have products shipped from Amazon.com to their local Whole Foods for pickup, or consumers may send returns back to Amazon via the lockers.

TORONTO – KFC Canada has developed a new hands-free, voice first skill for Alexa devices like the new-to-Canada Amazon Echo. By early 2018, the skill will include complete voice-activated delivery integration.

Available in the Alexa skills store under “KFC Canada,” the skill has Alexa tell chicken jokes, chicken pick-up lines, random chicken thoughts, pop-culture chicken references and a trivia game called the Colonel’s Quiz. The quiz has players decode famous names, titles and quotes that have been “chickenfied.”

“For modern families looking to spend time together over the holidays, what better way than by gathering around a warm bucket of chicken and testing your knowledge with the Colonel’s Quiz with your loved ones?” said Mew-Lin Teh, digital marketing manager, KFC Canada. “The Colonel would approve of these good old-fashioned family values with a modern, original twist.

“Our work with Alexa is another bold signifier of KFC Canada’s emphasis on digital innovation in the QSR industry,” said Teh. “By embracing these technologies, we’re enhancing the way we communicate with Canadians and are effectively creating connected experiences across all customer touchpoints.”

To download the skill, users can search for “KFC Canada” in the Alexa skills store or the Alexa app. They can then open the skill by saying say “Ask KFC to Talk Chicken to Me”. From there, Alexa will deliver the chicken chat straight to the living room. To open the Colonel’s Quiz, users open the skill and simply ask Alexa to “Start the Colonel’s Quiz”.

AUSTIN, Texas and SEATTLE – Amazon Prime members in San Francisco and Atlanta can add free two-hour grocery delivery on orders over $35 from Whole Foods Market.

Customers can access the service through Prime Now and place orders for meat and seafood, fresh produce, bakery items, dairy products, floral and other staples from Whole Foods. Delivery from Whole Foods Market through Prime Now is available daily from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

“We’re happy to bring our customers in San Francisco and Atlanta the convenience of free two-hour delivery through Prime Now and access to thousands of natural and organic groceries and locally sourced favorites,” said John Mackey, Whole Foods Market co-founder and CEO. “Together, we have already lowered prices on many items, and this offering makes Prime customers’ lives even easier.”

The service initially launched in Austin, Texas; Cincinnati, Ohio; Dallas, Texas and Virginia Beach, Virginia. Amazon plans to expand grocery delivery throughout the United States in 2018.

ROCKVILLE, Md. – Stakeholders of all sizes in the pet products segment are feeling the Amazon effect, and they are unlikely to feel relief any time soon, according to a report by market research firm Packaged Facts.

In its “Amazon Strategies and the Amazon Shopper” report, Packaged Facts expects sales of pet products through Amazon to continue to grow with the launch of the online retailer’s private-label Wag brand of dry dog food that is delivered via Prime. Amazon’s sales of pet products reached $2 billion, a 40 percent increase from 2016.

Amazon is the leading online pet product retailer, according to Packaged Facts. In its “US Pet Market Outlook, 2018-2019,” Amazon led the pack of websites for pet product purchases garnering 55 percent of those who purchased pet products online, followed by Chewy at 26 percent, PetSmart at 19 percent, Petco at 17 percent, and Walmart/Sam’s Club at 14 percent.

“Pet products are among the fastest-growing online retail categories and Amazon is leading the way,” said David Sprinkle, research director for Packaged Facts. “The scariest part for competitors is that recent news indicates the e-commerce juggernaut is still coming on strong and unabated in the US pet industry, reaffirming its commitment to pet products and now pet food.”

Amazon’s Wag joins the online retailer’s list of private-label brands in more than 70 markets available for purchase only by Amazon Prime members. The product slightly undercuts the price of similar meat-first, grain-free premium brands such as Blue Wilderness although it is priced to compete in the premium dog food segment, according to Packaged Facts.

“Competitors received a foretaste of Amazon’s growth strategy in the pet market not long after the company’s acquisition of Whole Foods,” Packaged Facts noted. “Following the acquisition, Amazon quickly began offering Whole Food’s Whole Paws pet food online.”

When you are a small meat business in a small town that gets a heavy influx of ‘big city’ customers, you have to do things a bit differently. It is that understanding that keeps Lake Geneva Country Meats in Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, a cut above most of its competitors.

Nick Vorpagel, manager and vice president of business development, and the one in charge of all things digital at the 53-year-old processing company, says his toughest task is trying to meet customer expectations.

“People will come in asking for things we do not have, and we need to be able to explain why we do not provide a large selection of grass-fed meats,” he says as an example. “Some will tell us that they can get it from Amazon in 24 hours. But when we can let them know why we’ve selected our fresh and processed meat products, how they are prepared, other positive attributes about them and why our line-up may have significant benefits for them, they realize we know what we’re talking about and they will listen.”

It’s not that the 15,000-sq.-ft. business doesn’t offer alternatives for most tastes. They make over 30 varieties of bratwurst (including portabello mushroom and swiss and cherry brat versions). They have also racked up hundreds of plaques and awards in state, national and international cured meats competition, and have been featured in “Discover Wisconsin,” a state-wide television program.

But Vorpagel contends that you can’t do all things for all people when you are on a shoestring budget. “We have to put our emphasis on making superior products and offering the best customer service. Since the current plant location was purchased in 1967, we’ve gone through expansion programs 13 times…something that says we may be on the right path.”

Family connections

Vorpagel is the grandson of the late John and Rita Leahy, who founded the company next to the family farm in 1965. The Leahys laid the foundation for the business and developed it to the point where they were inducted into the Wisconsin Meat Hall of Fame in 2003. A major expansion of the highway in front of the plant resulted in the demolition of the family farm and increased traffic much closer to a four-lane highway.

His father Scott Vorpagel, company president and CEO, married his mother Kathy, a second-generation member of the Leahy meat family. She serves as retail manager for Lake Geneva Country Meats.

Vorpagel worked summers at the meat business in his younger years, earned a degree in political science and began law school. He quit law school when he found that he was better suited to work for the family business.

“I liked food, working with the folks in the family business, and dealing with customers,” he reflects. “I was always involved with some project at the plant. It seems those projects never stopped for me, but they all centered on listening to customers and thinking how to make things better for them.”

At 31, Vorpagel has tackled assignments like marketing and advertising, community projects, sales, pricing and new account development. One of his favorite local events is the annual Lake Geneva Restaurant Week where customers get a chance to vote on one of five local charities who could be chosen to receive a $5,000 donation from the company. They’ve done this for each of the past four years.

Meat ambassadors

Like all meat businesses, Lake Geneva Country Meats has a difficult time finding quality employees. They have 45 full-timers and that number sees little decline after the summer tourist season.

The family business welcomes but doesn’t always focus on meat service experience of potential workers.

“We look for employees who are personable, friendly and out-going and will actually listen to the concerns of customers,” Vorpagel explains. “We can always teach them how to cut or wrap meats, but we first seek their ability to relate to the customer.”

The business uses some print advertising but stands out on local radio with a weekly cooking show that explains how to use various meat cuts and how to best prepare them.

Customer friendliness is a hallmark value at Lake Geneva Country Meats. They actually refer to their service counter personnel as “Meat Ambassadors.” As their website, lakegenevacountrymeats.com, details, “just like diplomatic ambassadors to foreign lands share knowledge of their home country, our Meat Ambassadors are here to share their knowledge about meat with you. They’re so much more than just mere sales clerks, they’re your friendly resource to learn more about meat.”

Vorpagel also devotes a section of the website and the retail store area to wine and independent locally brewed beers that pair well with certain meats and poultry selections offered at Lake Geneva.

In addition to featuring video recipes on the website, the company also shows a virtual meat showcase on screen that lists various cuts of beef, pork and poultry and identifies tenderness profiles for each cut, including an app that viewers can download to their personal phones.

Lake Geneva has taken its website and social media customer relations to an even higher level by offering its customers a Flavor School program.

“We know customers need help and are looking for new meal ideas, so we decided to give them a program where there are meals available based on the type of cooking and meal they prefer,” Vorpagel says. “We want to keep things exciting and new in the Flavor School feature. We don’t want to be too complex or appear to be above the person looking for help. We just want to give them simple good food pairings we think they will like and try to make.”

Beating Amazon

“Most of these meals were developed in-house, but we are also pleased to share ideas we get from the beef or pork groups as well.,” Vorpagel says. “Maybe this concept is a step to keep Amazon away because we offer something more personal than just a commodity. If I get a meat question I’ll try to answer it in minutes on the internet or Facebook, unless it’s late at night. I’m guessing that many of those large companies are not willing to offer that individualized service to that degree.”

Lake Geneva’s retail area is about 9,000 sq. ft. and includes locally obtained fresh produce, a service and deli meat counter, homemade deli salads, frozen seafood, and plenty of local bakery products.

Name the meats or specialty products, from hams, bacons, sausages, beef tongue, snack sticks or fresh cuts and you’ll likely find them in stock at the shop.

Vorpagel says the family business will likely continue its growth pattern and last year added a new smokehouse to the equipment inventory.

“We want to move heavier into dry-cured sausage since more customers are looking for it,” he notes. “In the fresh sausage area, we are looking into Korean and North African flavors. Adding new flavors is an old idea but one the customer tunes into. We are also thinking more about developing a meal kit program and perhaps using local partners to help bring that about.”