2021 Retail & Grocery Brick and Mortar Trends

COVID-19 continues to make a major impression on the operations of our brick-and-mortar grocers and retailers, propelling into lightning speed trends that may have otherwise taken years to gain ground. As we wrap up this year, we’re looking into 2021 with expectation for positive growth and new technologies. Here are our predictions for next year’s top grocery and retail strategies.

Increased Basket Sizes, Fewer Visits

What doesn’t stop during a pandemic? The need for groceries. What can slow down? The amount of times you go. Rather than making multiple trips a week to the store, families are reducing their stores visits and increasing how much they purchase at one time. Walmart reported a decline of 14% in Q3 transactions, but an increase of 24% in Q3 average ticket sizes.

At-Home Cooking

With the migration to a home-office and virtual learning, many families are spending more time at home than ever before. More time at home plus reduced restaurant capacity and increased safety precautions have skyrocketed growth in at-home cooking. Kroger, a leading national grocer, released their list of the top food and beverage trends of 2020 and noted that the items “underscore how our customers not only adapted to the challenges of this year but embraced cooking and eating at home as part of their new routine.” Some of these popular items are artisan breads, wine, burger patties and variety chocolates. Another at-home cooking trend to stock in your stores are easy-to-cook meal kits and branded sauces and food products from popular restaurants.

E-commerce

Ecommerce popularity saw tremendous growth during the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, ecommerce options like buy online and pick-up in store were becoming more common as stores like Kroger and Walmart pioneered development. Now every major brand is scrambling to release their own online pickup order system (known as “BOPIS”) and partner with delivery companies like Instacart and Shipt. For those leery of ecommerce and its impact on in-store shopping, fear not. A recent RetailWire article reports that a “vast majority of digital customers are also shopping in-store, they visit more frequently and, on average, spend twice as much as those shopping in-store only.”

The “Mobile-ization” of Shopping

It is without question that we’re in the age of the smartphone where almost everyone – even some of our grandparents – uses smart devices on an everyday basis. It comes as no surprise then that consumers prefer a shopping experience with integrated mobile technology. According to an Acosta survey, 58% percent of U.S. shoppers reported being comfortable with using digital technology to assist with grocery shopping. This is a 35% increase from a 2015 consumer poll. An important component of the in-store mobile experience is providing digital and mobile-friendly checkout solutions like near-field technology touchless payment devices, self-checkouts, mobile payment kiosks, and pickup lockers.

About Pan-Oston

Pan-Oston is an employee-owned company with over 50 years of experience in the retail fixture industry and 20 years of experience in the self-service industry. Our corporate headquarters is located in Bowling Green, Kentucky, but we work with companies throughout the United States to conceptualize, design and manufacture innovative front end solutions for their stores. Our specialty is technology-focused, self-service solutions. We can also provide hardware integration services.

Web site: https://www.panoston.com/
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LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/pan-oston/
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Pan-Oston Company
6944 Louisville Rd Bowling Green, KY 42101
1-800-210-2302
info@panoston.com