Walmart Wants Customers Back from AmazonFresh

Walmart wants to stop hemorrhaging customers to AmazonFresh, HelloFresh, Convenience Stores, and a plethora of others according to Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru™ all of which have become recognized pantry busters.

 

Will it be enough that Walmart is offering online groceries pick-up in several mid-market cities to stem the tide of customer defections?  After all Amazon has 50+ million prime members used to getting delivery and our Grocerant Guru™ believes that “time is the only commodity”  that is relevant to online customer.  

What do we think about the launch of Walmart’s new pick-up service as reported by TechCrunch?  

1. Walmart’s Technology Works So Use or Keep Losing to Amazon

2. Time is the Commodity, Pickup Saves time, but not as much as delivery does.

3. Amazon Owns Urban Metro Markets so Walmart must start by winning back small markets.

4. Amazon has the ‘World’s Best Dipper’ Mom’s know it, Walmart must Get Moms Back.

5. Price can Walmart compete with Amazon, Aldi, Lidl, and WinCo? Not today. 

6. Amazon has Robot’s picking products from the shelves Walmart is investing in labor.

Clearly doing something is better than doing nothing.  In Walmart’s case  on the surface looks as if it might be doing just a little too late.  Competitive forces today are beating Walmart on price in many markets and price has been the foundation of Walmart’s Brand Promise so when entering the On-line food marketing arena one would have assumed Walmart would have incorporated a macro strategy rather than micro tactics. 

Our friends at Brick Meets Click report that  “Studies show that when online grocery is first introduced in a market by a brick and mortar retailer, two-thirds of their online sales will be new business and only about a third will shift from their stores.”  It’s 2015 and Amazon Prime members are everywhere.  Don’t be surprised it in this case these studies just might not ring so true. That incremental sales traffic may be a holiday driven rather than brand driven.  

www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a brand leveraging integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit, Linkedin.com/in/grocerant or twitter.com/grocerant Contact Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us