Amazon’s is a Food Marketing Powerhouse

Success does leave clues and Amazon continues to outwit, out position, out market food, and lots of other products than most any other retailer.  During Q1 2018 there were stories of product shortages at Whole Foods, shelves emptied, pundits call the acquisition of Whole Foods by Amazon as a costly mistake.  Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions® knew they were all wrong.

The simple fact was consumers were flocking to Whole Foods buying up everything in sight. In fact Amazon’s grocery sales grew by nearly 50 percent in quarter one of 2018, and consumers are starting to see the ecommerce giant like any other grocery store, according to a new report from One Click Retail. During Q1 2018 Amazon’s grocery sales saw an increase of more than $200 million, recording a total $650 million, with particularly strong performance in coffee and cold beverages.

Here is what was notable the fact that  milk and cream were one of the fastest-growing subcategories: 152 percent year over year. With that subcategory joining such other household staples as shortening and oil, baking mixes, and salad dressings, perishables, once a typically avoided ecommerce sector, may now be seen as acceptable for online delivery.

One Click Retail  went on to say that “The growth of milk and cream signals a long-awaited shift in consumer behavior,”… “Consumers are becoming less selective about what groceries they’re buying online and are beginning to treat Amazon just like any other grocery store.” Here is Breaking them down, Amazon’s top-selling U.S. categories in Q1 include:

·         Coffee, with year-over-year sales gains of 44 percent, which earned more than $145 million during the period

·         Cold beverages, with year-over-year sales gains of 40 percent, which earned more than $14 million during the period

·         Snack foods, with year-over-year sales gains of 38 percent, which earned more than $79 million during the period

·         Breakfast foods, with year-over-year sales gains of 26 percent, which earned more than $50 million during the period

·         Coffee, with year-over-year sales gains of 46 percent, which earned more than $45 million during the period

We have been talking online grocery sales up and just think about all of those empty shelves at Whole Foods now stocked full as the algorithms catch up to the sales trends.  Where are you sales growing 50% plus or better?  Amazon Go is launching 6 more units this year and the sales numbers continue to stellar.

Success does leave clues www.FoodserviceSolutions.us  is the global leader in grocerant niche business development.  We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities.  Has your company had a Grocerant ScoreCard completed a Grocerant Program Assessment, or new Grocerant niche product Ideation?  Want one?  Call 253-759-7869 Email: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us