Technology Tops Delivery when it comes to What’s for Dinner

Grocery store meal solutions platforms once again have fallen flat according to Steven Johnson, Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA based Foodservice Solutions®.  Consumers are dynamic not static and five-gallon buckets of prepared food or frozen entrées placed on a plate and sold in the deli still don’t hit the mark with consumers. Restaurants & C-stores are eating grocery retailers lunch when it comes to grocerant niche fresh food sales. 

Too many grocery stores continue to hide behind the facade fresh according to Johnson and consumers simply are buying into the past they want today’s fresh food not last weeks or last months. Technomic noted recently that 2018 supermarket foodservice real growth was 2.2%, the lowest in a decade.  We all know why.  Making fresh food into a CPG product is simply not working.  It is yesterday’s template.

The grocery store fresh food sector lacks customer relevance in technology as well.  NPD forecasts digital food orders to grow by double-digits through 2020 with growth across all service modes including delivery, on premises, and carryout, according to NPD’s new Delivering Digital Convenience report.

The report notes that convenience is understandably the top reason consumers choose digital ordering, other top reasons include: no waiting; the ability to order, pay, and have it ready; ordering at my “own” pace; and earning rewards/feeling valued.

In addition to these reasons, since mobile apps represent 60 percent of digital orders, users of leading restaurant brand apps are also drawn to other motivations, like saving money, customizing orders, ordering on the way, and earning rewards. This is an area that Convenience stores and chain restaurants far exceed grocery retailers when it comes to fresh food for dinner, lunch or breakfast. 

David Portalatin, NPD industry advisor stated “Digital ordering has raised the bar on convenience and with it the customer experience,”  “Digital ordering overall and apps have provided a path to market to consumers on a one-to-one basis and offer them a restaurant experience customized to their needs.”  

Are you looking for a new partnership to drive sales? Are you ready for some fresh ideations? Do your food marketing tactics look more like yesterday that tomorrow?  Visit www.FoodserviceSolutions.us for more information or contact: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us Remember success does leave clues and we just may have the clue you need to propel your continued success.