Grocery Stores vs Fast Food: The Battle Heats Up with Harris Teeter's $5 Meal Days

 

In just another example of how Kroger still can’t quite figure out grocerant niche ready-2-eat and heat-N-eat fresh prepared food. Steven Johnson Grocerant Guru® at Tacoma, WA. based Foodservice Solutions® believes the line between customer relevance and price for a meal fresh prepared, flavorful, and fast meal is very close to $5 once again today.   In the face of rising dining out costs, grocery stores are stepping up their game to garner consumer that migrated to the restaurant sector. Harris Teeter, a prominent player in the grocery sector, is leading the charge with its innovative "$5 Meal Days" initiative. This move is a clear indication of the escalating competition between grocery stores and fast-food restaurants. 

The5 Meal Days offer is available at select Harris Teeter stores in the greater Washington, D.C., area, including their latest addition at UrbA Plaza, Arlington, Va. The deal includes a variety of popular prepared food items, available for just 5 Meal Days offer is available at select Harris Teeter stores in the greater Washington D.C., area including their latest additional at UrbA Plaza, Arlington, Va. The deal includes a variety of popular grocerant niche fresh prepared ready-2-Eat items for just $5 each weekday.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics' inflation report released in April reveals that the cost of dining out rose by 0.3% in March, while the grocery sector remained stable. This data underscores the growing financial appeal of grocery shopping over dining out. 

In response to these market dynamics, grocery stores are launching attractive deals and promotions. The goal? To position themselves as the go-to destination for quality, budget-friendly meals. Harris Teeter's $5 Meal Days is a prime example of this strategy. Here's what's on the menu: 

·                     Mondays: Whole cheese and pepperoni pizzas (freshly baked and "take and bake") 

·                     Tuesdays: Whole rotisserie chicken 

·                     Wednesdays: Deli green salads 

·                     Thursdays: Eight pieces of fried and baked chicken 

·                     Fridays: Select sushi items 

These deals are available for in-store purchase only, and customers must use their Harris Teeter VIC card to avail the special price. 

Harris Teeter, a subsidiary of The Kroger Co., operates over 250 stores and 70+ fuel centers across multiple states. It's worth noting that Kroger ranks No. 4 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2023 list of the top food and consumables retailers in North America. 

As the lines between grocery stores and fast-food restaurants continue to blur, it's clear that the grocery sector is not backing down. Instead, they're leveraging their strengths to provide consumers with cost-effective, quality meal options. The $5 Meal Days initiative by Harris Teeter is a testament to this evolving landscape. Stay tuned for more updates in this exciting grocery-fast food saga. 

Foodservice Solutions® specializes in outsourced business development. We can help you identify, quantify and qualify additional food retail segment opportunities or a new menu product segment and brand and menu integration strategy.  Foodservice Solutions® of Tacoma WA is the global leader in the Grocerant niche visit us on our social media sites by clicking one of the following links: Facebook,  LinkedIn, or Twitter

Kid Friendly C-stores Winning at Retail

Success does leave clues and convenience stores offering fresh food offerings for the entire family including children are garnering more visits, larger checks, all while evolving  a positive image for their brand, the convenience store sector, and grocerant niche fresh prepared food sales according to Foodservice Solutions® Grocerant Guru® Steven Johnson.  

Empowering solutions by offering speed and convenience the 155,000 convenience stores the United States, have found a combination of success steps to garner customers from both legacy grocery store chain and legacy chain restaurants. 

CSNews.com, in partnership with its sister company Carbonview Research, “recently surveyed 1,505 consumers who shop at a convenience store at least once a month for its eighth-annual Realities of the Aisle consumer study. The sample of respondents was obtained from a national panel, representing the total population based on gender, age, region, income, and presence of children in the household. The yearly survey essentially asks respondents the who, what, when, where, why and how of their shopping habits.”

Carbonview Research delved into the demographic profile of c-store shoppers  and “interestingly, the presence of children in the household seems to have the greatest influence over whether c-store shoppers choose to visit a small operator or a chain.”

In fact the study found “Shoppers sans kids at home — a majority of c-store shoppers, at 58 percent — show a striking preference for small operators: cited by 67.7 percent as their typical choice, compared to 56.9 percent who typically shop at a chain location. Among the 42 percent of c-store shoppers with children living in their household, more typically shop at chains (43.1 percent) than at small operators (32.3 percent).”  So as a retailer is chain or independent what is best? Here is some of what else they found:

1.       customer service, 66.5 percent of those who shop at small operators rated their usual store as excellent/very good.

2.       61.5 percent of chain shoppers who said the same about their usual c-store’s customer service.

3.       Small operators, they earn a higher rating on convenience, but by a very slim margin: 84.5 percent of those who shop at small operators rated their store as excellent/very good on convenience, one point higher than chain shoppers at 83.5 percent.

4.       There was some bad news for small operators, that news is customer service and convenience are the only attributes where they win out.

5.       Conversely, more chain shoppers than small-operator shoppers rate their usual c-store as excellent/very good in the areas of variety of products offered, price, quality of prepared food, and fun to shop.

6.       The two attributes where small operators lag chains most are variety of products offered, and quality of prepared food.

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?  Want one?  Call 253-759-7869 Email: Steve@FoodserviceSolutions.us