We’ve talked a lot about restaurants lately, but the food world has plenty of supermarket news worth noting, too. As more people eat at home, which explains the difficulty restaurants face, grocers have found inventive ways to pick up the slack. Last week Wegmans reported that their $6 meals were doing extremely well (entree and 2 sides), and that with each new store opening they’ve added more seating for shoppers who want to stop and eat before they go home (or continue shopping).
Target, which has been increasing its food options, just announced that they were redoing their branded Archer Farms label and making it more nutritionally conscious. Their Simply Balanced products moves the company further into the important private branding aspect of shopping.
One of the funnier reports has to do with self-checkout, the opportunity to avoid long lines and entrust scanning to yourself. A Villanova University report found that customers prefer no one around or waiting while they are doing self check-out. Being self-conscious is an underlying trait coming from using the machines. Maybe we are not as adept at scanning as we think!
Kroger decided that all the angst about product information and where produce (basically salad) is grown can be alleviated by introducing traceability technology. By using the Harvest Mark system, consumers can uncover the food’s origin’s. This is one more step in enabling the consumer to feel good about what they purchased as now they have comforting information in addition to the usual ingredient and date stamped information.
All of these programs are in direct response to consumers filling out good data and reporting their shopping concerns to the companies. In turn the companies receive high marks for understanding the importance of making changes and being flexible during these trying times whether dealing with food safety, nutritional information, or cost-effective marketing.
As more people concentrate food dollars at the supermarket instead of dining out, it is fitting that markets are adjusting to the marketplace.
We love this type of news!
