Competitive Analysis What you’ll learn to do: Evaluate the elements of a competitive analysis Competitive analysis is an integral part of developing an organization’s marketing strategy. It is done by identifying competitors, then evaluating their strategies for strengths and weaknesses relative to your own. When done effectively, competitive analysis helps you understand your competitors’ capabilities, which will inform you how they go to market and what they prioritize in their operations.… Read More »Competitive Analysis

Evolving Through Mergers, Diversification, and Downsizing Throughout the late 1990s, the retail food industry underwent a period of massive consolidation as retailers reacted to the emergence of new distribution channels and the sophisticated supply chain of new competitors. Traditional grocery retailers reasoned that the only way to compete with the encroachment of new formats selling food and the scale of everyday low-pricing retailers like Wal-Mart was to increase their own… Read More »Evolving Through Mergers, Diversification, and Downsizing

Scrambled Merchandising Scrambled merchandising refers to a retail tactic in which a retailer broadens their assortment to include items that are generally outside their focus or are usually sold in a different retail format. It might be easiest to think about scrambled merchandising by considering it in practice. For example, think about how the traditional grocery store has evolved to a supermarket format that sells magazines, books, toys, seasonal decorations,… Read More »Scrambled Merchandising

Store-Based Strategy Mixes What you’ll learn to do: Discuss store-based strategy mixes Retailers target specific consumers and shopping occasions. Think about consumers on their commute home from work on a Tuesday evening. Their purchase of a carton of milk at an AM/PM convenience store where they’ve also stopped for gas is very different than their purchase of two gallons of milk during a stock-up trip to a supercenter on a Saturday afternoon.… Read More »Store-Based Strategy Mixes

Types of Service Retailers To some degree, customer service is fundamental to all retail because it supports customer loyalty and contributes to the customer’s overall retail experience. However, retailers must decide what level of service they will provide for their customers: No service, such as Amazon Go concept stores that do not have associates or check lanes Self-service, such as most grocery shopping experiences where the product is available on-shelf… Read More »Types of Service Retailers

Assortment Levels and Types of Retailers A lack of product differentiation between retail formats is one of the reasons some retailers have developed private label or store brand items. These products help retailers customize their distribution. Typically, they are positioned as lower-cost alternatives to regional, national, or international brands. However, some private label brands have been positioned as “premium” brands to compete with existing “name” brands. Costco’s Kirkland Signature and O… Read More »Assortment Levels and Types of Retailers

Service and Merchandise Retailers What you’ll learn to do: Compare and contrast service and merchandise retailers For many retailers, it is difficult to differentiate themselves because the items they carry are also available at their competition. Therefore retailers are left to compete in other ways, either through unique products or on exceptional customer service. Retailers who are unable to be excel at those areas over their competition are left to compete… Read More »Service and Merchandise Retailers

Current Trends in Food Retail While the growth of channels and competitive outlets has had massive implications over the past twenty years, there are other significant factors influencing food retailing in the United States, including demographic changes, consumer demand for convenience and solutions, and cost pressure. Specific to demographics, food retailing is being influenced by baby boomers, millennials, and the increasing cultural diversity within the country. This is reflected in the… Read More »Current Trends in Food Retail

Variety and Assortment of Goods in Food Retail Let’s examine again how food retailers can vary from one another, considering assortment. Let’s say you want to purchase a can of soup. How would you find the soup in each of the different stores? You might check a specific aisle or section of the store. How would this change if you were in a dollar store, a convenience store, or a… Read More »Variety and Assortment of Goods in Food Retail

Food Retailers What you’ll learn to do: Categorize the wide-variety of food retailers As you’ve seen in previous sections, the surge of retail channels and retailer formats selling food has had a tremendous effect upon grocery retailing. Yet the landscape promises even more change, as consumer behavior evolves in a connected, on-demand world. The next several sections will focus on the emerging factors that will further shape grocery retailing. LEARNING OUTCOMES… Read More »Food Retailers