As part of their ongoing mission to help clients stay ahead of the competition in a fast-paced, constantly evolving marketplace, Mars United Commerce’s Customer Development team closely monitors the strategic activity taking place across all key retailers and channels.

Each month, the teams compile Marketplace Assessment reports on retailers including Walmart, Target, Amazon, and Kroger, and channels such as Regional Grocery, C-Store, Club, Pet, Beauty and On-Demand Delivery that are most important to the business success of our clients. The following report outlines noteworthy events across six key retailers from the team’s most recent round of assessments. (To receive copies of the full reports, contact EVP-Customer Development Kandi Arrington at [email protected].)

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Sam’s Club Unveils New Design Studio

Sam’s Club has unveiled a new retail design studio nicknamed “The Clubhouse” on its corporate campus in Bentonville, AR. The 37,000-square-foot facility is intended to democratize innovation at the retailer by providing a space where employees can pitch ideas, test products, and develop solutions to potentially be brought to market. 

Relevance: According to Sam’s Club’s official announcement, The Clubhouse reflects a response to the need for solutions addressing the industry trends toward endless aisles and omnicommerce capabilities. While Sam’s Club was able to effectively meet the moment during the COVID-19 crisis by introducing innovation such as Scan & Go, curbside pickup, and ship-from-club, the retailer is committed to finding innovation that will continue to meet evolving shopper demand. 

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Ace Hardware Rolls Out New Store Concept

Ace Hardware has launched an experiential store concept called “Elevate3 Ace” which the retail cooperative plans to roll out to new and existing stores over the next five years. The template features an expanded product assortment; new store-within-in-a-store brand showrooms featuring labels like Weber, DeWalt, and Milwaukee; and the redeployment of frontline employees as brand advocates who will efficiently guide shoppers through their trips. It also features an outdoor space with a gardening display and grilling space for demos and events to present an immersive and inspirational backyard experience. 

Relevance: Ace is looking to enhance the in-store experience while highlighting key store categories such as paint, power, home maintenance, and backyards/barbeque. With in-store sales accounting for 84.5% of total retail sales, according to CapitalOne Shopping Research, it’s crucial for retailers to continue finding ways to deliver innovative experiences at brick-and-mortar stores.

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Albertsons Strengthens Partnership with Instacart

Albertsons is expanding its partnership with Instacart through the nationwide rollout of pickup services and Albertsons Rapid home delivery, both of which are powered by the grocery technology company. 

The in-store pickup service, which is free to all shoppers, is now available at more than 2,000 stores across Albertsons. That makes it a nearly company-wide solution for Albertsons, with only the United Supermarkets and Haggen Food & Pharmacy chains not yet participating. To utilize the service, shoppers simply select the relevant Albertsons chain within the Instacart app and then choose pickup. 

Albertsons Rapid is a new service within Instacart’s “virtual convenience store” offering which offers delivery of prepared foods, snacks, drinks, grocery staples, household essentials and other products in as little as 30 minutes from nearby stores. The service costs $2.99 per order but is free to members of the Instacart+ loyalty program.

Relevance: These now-national solutions are helping Albertsons maintain a competitive advantage and potentially gain new shoppers as on-demand services are increasingly necessary to keep pace with shopper demand.

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Kroger Expands Delivery, Too

Kroger has expanded its Grocery Connect delivery service to a second location in Dallas. The service, which aims to make food shopping more accessible in food deserts, offers shoppers fee-free delivery of groceries ordered through Kroger.com or the retailer’s app for pickup at participating community centers. Kroger first partnered with the Innercity Community Development Corp. when first launching Grocery Connect in February, and has now added the Dallas Bethlehem Center as a second location. Both centers also help visitors enroll in the program and determine their SNAP benefits eligibility.

Using a fulfillment center located in the area, Kroger gives Grocery Connect customers access to 33,000-plus products at the same prices found in stores. The goal is to make “food deserts a thing of the past,” according to an Instagram post from the company. While it is currently evaluating results and usage at both locations, Kroger has already announced its intention to add more pickup centers in the future.

Relevance: Kroger’s efforts here are a great way to broaden its shopper base beyond the traditional store footprint while meeting the needs of underserved communities. 

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ShopRite Leverages Trending Recipes

Wakefern Food Co.’s ShopRite is tapping into the cucumber salad trend popularized by TikTok content creator Logan Moffitt — who has 5.5 million followers. Moffitt frequently posts videos presenting different cucumber salad recipes, many of which have amassed one million-plus views. The retailer posted its own video on social media following one of Moffitt’s recipes that encouraged shoppers to find all the necessary ingredients at a ShopRite store. 

Relevance: ShopRite and other retailers are looking to boost their social media presence and contemporize their brand image by leveraging trending recipes and popular food hacks. The efforts illustrate that they are staying in touch with current trends. 

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Walmart Highlights Trending Products 

Similarly, Walmart is harnessing the influence of social media by adding a section to its website that showcases trending items popularized by content creators across categories including fashion, home decor, beauty, and technology. The “New & Trending” section also features timely inspiration for Halloween costumes, merchandise from performers on tour this fall, and current popular social media brands.  

Relevance: The impact of social media on shopping behavior continues to manifest itself at retail. By introducing this new section, Walmart is making it easier for shoppers to discover and purchase in-demand items while also leveraging the reach and credibility of leading social media influencers to drive sales. 

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Opportunities for Brands

The underlying implication of all these initiatives is the critical need to continue developing omnichannel strategies and services that bring the best of the digital world to the physical store and vice versa. This is especially evident in Sam’s Club’s effort to more intensely drive innovation through The Clubhouse design studio. Brands should likewise examine the touchpoints and pain points in the purchase journey of their shoppers to find relevant collaborative omnicommerce opportunities. 

Ongoing updates to delivery capabilities spotlight the growing importance of accessibility and convenience among shoppers. As retailers work to find ways to meet these shopper needs, brands should build collaborative relationships around solutions. (For recommendations on how to identify these solutions and foster stronger relationships, read Mars United’s new report, Elevating Your Retailer Relationships.)

And with more retailers leveraging social media trends to showcase products and engage shoppers, brands should follow suit and support the efforts. For example, consider partnering with grocers on recipe content that is applicable to your brands and shoppers. 

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Mars United Commerce’s Customer Development practice is an unrivaled team of in-market commerce experts who simplify the complexity of retail for our clients. Located in Bentonville, Minneapolis, Cincinnati, Chicago, Tampa and the “backyards” of other key retailers, they provide deep knowledge of the retailer, expertise in key business areas (like strategy, media and creative), and door-opening personal relationships with key executives to deliver an unmatched level of business success for clients across accounts, channels and shopper engagement platforms. For more information, contact EVP-Customer Development Kandi Arrington at [email protected].