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, 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].)

____________

Walmart Releases an ‘Adaptive Retail Report’

The concept of “adaptive retail” is taking the industry into a new era where brands and retailers address the needs of shoppers more effectively and efficiently by creating personalized experiences tailored to the context of the engagement. To offer its perspective on the current state and potential future of adaptive retail, Walmart commissioned business intelligence firm Morning Consult to survey roughly 2,200 U.S. shoppers and gauge their expectations. 

The survey uncovered four key trends, each one pointing toward an all-encompassing insight: Retailers that can proactively identify individual shopper needs will be best positioned for success. It also identified three other necessities for winning with shoppers: adaptability, accessibility, and customized “do it for me” experiences.  

Relevance: As shopper needs evolve, so must retailer strategies. The power of adaptive retail rests in its ability to shape strategies that address evolving shopper needs, ensuring that retailers and brand partners remain relevant and effective in meeting expectations.

____________

Best Buy Toys with a New Way to Shop

Best Buy has partnered with the Google Play store to launch a new shopping channel. Currently available only to Android smartphone users, the new Google Play Collections offering provides access to a variety of personalized content from Best Buy: special deals, upcoming shopping events, unpurchased items in the user’s shopping cart, recently viewed products, and reminders about products showcased in the Best Buy Drops app service. Users tap into any Best Buy tile that catches their attention to be sent directly into Best Buy’s mobile app to get more information.

Relevance: With this initiative, Best Buy is taking a step forward in personalized retail experiences while leveraging Google Play’s widespread audience to reach more shoppers. It also provides a new avenue for shoppers to access digital content from a retailer beyond social media or ads on websites.

____________

DoorDash Dabbles in Digital Storefronts

Continuing to expand opportunities beyond its own direct delivery platform, DoorDash has introduced a new service that lets restaurants and small store owners process orders from their own websites at no additional cost. Fulfillment is handled by DoorDash, naturally, which hired former Amazon executive Parisa Sadrzadeh to run the new operation.

Relevance: DoorDash is committed to exploring new spaces in which to grow that will distinguish it from other on-demand delivery services. Embedding itself into the websites of merchant partners gives the company a preemptive leg up on the competition.

____________

Sam’s Club Member Ranks Are Getting Younger

Sam’s Club is enjoying high membership growth rates among Gen Z and Millennials. Over the last two years, memberships have risen 63% among the former generation and 14% among the latter. The digital experience that Sam’s Club has been building in recent years appears to be resonating with these younger consumers. 

Both generations are quick to adapt to new technology, which has made new technologies like the Scan & Go in-store shopping app especially appealing to them. Sam’s Club says app adoption has risen 50% in the last three years.

Relevance: One reason that Gen Z in particular may be gravitating toward Sam’s Club is that, as a group, they are extremely cost-conscious. The retailer has been on a push recently to attract new consumers by offering half-price memberships ($25) to first-timers.

The Scan & Go app and other new technologies are also giving brands new opportunities to reach these cohorts — and club members of all ages — in unique ways.

____________

Whole Foods Readies New Store Format

Whole Foods Market is preparing to open its first small format “Daily Shop” this fall in Manhattan, with two more NYC locations to follow soon after. The quick-shop store is designed to give shoppers in urban neighborhoods a fast, convenient grocery shopping experience with easier access to fresh items. Similar to Giant Eagle’s Market District concept (see below), the Daily Shop will offer grab-and-go meals and weekly essentials such as seasonal produce, meat and seafood, alcohol, and baked goods. The stores will range from 7,000 to 14,000 square feet in size.

Relevance: This latest new store concept signals Amazon’s continued efforts to bolster its grocery business, which has long been a work-in-progress for the ecommerce giant. In addition to launching the new store format, Amazon recently introduced a distinct grocery subscription for Prime members and has built out its stable of delivery partners. 

____________

Giant Eagle Debuts Zero-Waste Store

Giant Eagle’s newest Market District store in Westfield, IN, is the grocer’s first zero-waste location, built to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification. The retailer has partnered with sustainability-focused organizations, including Gleaners’ Fresh Food Rescue program and Denali Organic Recycling, to help the store surpass the 90% standard for landfill waste diversion set by the Zero Waste International Alliance. 

The retailer’s specialty grocery format, Market District focuses on locally made products alongside national brands, with an emphasis on prepared foods. The “Chef Prepared Grab & Go” section of the store offers an expansive selection of items made fresh daily. 

Relevance: Retailers increasingly are being asked by their customers, the media, and company shareholders to demonstrate how they’re actively adopting and supporting sustainable business models. As consumers continue to place a greater importance on sustainability, Giant Eagle’s goals are better aligning with shopper demands. Additionally, the Market District concept is a great alternative that lets the retailer integrate more closely with local communities and differentiate itself from competing grocers.

____________

Opportunities for Brands

The retail landscape is changing dramatically, which has forward-thinking retailers like Walmart looking to identify new avenues to reach shoppers in effective ways, both in-store and digitally. Brands should work with their retailer partners to help test the new experiences and tech capabilities they explore. 

For brands looking to tap into Gen Z consumers, it’s critical to have a general understanding of who they are and where they shop as they become adults and form what could become lifelong brand affinities. Gen Z members of Mars United’s Strategic Planning team recently assembled a unique playbook of insights and guidelines for brands looking to connect with this critical generation.

With retailers continuing to vary their store formats and product offerings, brands should work to find ways of helping. In particular, as the trend toward smaller format stores continues, they should identify products in their portfolio that best fit the lifestyles and shopping occasions to which these stores cater.

Food waste and sustainability continue to grow in importance for retailers and brands alike. As initiatives to address both take shape, brands should find mutually beneficial opportunities to partner with retailers. Sustainability practices aren’t just feel-good publicity efforts, they create pathways to cost-saving practices, better profit margins, and stronger bonds with like-minded shoppers.

____________

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].