As part of their ongoing mission to help clients stay ahead of the competition in a fast-paced, constantly evolving marketplace, Mars UnitedSM 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 the 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 five 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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Walmart Offers Deals on Holiday Meals
Walmart has been staging earlier promotions and longer activation windows for holiday savings across multiple categories this season. From Oct. 14 to Dec. 25, the retailer is offering discounts on holiday meal essentials to help simplify preparation for Thanksgiving, Christmas, and other seasonal occasions. The retailer is also letting shoppers send complete holiday meals as gifts for pickup or delivery to friends and family nationwide.
Relevance: Picking out the right gift for friends and family during the holidays can be a source of stress — as is getting the dinner table ready for company. And with shoppers still confronting high food prices, savings events such as this one are a great way to alleviate all seasonal stress factors and expose shoppers to new ideas and new products.
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Circle K Introduces Meal Deals
Circle K has rolled out “Meal Deals,” a variety of food and drink offerings priced at $3, $4, and $5 that became available in all its U.S. convenience stores on Oct. 1. The deals provide value-priced breakfast, lunch, or dinner options, with the menu varying by location. The meal combos typically consist of hot sandwiches, savory snacks, and beverages.
Relevance: This initiative reflects recent behavioral trends that find consumers favoring affordable, convenient meal options in response to rising food costs. Ready-to-eat meals are the fastest-growing product segment in the convenience store channel, where they also serve as a key point of differentiation and a traffic driver. As c-stores increasingly compete with fast-food chains in this space, Circle K’s Meal Deals position the retailer as a practical choice for cost-conscious consumers looking for quick solutions.
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ShopRite Rolls Out Inventory Robots
Photo credit: Path to Purchase Institute
ShopRite has expanded its partnership with Simbe, a robotics company that provides retailers with autonomous vehicles to audit on-shelf inventory and alert employees to re-stocking needs. Named Tally, the robots periodically traverse aisles to ensure that products are in stock and shelved in the right places.
Relevance: Tally is rolling out to all 300-Plus ShopRite stores after proving to reduce out-of-stocks by roughly 50% in test markets. Product availability is even more critical than ever for retailers to stay competitive and meet shopper expectations in an omnichannel marketplace. Staying in stock at the shelf also helps suppliers maximize sales and reduce charge-backs.
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Costco Upgrades Shopper App
Costco is beta-testing a new feature on its mobile app that lets members determine if items are in stock at a specific warehouse. App users click the “warehouse” button to open a search bar that lets them enter the name or description of a product to find out if it’s available at their selected club.
Relevance: As members increasingly use their smartphones in the planning stages of shopping trips, Costco can better guide their purchase decisions while using the data-driven insights they gain to shape more relevant offers and communications. The new feature also improves the shopper experience by satisfying needs in advance and avoiding potentially opinion-changing moments once they get to the club.
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CVS Tests Demos at New Format
CVS is testing an in-store product demonstration program within the Oak Street Health clinics the company acquired last year. Targeted to Oak Street’s client base of mostly seniors seeking affordable medical treatment, the program involves employees conducting four-hour events to distribute samples/testers, coupons, and flyers while educating shoppers about a product.
With over 200 locations in 25 states, Oak Street Health equips CVS with a large network of doctor-staffed clinics focused on meeting both the physical and financial needs of patients. Older adults and other consumers can seek treatment regardless of income level, with most major insurance plans accepted. The centers also have onsite CVS pharmacies.
Relevance: The sampling program gives brand partners an entirely new venue for reaching consumers who may not be regular CVS shoppers in an environment that might be more conducive to learning about health-related products than a mainstream retail store. The clinics also deliver a more targeted audience of older consumers than the typical CVS location.
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Opportunities for Brands
With shoppers remaining budget-conscious, retailers continue seeking ways to meet their pricing needs while also introducing them to new products. Whether it’s c-stores providing easy food options for busy lifestyles or large retailers delivering complete meals for the holidays, convenience remains a key deliverable — especially at such a busy time of year. Brands can enhance their visibility by participating in savings events and providing shoppers with meal-time inspiration. Cross-brand partnerships could be key here to expand reach, reduce costs, and increase basket size for retailer partners.
Ongoing improvements to store-level inventory management spotlight the growing need to master the basics of the shopping experience, which benefits brands, retailers, and shoppers. Brands should work with retailer partners to find ways of using these new tech opportunities to better understand shopper behavior and improve the customer experience.
And with in-store demos expanding and evolving in different retail formats, brands have a great opportunity to get in front of shoppers to answer questions and overcome purchase barriers. Demos at drug retailers in particular offer the opportunity for shoppers to learn about health benefits, potential side effects, and the product’s appropriateness for their needs and lifestyles.
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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].
