Seven major trends deeply affecting the U.S. consumer goods industry in 2022

1. This article is translated from www.grocerydive.com, The original author Jeff Wells、Catherine Douglas Moran、Sam Silverstein. The original title ：7 trends that will shape the grocery industry in 2022, This article introduces the situation of American retail industry .

2. Improving the performance efficiency mentioned in the text 、 Improve automation 、 Application digitization, etc , The Chinese market has taken the lead , But consumer data is being used 、 Improve the supply capacity of fresh food 、 To meet the demand for high-quality products , It still has some reference significance .

Retailers are entering a challenging 2022 year . Supply chain shortages continue to affect retail , Record high inflation does not seem to be going away soon , Forcing retailers to raise prices , Even though it may drive away customers . Loss of personnel , It is not easy to maintain the stability of the staff .

Industry experts mentioned these challenges when discussing the main trends of this year . But they also point out that , Retailers face many opportunities , Some of these opportunities are compared with those before the outbreak , There are still far more people ordering goods and eating at home .

Food retailers will increase their dietary product capacity this year , And provide new digital purchasing channels . More consumers are also looking for high-quality products .

The following seven items may be specified in 2022 It will deeply affect the food retail industry ：

Improve the ability to deliver quickly

Experts say , With the introduction of ultra fast delivery by some enterprises , as well as 2021 year DoorDash and Instacart（ All are home service platforms ） And other faster services launched by e-commerce platforms , Faster performance services will be widely adopted in large retailers this year , Especially when they want to attract young shoppers .

Tomorrow Retail Consulting（ Retail consulting firm ） Founder and CEO of Jordan Berke Express , Retailers are looking for new ways to drive e-commerce demand , Because in recent months, digital online shoppers have changed from 2020 The year's high fell .

Thirty minutes will become the new expectation of shoppers when delivering goods , If the retailer is not satisfied , They need to introduce some other differentiated approaches ,Target Veteran and retail blogger Omni Talk The co chief executive of Anne Mezzenga say . Every retailer must find a long-term solution for instant delivery , To stay competitive .

She predicts that instant delivery will go beyond the core of the city , Into the suburbs , Put more pressure on local food retailers .

meanwhile ,Mezzenga Express , She predicts that there will be integration between rapid delivery companies , These companies are burning money , They are scrambling to gain more foothold .

Automation replaces labor

Retailers face continuing difficulties in hiring enough people , The retail industry needs to change the public opinion that retail work is not a real career opportunity , Professor of operations management, Booth School of business, University of Chicago Nicole DeHoratius say .

But retailers need instant solutions to handle the heavy processes of physical and digital businesses . Director of the retail transformation center at George Mason University Gautham Vadakkepatt forecast , Retailers will accelerate adoption of automation technology , It's not just about managing tasks in the background and in the warehouse , It is also included in the customer-oriented store scenario operation management . This includes adding self-service checkout systems and scanning robots , And the integration of some devices .

DeHoratius say , This investment in operational efficiency allows retailers to provide employees with higher salaries and better benefits , So as to improve employee satisfaction , Reduce wastage .

Good Food Holdings（ Food retailers ） CEO Stern Express , He believes that food retailers will turn more to self-service checkout terminals in the coming months , To quickly solve the problem of labor shortage .

He said , When Good Food In jigger harbor, Washington （Gig Harbor） The metropolitan market （Metropolitan Market） When the store adds self-service checkout service , The retailer found , Self service terminals will soon account for one third of the total transactions .

“ We will continue our efforts to hire more people , But the reality is , We will have to move towards automation ,”Stern say .

Make use of consumer data

As more and more consumer goods businesses migrate to the Internet , Retailers increasingly need to collect data through digital channels , And use them to improve business capability , Meet the customer experience that has been used to personalized shopping .

This trend may be in 2022 Year on year , The unpredictability of the supply chain caused by the epidemic , People begin to pay attention to the ability of retailers to avoid out of stock , And provide suitable substitutes when the goods that customers want are out of stock . It is particularly important to provide alternatives , Because dissatisfaction may lead shoppers to change retailers .

DeHoratius Express , Retailers have enough channels to improve their ability to use consumer data .” Now? , Many companies operate in two separate islands , That is, data and analysis are separated , Retailers need to make consumer behavior data valuable to operational decisions ,” She said .

In addition to helping retailers manage inventory , Data analysis can also provide decision-making reference for product manufacturers when dealing with supply chain problems .

Fresher and faster staple food supply

In recent years , The supermarket industry has been improving their dietary choices . In order to be truly with HelloFresh Waiting for the restaurant to compete with the delivery service , Retailers will continue to upgrade their meal choices , At the same time, a digital ordering tool has been added , Consultancy, Oliver Wyman Responsible person Tanja Ebner say .

She quoted Kroger as bringing the ghost kitchen （ghost kitchens） An example of integration into a specific store , Explain how retailers can shift their focus from pre packaged and pre packaged food to digital ordering kitchen services through digital online tools . In order to improve the innovation and quality of dishes , Retail stores are recruiting more culinary talents .

“ We are beginning to see retailers redouble their efforts on dietary solutions ,”Ebner say .” It's hot 、 precooked and ready to be eaten , Even restaurant quality fresh meals , And provide pick-up and delivery services .

Stern say , During the outbreak ,Good Food Holdings Successful cooperation with local restaurants , Provide in store food service . Now? , The company is strengthening its catering business . All restaurants will be in DoorDash（ Home service platform ） Provide meal delivery service on . Food service will be improved to an unprecedented level .

Expand the we media network

A few months ago ,Albertsons The supermarket has launched its own retail media network ,Kroger On 2017 Introduced in the Kroger Precision Marketing（ Kroger precision marketing ）, It provides an external advertising platform .

Chandra and Mezzenga All expected , Both grocers and e-commerce platforms will be in 2022 Expand its we media network , So as to expand its tentacles in the field of FMCG , This is actually a tool for their data realization .

Retailers and e-commerce companies have a lot of customer data , Retail media network is a way to leverage consumer insight and brand spending . With the rapid development of retail media network , It will also provide performance data for the brand .

Mezzenga say , For brands , Retail media network is a better way to understand consumers and obtain customer data ” best mode ”. In some way , The technology investment of retailers comes from the services provided to brand makers .

Although major retailers are building their own media networks , but Mezzenga I hope to see , Some companies can help these retailers , Especially small enterprises with less resources and capital , Help manage their advertising and media .

When retailers establish e-commerce business , Facing certain investment pressure . Retailers are very inclined to sell their own advertising , To make up for their investment .

Accelerate the development of high-end products

IRI 's findings , Even in 2020 During the outbreak in , Facing economic challenges , liquor 、 Fine coffee 、 meat 、 High end foods such as frozen foods and spices are also very popular among shoppers . The growth momentum of high-end consumer goods will be in 2022 Years go on . FMCG experts James Richardson say ：” In almost every category , High end goods will become the growth engine .”

Richardson say , In recent years , The high-end food market has been biased towards pre packaged and semi-finished food , And like Daily Harvest This provides ” Fresh frozen ” 's start-ups , Because it meets the convenience needs of consumers , It is also dividing the market share of supermarkets .

Richardson Think , Fresh food products are still packaged food companies 、 Areas not fully explored by food manufacturers and investors , But as customer demand increases , New startups are breaking the pages , And attract investors .” What is changing in demand is higher prices , Better quality , Fresher fresh food or frozen food .

Inflation during the outbreak has set a record in recent months , And put pressure on retailers , Ask them to pay more attention to price sensitive shoppers . However, it is not clear how much inflation will affect the demand and price elasticity of high-end products . In Kroger Kroger 12 At the financial report teleconference at the beginning of this month , Chairman and CEO Rodney McMullen Think , exceed 80% Of consumers are feeling the impact of inflation , But said that high-end is still a strong trend .

Develop B2B Business

To enterprise customers 、 School districts and other non C The services provided by end consumers are usually US Foods and Sysco And other food service companies . but Berke say , The development of e-commerce has turned the competitive environment into a “ A flat world ”, The original pattern has been broken , Traditional grocers will be able to use their digital capabilities to develop new business customers .

“ before B2B The business feels very opaque , Hard to crack . It mainly relies on the ground sales team and the traditional bidding method , And now the enterprises in need will say ,’ I just want an online website , I can see all pricing transparently from there , I don't need to call someone every time I place an order ,'” He said .

The Giant Company President Nicholas Bertram Express , This grocery store has a growing B2B Electronic business platform , It is planned to expand the platform business by building a new automated performance warehouse in Philadelphia . Recently listed online wholesale retailers Boxed Also through a B2B Business units sell goods in batches , This sector is expanding rapidly .

However , Taking advantage of this opportunity requires some business updates .Berke say , Commercial customers want larger package sizes , Need a dedicated purchase entry and payment process , Allow them to pay regularly instead of on order . Retailers also need to set up special sales teams , They can sell services 、 Negotiate terms and maintain relationships .

Berke say , The return comes from having a large number of reliable and stable orders , These orders are also profitable . He pointed out that , As retailers look to create new demand for their growing online investments , Therefore, we need to find a large-scale B End customers to expand their service revenue .