Whole Foods- Grocerant

“It’s 4 PM: your customers are just beginning to think about what’s for dinner. 81% of American consumers are unsure about what’s for dinner,” says Grocerant researcher Steven Johnson. This is driving the evolution of the Grocerant Store experience, blurring the lines between restaurants and grocery shopping.

Why is this important from a grocer’s point of view? Research shows that there is a strong correlation between brand perception and how grocers like Whole Foods address the essential need for food by various products and services (therefore creating new experiences). Providing consistent experience around eating healthy, eating fresh, using organic ingredients etc. extends a brand’s connect with a consumer segment. By widening the definition of the need category you are serving, more opportunities to improve customer experience opens up.

But all of this really starts with deep insights from your data and an ability to transform them into customer experiences. You need an understanding of customer behavior that is much deeper than you probably have right now, to develop innovative customer-centric strategies.  You can use analytics to understand how to shape and develop customer needs, attitudes and preferences to food, health, life situations, and influence behavior and motivation to shape new and rewarding experiences. And with micro-targeting and personalized engagement capabilities you can shape customer decisions at any stage in their journey.

NPD’s foodservice market research found that in-store dining and take-out prepared foods from grocers has grown 30% over the past eight years, accounting for $10 billion of consumer spending in 2015. Millennials are a growing segment of ultra-conscious grocerant shoppers, and having your finger on the pulse of this segment means you really need to unlock more insights on what drives their choices.

Fashion and apparel brands have now taken a bite out of this trend. Retailers like Tommy Bahama, Nordstrom, Macy’s, Brooks Brothers all have or are planning restaurants selling freshly prepared food in-store.

When you put customer experiences at the center of your strategy, be prepared to experiment, innovate and disrupt your operating model, and get the right customer analytics and engagement technologies to enable your strategies. Getting it right could create significant and lasting value for your brand.


If you are looking for ideas to improve your store experience, Manthan can help you. Manthan’s Retail Analytics solutions are built exclusively for retail and tailored to fit unique retail decision-making needs. With the experience of serving 100s of customers across 22 countries, across Fashion & Apparel, Food & Grocery, Specialty and Mass Merchandise, you are bound to get what you are looking for.

For a quick overview download this data sheet:

If you are interested in a 15 min. discovery call with Manthan, do write to us at online.enquiries@manthan.com

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Author- Ajith Nayar

Ajith Nayar
As a marketer, I’ve keenly watched the retail and consumer trends for a couple decades. But never has it been more exciting than now. Because everything we used to know about shopping is changing, and fast. As consumers, it’s great to be at the center of this technology-led evolution, because it’s unfolding in our everyday lives. I’m happy to share my views on related trends and issues. You’ll see me writing on the digitally empowered consumer, shopper behavior and marketing, consumerization of retail, internet of things, analytics technologies, cloud computing and digital marketing. Presently, I’m Director of Marketing at Manthan, a cloud analytics and big data solutions provider, focused on consumer industries. I’d love to hear and learn from your thoughts and experiences too, so please write to me at ajith.nayar@manthan.com. Google+ Profile

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