Friday, August 25, 2017

Can You See The Whole Food Facts Through The Amazon Forest? This is Not The Demise of Local Supermarkets, It Is The Beginning of a Winning Adventure!

Can You See The Whole Food Facts
Through The Amazon Forest?
This is Not The Demise of Local Supermarkets,
It Is The Beginning of a Winning Adventure!
by Nicholas Ashton, CEO/CIO, CommSmart Global Group




I was the kid on the delivery bike with boxes of groceries in the front basket, riding through the village delivering your food supply.  The early 1960s, a whole different world than today.  A world of trust, respect and a small selection on the shelves of any grocery store.  How things have changed!

Why the stock market acted in such a manner on the announcement of Amazon’s purchase of Whole Foods was a supposed death knell to local and regional supermarkets I will never know! 

But I do!

Grocery shopping has radically changed is a firm fact.  Walmart is not my favorite store.  I grew up in the U.K. and Sainsbury’s was the King!  Even that has changed!

When Tesco’s came on the scene and it became aisles of cans, breakfast cereal, and the sugar was always at the back of the store to draw you in, past all the other merchandise.  There were no more big slabs of butter that was prepared for you whatever quantity you deserved, it was now a world of prepackaged food in odd sizes.

Well, the delivery bike is sitting rusting behind a building somewhere and we drive to the local store.  Shopping carts greet us with flyers for the in-store bargains and price matching coupons.  You join the line of people pushing their carts, carrying their important list of necessities and then, you are bombarded with special offers, ‘2 for one’ specials of the day and the smell of freshly baked bread’ to entice your inner hunger to buy and buy more than you require.
You can’t get that from a computer screen or keyboard on your Smartphone!

Or can you? 

Shopping is a chore and disliked by most.  Back in the day, my personal delivery service with the bike was something that was so different, personal and cost effective.  Today some stores offer home delivery for ‘free’, as long as you spend $100 or more and deliveries happen on certain days of the week at predetermined times.  So we have come full circle, so to speak.

We choose the supermarket we shop at for many reasons, price and quality are always at the top of the list. I can name my favorite stores from different parts of the US.

Florida – Publix, Goodings & Winn Dixie
Utah – Harmons & Smiths
Indiana – Aldi & Krogers (or local name)
Ohio – Aldi, Kroger, Giant Eagle & Meijer
Iowa – Fareway, Hy-Vee & Aldi

Notice NO Walmart or Whole Foods!

The purchase by Amazon of Whole Foods opens a whole new competitive world for us with technology foresight.  The Smartphones and computers will play a major role.  Fingers & Thumbs will walk the aisles of our favorite stores, but it is ingrained in us all to physically shop!

Shopping is about control of the shopper, through our eyes, the sound and beat of the music and all importantly, aromas.  Yes, we can be led by the nose to increase the amount we plonk into the shopping trolley as we are offered specials and bargains through social media interaction as the shopper is guided through the store.

It is CommSmart Global Group, a LexisNexis Risk Solutions Partner that we have the facts, current statistics and importantly the communications skills to lead the way with a trolley that does not have a squeaky or fault wheel, just one that glides down the right aisles with important information in the palm of the shopper’s hands.

Some shopping facts - We brought you ‘sound’ to enhance a shopper's experience and pace their shopping time.  Aromas to attract them to the fresh vegetables with moist fresh veggies that had the aroma of a thunderstorm.  The fish and meat department that had the sound and aroma of an ocean.  With the ultimate draw of the fresh bread with a dash of sweetness to entice and succeed.

We encompass the smart shoppers’ technology of interactive screens, Wi-Fi capability and direct connections with anyone with a Smartphone entering the store. 

Loyalty programs must have a place, it always has to be a quality two-way street.  It is the fine line of friendly information and not one of ‘in your face’.  In fact, we can go so far as tracking their shopping habits by creating grids, showing how much time is spent in each area.  Yes, we can intrude and be rude, we are not, it is for the betterment of all to make shopping a true experience instead of just dashing in and out trying to find the diapers or the sugar.

Remember when self-service gas pumps were first introduced?  The gas convenience store did not shut up shop, it adapted is thriving and so will you!
Contact our team and discuss how we can take you ten paces forward in enhancing your shopping experience for your true customers.



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