How to win in fresh in 2023: Forget one-size-fits-all
U.S. consumers in 2022 were nothing if not channel surfers. Tuned into a widening lineup of local retailers offering fresh food, consumers were willing to shop around and try new retailer categories as they sought to ease the pinch of grocery inflation, which stood at 11.8% in December.
Steering clear of tunnel vision
It can be easy for retailers to fixate on price or some other consumer need—e.g., convenience—and too narrowly focus their marketing and merchandising on how the retailer meets that need. But that fails to recognize the wide-ranging interests and priorities of consumers even within a single, likely overgeneralized demographic group.
Resonating with the 'not-one-size-fits-all' shopper
And so the idea of—perish the thought—“good enough” came to the fore in the fresh department. Maybe that new discounter or the warehouse club that’s been on the edge of town forever doesn’t have *the* biggest and best assortment of fresh perimeter items in town, but if the price is right both in fresh and throughout the store, is it good enough?