Is the one-stop grocery shop coming to an end?
Consumers are no longer stocking up, and retailers are major enablers. My latest Retail Wire weigh-in:
What if retailers themselves are changing shoppers’ habits? The default assumption is that retailers are constantly reacting to changes in shopper behavior and that small formats (or conversely, mega-assortment emporiums) are a response. No doubt this is true to an extent but the proliferation of small formats, digital-to-physical delivery mechanisms (even for small orders) and other convenience options also encourage shoppers to eschew time-eating stock-up trips in favor of quick and specific fill-ins from multiple retailers. Retailers are accelerating the convenience trend; opening up opportunities for multiple players to participate in it and attack it from multiple angles (small, large, digital, clicks-to-bricks … ). Shaping is the new responding.
