Grocery Retail Pioneers: Shaping Tomorrow's Customer Experience Friday, December 10, 2021

The Buzz 1: “Everybody eats – the act of buying food will never go away – but how we buy food will certainly evolve…” (forbes.com) The Buzz 2: “In The Future Market – It’s possible, of course, that physical grocery stores might not even exist in 50 years.” (fastcompany.com) The Buzz 3: “I went down the street to the 24-hour grocery. When I got there, the guy was locking the front door. I said, 'Hey, the sign says you're open 24 hours.' He said, 'Yes, but not in a row.’" (comedian Steven Wright) The Grocery industry is in the midst of an intense, prolonged period of transformation. Yet emerging from this change is a once-in-a-generation chance to leap forward – for grocers to not just overcome today’s challenges, but to fundamentally reimagine the role they play in customers’ lives as they head into tomorrow. For years, grocers’ attention was mainly focused on making their stores visually appealing. Then, literally overnight, in Spring 2020 that changed – suddenly shifting to making a smooth online customer experience indispensable. Grocers are forced to find innovative ways to merge online and in-person experiences into new forms of seamless shopping. Today, retailers find themselves competing with chains, specialty stores, local farmers and markets on a scale never seen before. Reality check: Today’s connected customers have more grocery choices than ever — and they know it. Good news: With change comes opportunity. Grocers need to be willing to take risks that previously would have caused ‘indigestion’ in the boardroom. They need to seize opportunities to build resiliency into supply chains and networks, to turn last mile delivery into a margin-boosting differentiator and to be far more customer-centric. We’ll ask Capgemini’s John Waymire and SAP’s Randy Evins for their take on Retail Pioneers in Grocery Shaping the Customer Experience of Tomorrow.