Grocery shopping is a chore that people try to get done as quickly and painlessly as possible. Right? Not necessarily—especially if you live in Austin, Texas; Morristown, New Jersey; Southern California; or Eastgate, Ohio. In those places, various grocers go beyond expectations to create shopping experiences, filled with fun, entertainment, and added services.
In Texas, H-E-B grocery stores are popular favorites, already attracting the strong loyalty of most shoppers. Never one to rest on its laurels though, H-E-B is tearing down its South Congress Avenue store to rebuild a new, massive complex. On site will be a 110,000-foot grocery store, placed right alongside a music venue, beer garden, and food hall. The food hall will host booths from local restaurant favorites, with both indoor and outdoor seating. The stage in the music venue is large enough to host famous, big name acts. Throughout the entire complex, rotating art installations will offer visual appeal. It’s grocery shopping that looks like attending a music and art festival.
At the Village Food Garden Wellness Center, run by the ShopRite grocery chain in Morristown, New Jersey, all the elements are already operational and have been since 2013. The Wellness Center offers fitness classes (for a monthly membership fee of just $25), dietician services, and a learning center targeted toward children between the ages of 3 and 8 years. While parents stretch in a yoga class or work up a sweat with some Zumba, their kids engage in planned activities and games. Afterward, everyone might meet up at the coffee bar, allowing the parents to chat while the children play together. It’s grocery shopping as a community hub.
Southern California is home to Gelson’s Markets, some of which provide what it calls its Sip ‘N Shop service. The upscale markets have extensive wine selections, and many of them also contain in-store bars where patrons can try the vintages before buying them. The new service, marketed on tabletop tents in the bar, recommends that customers arrive with a shopping list for the wider store. Then they can sit down, place an order for a glass of wine and a meal, and hand that shopping list to a store employee. While they enjoy their repast, the employee will do all the shopping for them, then bring the packed up purchases to them when they are ready to leave. Although there is no minimum order for the service, shopping basket sizes have increased by 35 percent among those who use it. It’s grocery shopping as a sideline, without any effort by shoppers, who instead get to enjoy going out to eat.
Finally, Jungle Jim’s International Market is a vast space that can feel overwhelming. To counteract that uncomfortable feeling, it opened the Jungle Experience Center, where it hosts special events and dinners. A recent event celebrated the 20th anniversary of the release of The Big Lebowski, with a themed menu and dress code that suggested guests appear in costume as characters like the Dude or Donnie. Regular five-course gourmet dinners pair food and beverage items available from the store, while showing documentaries about the vineyard that produced the featured wine or the region from which the food was sourced. It’s grocery shopping as a themed party.
With these examples, is it possible to even claim that grocery shopping is still a chore?
Discussion Questions:
- Why are some grocery retailers including value-added services in their product/service assortments?
- Which of these services do you believe will have the greatest profit impact for these grocery stores? Defend your answer.
- Which, if any, of the services mentioned in this abstract would be a strong enough incentive to make you switch grocery stores?
Source: Krishna Thakker, Retail Dive, June 24, 2019