The live recording of the "Retail Reality Show" podcast as part of the 75th International Retail Summit at the GDI provided the audience with fascinating insights into food retail. In this park session, Nino Bergfeld, moderator and Director Retail Advisory at Salesforce, Nicolas Kröger, CDTO of Manor and Simone Krah, President of MMM-Club e.V. discussed specific strategies for generating customer proximity, the role of convenience in everyday life and the impact of digital solutions in the grocery sector.
Rethinking proximity
Proximity is more than just branch density. It also bears physical, digital and emotional aspects. Independent retailers embed their markets in local communities – from driving services for senior citizens to wine clubs that co-curate product ranges. In this way, supermarkets become social places that create encounters, combat loneliness and form emotional ties between customers and brands.
Convenience + catering = growth
Rising catering prices open up an attractive avenue for food retailers, offering good-quality and fresh dishes at fair prices that can be enjoyed in the supermarket itself, to go or as ready-to-eat options. At the same time, the premium convenience sector is growing – quick, healthy and with a focus on protein content and performance. Those who cleverly orchestrate customer journeys here are not intending to replace restaurants, but offer new occasions for consumption.
Using data, but remaining human
Margins of 1–3% demand efficiency. AI, self-checkout and automation are important levers, but are not enough on their own. The game changer is a relevant omnichannel presence. The key here is to bring together customer data in a meaningful way, use it for personalised offers and combine this with tangible added value. Technology opens up a great many possibilities, but only an understanding of people can help to achieve genuine proximity.
What must be done now
- Entering markets, listening and understanding: closeness is created by engaging in dialogue and not via a dashboard.
- Testing convenience and catering: start small, scale up quickly.
- Refine the omnichannel approach: prioritise digital advice and enable purchases to be made everywhere – in-store, via an app and online.
- Address health as a use case: nutritional advice, OTC guidance and recipes can appeal to new customer needs.
The video recording of the live podcast offers detailed insights into these exciting use cases: