Reinventing the Customer Experience
Top Grocery Trends 2021
By Joe Skorupa
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The first steps are to analyze what worked well during the pandemic and what didn’t. Determine what systems and business models need upgrading. Discover what’s new and different about today’s shoppers and what should be done to keep their business when the national health
crisis ends.
The good news is shopper confidence is rising as vaccinations climb, COVID cases fall, and hiring surges. “Consumer confidence has rebounded sharply over the last two months and is now at its highest level since February 2020,” says Lynn Franco, senior director of economic indicators at The Conference Board.
Responding to these positive signs, a large majority of retailers plan to increase tech spending this year. Their top tech-driven strategy is unified commerce, which was chosen as the best way to scale and monetize booming omnichannel offerings. Another response to the improving outlook is a wave of bold grocery initiatives that have recently been launched.
The key question grocers should be asking themselves as the nation clears the final COVID-19 hurdles is: What just happened? Grocery store retailers risk misinterpreting this historic tipping point unless they assess, adjust and make plans to seize new opportunities to win the post-pandemic customer.
Read on to learn the top grocery retailing trends in 2021 and beyond, and about the leading retailers reinventing the customer experience and scoring big wins.
60%
Retailers plan to increase tech spending this year to keep customers returning as the pandemic winds down and stores fully open
Source: RIS, “31st Annual Retail Technology: Building the Future-Proof Enterprise”
40%
Retailers name unified commerce as the top tech-driven strategy to help them capitalize on the massive shift to digital shopping
Source: RIS, “31st Annual Retail Technology: Building the Future-Proof Enterprise”