Retail Media, Plant-based diets, and grocery trends - Weekly Snacks #74

Campaign corner

90’s icons. Little Spoon, known for reimagining children's food with healthier options, has launched a new line catering to “older kids”. This lineup includes nutritious on-the-go lunches and snacks, free from artificial ingredients. To celebrate, Little Spoon has teamed up with 90s child stars like Melissa Joan Hart, Jaleel White, and James Van Der Beek for a special launch video.

More errr. Twix is preparing for Halloween with its new campaign . Dressed as witches, two women fully embrace the spooky season as they savor a Twix Ghoulish Green candy bar. While enjoying their treat, they attempt to come up with the perfect word to describe the green confection. Suddenly, a mysterious figure stumbles into the room, exclaiming, "Errrr!" The witchy duo unanimously agrees that "errrr" is the ideal way to describe the candy: It's simply "errrr"-resistible!

Technology in retail

True fit. Athletic Propulsion Labs, a high-end sneaker brand, has partnered with True Fit , an AI-driven fitting platform, to enhance its online shopping experience. Through the use of demographic information, fit preferences, global customer buying patterns, and artificial intelligence, True Fit delivers personalized fit recommendations to registered shoppers. As a result of this collaboration, APL has reported a 2% increase in revenue and a significant 15% reduction in returns.

Retail Media. Hy-Vee, at the Groceryshop event in Las Vegas, introduced RedMedia , its own comprehensive retail media network. This platform will facilitate connections between the grocery chain's brand partners and its customer base across various channels. It aims to foster brand loyalty and offer personalized interactions to shoppers. This move reflects the trend among regional grocers to establish retail media networks that are competitive with those of national grocers, recognizing the growing importance of these services in the grocery industry.

Experts sharing knowledge

Retail workers. Should all stores be providing new training for handling a variety of customer interactions? What other ways can stores ensure safer work environments and prepare their employees for the shifting times? Various retail experts shared their thoughts on these questions from a Retail Wire discussion . Here’s what Gary Sankary mentioned:?

Plant-rich diets. How confident are you that America’s diet will increasingly shift toward plant-based foods? What do you see as the primary barriers to greater adoption? These are the questions that retail experts answered in one of Retail Wire’s discussions . This is what Mark Self stated:?

In other news…

Grocery trends. McKinsey & Co.'s recent research on the state of grocery in North America highlights five key trends shaping the industry. These trends include increased economic pressure due to inflation, growing digital engagement, profitability challenges, labor market disruptions, and a heightened focus on sustainability. The study emphasizes the importance of delivering value to consumers, enhancing personalized experiences across channels, diversifying business offerings, adopting generative AI technologies, and prioritizing sustainability to ensure long-term success in the grocery sector.?

Evolution of stores. Assessing the state of physical retail in the U.S., where an oversaturation of stores has led to a decline, involves considering the future of both individual stores and shopping centers. This examination reveals how retail establishments are adjusting and evolving in response to the challenging market conditions. Highlighted in this trendline are developments such as Walmart's establishment of a store-based fulfillment center in Arkansas, J. Crew's launch of a virtual store, and Skims' introduction of its first European pop-up shop.?