On March 20th-22nd 2023, the China Chain Store & Franchise Association (CCFA) held the "2023 China Supermarket Merchandise Procurement Annual Conference" at the Xiamen Bai Xiang Convention and Exhibition Center in China. The theme of this conference was "Merchandise is the Core Element of Supermarket High-quality Development".
At the conference, Zhao Meng, Executive Deputy General Manager of Beijing Supermarkets, shared her thoughts on product development post-pandemic based on the practices and observations of Chinese Supermarkets. According to her, Chinese consumers' mentality and behaviour have changed. Referring to neighbouring Japan, she thought that we are currently in the middle to late stage of the third consumption stage (beginning to pursue a healthy lifestyle and seeking balance between spiritual and material pursuits) and are about to transit to the fourth stage (no longer pursuing famous brands, focusing more on individuality). In addition, according to Deloitte's survey of Consumer Shopping Channel Willingness Index before and after the pandemic, more Chinese consumers are willing to choose social e-commerce, group e-commerce, and WeChat channels as their consumption patterns post-pandemic.
Based on the factors such as rational consumption, healthy consumption, quality assurance, high-cost performance, personalization, greenery, added value, Zhao Meng combined with Supermarkets' practices and shared the following thoughts on repositioning product development.
1. To delve deeper into the fresh category. What does the 'deeper' mean? It means that the breadth of Supermarket merchandise management should cover competitors including e-commerce in order to attract traffic into own store. The merchandise strategy should focus on more in-depth fresh categories, including going deeper in meat and poultry processing, and focusing on more in-depth segmentation of premium products.
2. To create more personalized prepared fresh categories. In an environment where customers have access to abundant material resources, what can attract them? We need to focus on developing more personalized and sticky product categories that can attract them to the store. This is very challenging, especially in places like Beijing, where supermarkets face the greatest challenge of developing processed products while controlling labour costs. How can we resolve the conflict? Supermarkets are exploring the possibility of combining semi-finished products with prepared fresh products to achieve better results.
3. To create more high cost-performance products as a means of attracting customers. For example, Supermarkets often have short-term sales promotions to quickly increase sales volume over the weekend and then can negotiate with suppliers for better deals.
4. To create more high-quality customized products. Due to more consumers preferring for healthier and better-quality products, it is important for Supermarkets to upgrade fresh products to attract customers as well as differentiate us from competitors.
5. To focus on categories that have offline potential. For example, stationery products are difficult to purchase online during back-to-school season, so there is still great sales potential for this category in physical stores.
6. To explore opportunities in new and previously unexplored product categories. New or unexplored products always provide sales opportunities. Regularly adding new products or new display also attract customers to stores.
7. To create more context-specific product combinations. Opening a supermarket and simply placing products on display is not enough. Stores should aim to sell lifestyle by stacking products around specific scenes, creating a comprehensive and attractive shopping environment for customers to enjoy.
8. To create a more social atmosphere in stores. Social interaction includes creating a warm and happy atmosphere in the store, which is highly valued by customers. For example, Supermarkets believe that creating a happy shopping experience for children also makes their parents happy, therefore increases customer satisfaction and adds value to the business.
9. Lastly, to create a more humanistic environment. For example, Supermarkets tend to create open and relaxed spaces for customers to participate in events or receive information on e.g. healthy living. By doing so, we show warmth and care for people which in turn attract customers to our stores.
News source: www.chinashop.cc
Post time: Apr-01-2023