Food For Thought.....

Posted By: LeeAnn Taylor

As I watched the first Presidential debate last night I couldn’t help but think about the similarities in how millennials are shopping for a presidential candidate, and how they shop for food…The irony is that there is very little difference between the two. I was hard pressed to find more than a smattering of millennials who sat through the debate……

Instead….They watch 28 second short sound bites….They’re swayed by peer….and visiting websites….and texting and re-texting and posting and re-posting and tweeting and re-tweeting...looking for a successful recipe without having to invest too much time.

Ironically, kind of a pre-packaged, portable organic answer to both.

Isn’t that how they shop in your grocery store? Aren’t those the very same methods I have been suggesting retailers implement to reach and garner millennials as a customer base? We’re trying to build loyalty, and so are the candidates. Tell millennials what you have and where to find it, let them know the benefits, make it organic as possible and easy to carry, and they’re sold. Sounds like grocery shopping to me!

I’m certainly not promoting one candidate over another…politics and food…just sounds like indigestion to me. What I am saying is these candidates have figured out that to build loyalty in millennials they have to reach them through the methods they prefer, and speak to them in a way that they understand….just like the omni-channel approaches we are all now entertaining. Just a little food for though.

Blue Skies Everyone

#grandmillennial

Extreme Couponing On Steroids…..No Scissors Required

Posted By: LeeAnn Taylor

I can still remember the days when my scissors main purpose in life was clipping out those Sunday and Wednesday newspaper coupons. I’d organize them, plan around them and cherish the abundance of savings I just knew I was capitalizing upon. But my scissors are retired now.

I, like so many, have gone the way of digital coupons. Why not, I find them everywhere…and they’re convenient. My favorite is the in-store kiosk coupons. Those little kiosk machines are fantastic. Not only do I get relevant coupons, I get recipes and weekly flyers all in one stop. Now, I still go on line and check the couponing websites like coupons.com but more and more kiosks are starting to integrate with coupons.com right at the point of purchase, so those days may be numbered as well. Kiosks also avail the opportunity and means of producing store specific couponing to the independent retailer without it breaking the bank. Everyone’s heard me preach about the need to drive millennial sales to center store…well here is another way to do it.

Take my daughter in law Farin….please… (just kidding, I love her)…she’s a recipe girl. If she doesn’t have a recipe though, it doesn’t get made. Believe me I’ve tried to show her how to throw things together, but it’s not in the genes. The ironic thing is “I’m” the exception to the rule here. Research shows that Millennials are more apt to search for, and use recipes more than any other generation. I hate to sound redundant but, retailers need to take advantage of the opportunity and provide recipes to the mass quantity of foodie Millennials looking for the next great bite of food. Kiosks are just another way of doing just that. Combine recipes with coupons, coupons that have redemption rates reaching up to 60%, and you can target your best customers and make the Millennials shoppers of today your customer base of tomorrow.

Recently in SN I read that Millennials are the leading adapters of digital coupons and are doing so aggressively. On the average they are using 5.7 different methods to discover said coupons! That’s a lot people. No surprise but they also expect these brands to deliver relevant content beyond the coupons. SN reported that 44% want retailers to give them recipes along with coupons. Better yet, 53% desire to have retailers engage and deliver content based on where they are in the store. Sound familiar? It should…( I think it’s time we rerun an old blog of mine…Geez You’re Just Shopping…Does It Always Have To Be An Experience)

So yes, my scissors may be retired…..but couponing is alive and well in the good ole’ US of A. On line coupons, website coupons, mobile coupons, kiosk coupons…Millennials are using them all. The more ways you can digitally connect with each individual Millennial, the better your chance of making them a loyal and core base customer. And who doesn’t want to grow their customer base….please, raise your hand?

#grandmillennial

Blue Skies Everyone!

Is That Another New Organic Product?

Posted By: LeeAnn Taylor

I can still remember when we all thought the “natural” and “organic” movement was just another passing phase. How wrong we were. If anything these Millennials are bound and determined to make believers out of most of us skeptics from years past. Leading the charge in my family is Rachel, who so happens to be the mother of my latest beautiful grandchild Amelia Rose (As a grandmother you never pass up the opportunity to boast about the grandkids… so pics will follow!).

My point being that Millennials who are parents make up the largest group of organic buyers, according to the latest Organic Trade Association research.  Not surprising 52% of parents who buy organics are between the ages of 18-34. This is obviously not a phase…and their reasoning to buy organic and natural varies.  Leading the charge is the well being of their children and the benefits of organic products. Rachel puts great value in knowing  “where” and “how” their food is grown and sourced. Next in line, the sustainability of our environment. 

As a retailer, how can we ignore these numbers?  I get that shelf space is a commodity; I understand that for every new product we lose a long suffering staple product or have to downsize facings. But can we afford to NOT do it and risk missing out on a whole generation of shoppers? This is differently a strategic question.

As a general rule independent retailers have a done a pretty good job of incorporating organics and natural products into their perimeter store departments this year. And the numbers are just starting to show. Prepared and portable foods have had a good showing as well. Remember this is a generation who eat on the fly and meals are typically unplanned.  So when they do want to actually play Betty Crocker (sorry Rachel) they need some help. Recent reports show an increase in meat and poultry shoppers with Millennials. Organic, natural and grass fed meats have a lot to do with that. In fact, two-thirds come home with meals they hadn’t planned on making. So if decisions are being made while they’re walking the aisles of your store you have a lot more influence over their choices than you realize. Recipes, recipes, recipes….I hate to sound like a broken record but recipes can make or break you. Think about this…recipes will drive Millennials to center store products. Are you ready for them? Do you offer organic spices to go with that piece of meat? Are organic dairy items gracing you’re shelves?  Can I get a hallelujah for a can of organic stewed tomatoes! (Believe me, a Millennial couldn’t stew a fresh tomato to save their lives)

Even as a proud Boomer, I too am faced with having to adapt my shopping purchases. These millennials are no joke on what goes into their kid’s mouths. As a card carrying #grandmillennial  my fridge had better be stocked with the appropriate foods when my grandchildren grace my threshold. Organic juices √, Fresh chemical fresh fruit √√, natural lunch meat √, whole wheat breads √, natural juice popsicles√√√, twisters and skittles√……Did I just say that out loud? Great, now I’m in trouble….gotta run home now and hide that crap fast before you know who shows up and busts me.

#grandmillennial

Blue Skies Everyone!

Can My Boomer Mindset Make The Right Marketing Decisions To Attract Millennials...

Don’t forget how to market to the Millennials that are shopping in your store!  Marketing is the key to grabbing their attention…and they’re purchasing power.  Revisit my blog from earlier this year, and remember to keep up with your Millennial Marketing Decisions!

Posted By: LeeAnn Taylor

Sure you can! Us old dogs learn new tricks all the time. Replace TV with Facebook, radio with text blasts and newspaper with email marketing…you’re half way there. This little roadmap I’ve been creating this month really does have a destination.

Think about it? You can’t swing a cat by the tail these days without hitting a Millennial. They are EVERYWHERE. So let’s embrace them and not fear them. I’m sure our parents felt some of the same reservations as they watched us changing the course of history with our unconventional dancing and obnoxious music. How about the rebirth of the feminist movement and the new-fangled credit card? (which was surely going to be the death of us all) All these I’m sure were terrifying to our parents. They survived us… and we will survive Millennials.

There really are 3 keys to Millennial to Marketing.  Be Relevant, Be Social, Be Charitable.  How you choose to embrace these 3 concepts will determine your future success. Look at them as an opportunity you can take action on. Millennials can grow your business in a way that no others can, so take the opportunity while it exists. Make a decision today to make one change a month in how you market and operate as a grocer. Small baby steps… There’s no need to eat the whole elephant at once.

Let the Millennials you probably already employ offer up new avenues and engagement techniques that might appeal to their peers. Change things up….All around you is a cache of information and help to advise you along the way. I find that most of the Millennials I meet are pretty darn dynamic in their thinking, and if nothing else inspiring. So be inspired…