The Grocery Store of the Future

June 13, 2014
NACS Online
Trends such as ‘hyper-showrooming’ and ‘micro-personalization’ and ‘lifestyle advisors’ are coming.
​CHICAGO – Picture this: A grocery store with shifting walls that transforms into a restaurant at night and a farmers market on Saturday mornings.
Sound far-fetched? A recent article in Ad Age magazine describes how it could happen as soon as 2025, according to a new exhibit by the Food Marketing Institute that seeks to predict food retail trends for the next decade.
The exhibit, which debuted at FMI’s tradeshow in Chicago this week, was overseen by Tesser, a San Francisco-based brand strategy and design firm. Project sponsors include Hershey Co., Coca-Cola Refreshments and American Express.
If the FMI predictions are correct, shoppers could soon encounter the following:
The new front end: “The frictionless checkout is going to happen,” FMI predicts, meaning people will simply walk out after their purchases with payment handled automatically. For brands and retailers this raises important questions, however, like how you replace all those impulse ads and products at the check-out aisle?
Micro-Personalization: Technologies like near-field communication and facial recognition will allow retailers to personalize product assortments in real time so they are tailored to a consumer’s purchase history.
Lifestyle Consultation: Store employees won’t be confined to the check-out aisle. They will become “lifestyle advisors” as they help people shop.
Hyper-Showrooming: Picture a smartphone app that works in conjunction with a wine display. Answer some basic questions on the app about the kind of wine you are looking for and the bottle that suits your needs will light up on the shelf.
Transforming Stores: Stores will physically change to offer different arrangements and assortments for different times of day, seasons, weather and even traffic patterns.