Where do you go to get some candy? Most of us would say the local grocery store, disregarding the fact that the structure of retail is changing daily. New online-based services are launching with a focus on being convenient and a new way to directly target their consumers.
“It’s not about where we are now, but where we will be in five years. Online is where shoppers are, and it will take a diverse strategy to reach them,” said Mike Black, Vice President of marketing for commerce analytics and strategy company Profitero Inc.
Not only can customers order candy online, they can get it delivered to their homes in under an hour. New services such as the on-demand delivery service goPuff, are threatening sales for brick and mortar stores.
Black also predicts that in the next five years, 70 percent of consumers will turn to e-commerce due to the value that it offers and new product discovery methods.
Amazon has also had an immense effect on the market by pulling it online.
According to The Hershey Co,’s Senior Director of Retail Evolution Brian Kavanagh, retailers must deliver experiences that are “special and visceral” to attract customers. This comes at a time when about 50 percent of retail sales are digitally influenced.
Perhaps retailers can learn to use the internet for their advantage. Also according to Kavanagh, “shoppers spend six times more when they shop all of the retailer’s commerce platform.”
Still, a big threat for public retailers is the steady rise in popularity of private label snack brands. Every day, millennial consumers are becoming more aware of the benefits private labels have to offer, namely the organic and health-oriented ingredients found in these snacks. Another plus for private labels is their wide availability online, which will surely affect sales for brick and mortar stores that don’t stock these snacks.
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