Consumers Love Their Supermarket Apps
ShopRite just announced that it's launching an iPhone app, making it easier to search the sale prices from its weekly circulars. Shopper, currently the No. 1 grocery app, recently added weekly fliers from such grocery chains as Target, Giant and Walgreens.
And of course, there are already dozens of nutrition, restaurant and shopping apps out there, whether it's the Meijer WineList app, the Good Guide app, which ranks more than 70,000 products on health, environmental and social performance, or the Whole Foods Marketplace app, which offers directions to the nearest store and 2,000 free recipes. Many feature mobile coupons, which allow smartphone users to save money at the register, without ever touching a mouse or a piece of paper.
So, does all this "app-iness" prove that Americans are increasingly in love with grocery lists, as so much of the "new frugalism" research indicates?
"No," says Phil Lempert, the consumer trends expert known as the Supermarket Guru. "It proves we are in love with apps." He expects the proliferation to continue, and for many of them to do very well, even after the novelty wears off. "These food applications allow us to make decisions in a supermarket about nutrition, whether something is available in an organic form, find out about food allergies -- and it brings it all right down to the store base. These are going to be very successful."
There are limits, though. Lempert doesn't believe the explosion in food retailing apps --which is, after all, just a way for consumers to bring the Internet with them to the local market -- is getting us much closer to the next step, that of encouraging the consumer to skip the supermarket altogether, and order groceries via smartphone or computer.
Although PeaPod.com, the pioneer in the category, is still in existence -- and just turned 20 -- Lempert can't envision a world without supermarket shopping, unless it's for the most boring, unemotional food purchases.
"Our smart refrigerators will have scales on the shelves, for example, and be able to let us know that based on past usage, we're running low on milk, or our smart pantries will be able to tell us we need canned tomatoes," he says. "But produce? Meat? The fun foods? No. We're not going to stop wanting to shop for that -- we love it. We really get into it," he says. "Food is very primal, and an online experience is never going to replicate the excitement we get walking around in a store."
0 comments on "Consumers Love Their Supermarket Apps ".
Leave a Comment
Recent Marketing Daily Articles
-
Beer Category Grows Most In Brand Rankings May 23, 12:40 a.m.
Beer was the highest growth category in this year’s BrandZ rankings, up 36% year-over-year, according to ... -
Saks Soars; Target Misses May 22, 6:10 p.m.
It’s a buzzy week for retailers. While mass chains such as Target and Lowe’s say the ... -
Cricket Makes More From Less May 22, 4 p.m.
Prepaid wireless carrier Cricket Communications is taking direct aim at customers of the larger, post-paid companies ... -
Seattle's Best Promos New Drive-Thru Format May 22, 3:43 p.m.
Seattle’s Best Coffee has simultaneously opened 10 “drive-thrus” in the Dallas/Fort Worth area. This marks the ... -
Balance Bar Unveils 1st National TV Ads In 10+ Years May 22, 6:26 a.m.
Balance Bar -- one of America’s first nutrition/energy bar products (launched in 1992) -- is looking ... -
Crowne Plaza Measures PGA Tour Sleep Habits May 21, 11:21 p.m.
Just in time for the Crowne Plaza Invitational at Colonial tournament this week, Crowne Plaza Hotels ... -
Dodge Goes Social With 'Defiance' May 21, 4:44 p.m.
Chrysler LLC's Dodge, which has category-exclusive sponsorship of the "Defiance" TV show and online game for ... -
Microsoft Unveils Xbox One May 21, 2:34 p.m.
For a presentation that was obstensibly about a new gaming console, Microsoft’s unveiling of its next-generation ... -
Telematics Ecosystem Booming, But Caution Advised May 21, 2:05 p.m.
The head of marketing for, say, Starbucks, is probably thinking about cars. Specifically, how to go ... -
Sony Touts Ultra High-Definition TVs May 21, 12:19 p.m.
We’ve been through the HDTV era and the 3DTV era -- now get ready for the ...
What's great about this is the app's scaleability. Not only is it a real time store circular with coupons but another way for the store to gain additional co-op dollars through shopper marketing channels. As well as a way to speak directly to a customers dietary needs, shopping habits, and prepared shopping lists for quick recipes. So many uses and benefits here if executed correctly.