PASADENA, Calif. -- Jim Keyes, president and chief executive officer of 7-Eleven, will be a keynote speaker at the upcoming Supermarket News/Executive Technology Summit on Mastering New B-to-C and B-to-B Markets.
Keyes, who oversees the world's largest chain of convenience retail stores, joins a roster of top industry executives who will participate in the event as keynote speakers and workshop panelists.
The SN/ET Summit will be held March 25 to 27 at the Ritz-Carlton Huntington Hotel & Spa here. Its focus will be on how the Internet is revolutionizing the food distribution business and changing the way companies connect with consumers -- and each other.
Other speakers and panelists at the Summit will include Robert J. Herbold, executive vice president and chief operating officer, Microsoft Corp.; Mark S. Hansen, CEO, Fleming; Jeff Noddle, president and chief operating officer, Supervalu; Al Plamann, president and CEO, Unified Western Grocers; Patrick Steele, executive vice president, Albertson's; Lisa Kent, president, Net Grocer.com; and Marc van Gelder, president and CEO, Peapod.
The event will also include the unveiling of research projects, including a major B-to-C marketing survey conducted by Gomez Inc. for this event. According to the Gomez research, many consumers who buy groceries on-line are finding they still miss the ability to see and touch products they are ordering.
A total of 44% of consumers polled in the survey raised the "touch and feel" complaint as the biggest disadvantage of buying groceries on-line. The Gomez study will be presented March 26 as part of a workshop called "Capturing & Keeping the Customers' Attention On-line."
Despite the "touch and feel" concern expressed by the experienced group of on-line grocery shoppers, Internet users who never tried on-line grocery shopping and those who hadn't done it recently were much more concerned about the lack of the ability to touch and feel products, according to the research.
The widespread concerns indicate that on-line grocers are under great pressure to deliver on quality so that over time consumers will feel less of a need to see products in advance, according to Gomez.
Other top concerns of on-line grocery buyers highlighted in the research include:
Lack of variety in products offered.
High cost of using the services.
Inability to save money on-line with loyalty cards.
Problems returning damaged or incorrectly sent merchandise.
For more on the Summit and for program information, call (212) 630-4787 or visit www.supermarketnews.com.
