Are we experiencing a grocery revolution or a grocery evolution?

Change comes at a varying pace. Sometimes it is fast and forced; sometimes it is incremental and modulated. When it comes to consumer attitudes about food safety, health and wellness, and desire for more nutritious, economic food options, the food retail industry is facing a wealth of change. At times it feels as if that change involves a hastened revolution in shopper demand that is driving immediate response from supermarket management. At other times it appears we’ve had glimpses of these revisions in shopper thinking for quite some time, slowly building in intensity and fueled by technology-enhanced availability of information.

Whether we consider it a revolution or an evolution, the expectation of change is building. And the unique ways that grocery stores respond to these customer demands provide them with opportunities to differentiate and distinguish themselves for certain shopping qualities.

That’s the story we’re seeing unfold when we look at FMI’s two signature research studies, U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends and U.S. Food Retail Industry Speaks. To better articulate the groundswell of consumer desires and the food retail industry’s responses, the Food Marketing Institute has created a first-of-its-kind digital experience called Grocery Revolution.

This scrollable website takes visitors through the research findings in a visual and compelling way. After setting the landscape with today’s grocery shopper, the viewer can choose among several paths to discover the myriad ways grocers are responding to consumers in the areas of fresh foods, private brands, health and wellness and food safety.

We invite you to join the Grocery Revolution to see the building of a movement in our industry. Then we’d love to hear your opinion on whether we are in the midst of a grocery revolution or a grocery evolution. Or are consumers doing one, while the industry is doing the other?