2018 Food Trend #10: Future Supermarkets

Our final insight focuses on what the supermarket itself may look like in 2018 and beyond. It’s been a game-changing year for our industry, and has set the foundation in place for an entirely new way to look at supermarkets.

In 1989, I sat down with Herbert Hofer, a European artist, and shared my vision for what I hoped the supermarket in the year 2000 would be. No aisles, no gondolas, lots of fresh foods, lots of excitement, no checkstands, products grouped by meal occasions—the top line, a food experience second to none. We haven’t gotten there yet, but the stores that are being built today are closer to this vision than ever before.

It's time we rethink the four-walled structure—much like Apple has done for its new headquarters. Marsh supermarkets was a pioneer in testing a new concept that was groundbreaking.

We should wake up each morning thinking about how we can make the shopping experience better. Unata reports that 68% of those who shop online are likely to switch retailers for a better online experience. Actually, one in three shoppers switch for personalized offers based on their purchase history.

And we should have what I spoke about at the start—a unique curiosity and an openness to what can be. Eataly World opened Nov. 15 in Bologna with a million square feet of everything food: 40 farming factories, 40 restaurants, six educational rides. A Disneyland for foodies, if you will. They predict 10 million visitors a year (Disneyworld attracts just under 20 million). This is a blueprint for the ideas we should be incorporating in our stores. Taste, education, excitement and empowerment—four things every supermarket should stand for.

Related:2018 Food Trend #7: Advertising

Also in Italy, this time in Milan, The Coop—the supermarket of the future—uses technology to give shoppers total transparency and total information. It's a look into how we should be using artificial intelligence and augmented reality.

We are witnessing food halls popping up throughout the country, but how do we incorporate this into our stores? We know that food halls bring excitement, but there are also many inefficiencies that supermarket operators can solve. Food halls grew by 37% in 2016. Hy-Vee has done it, ShopRite has done it and Mariano’s has done it, to name just a few. And what it says to shoppers is that “we are all things food.”

And then there is the new model that Reebok and B8TA—both here in Santa Monica, Calif.—are testing: showroom-only stores where products can’t be purchased. But it's a great concept to introduce new food products that could be incorporated in every store.

Related:2018 Food Trend #8: Security

We spoke last week about indoor farming and its opportunities. In Japan, supermarkets have put greenhouses on top of, or adjacent to, supermarkets. Why not put a greenhouse right inside the store and allow shoppers to pick their own produce? After all, we have beer and wine coolers where shoppers can select their brews—why not for produce?

Coles has launched a “quiet hour” once a week where there are no PA announcements, no music, no stocking shelves and no commotion to offer the parents of the one in six children that have developmental disabilities a haven to shop together in.

Waste-free supermarkets continue to grow globally, but here in the U.S. only a few exist. In Austin, Texas, for example, In.gredients has made a commitment to zero-waste and should be a model for all stores to learn from.

It’s time to build stores that are truly energy-efficient, with solar glass blocks and solar roofing that not only reduce energy, but also create additional energy that could power an entire store.

Online grocery is also at the top of everyone’s list and there is no doubt that it will continue to grow and evolve. Click & Collect will become the dominant online channel for all the reasons described here: convenience, security and quality. Shoppers do want to have a relationship with their supermarket; they don’t want the experience to be faceless. And sometimes they just don’t have the time or desire to step into the door.

Online delivery will become more fractured, and more local. We see companies popping up on the landscape that are local with a specialty, have unique relationships with farmers and purveyors and offer curated offerings—not the 40,000 products that are on the shelves—and many of which aren’t on the shelves at all. We see larger national and regional delivery players shifting to the auto-replenishment model.

One of the biggest threats to traditional grocers is being created by blockchain technology. INS Ecosystem wants to reinvent the way people shop for food. They have raised over $60 million, and Unilever is a partner, among others. Their goal is to out-Amazon Amazon, with even greater inefficiencies.

As much as tech might want to disrupt the way people shop and make everything more efficient, let's remember that this business is all about people and our relationship to them. It's time to imagine just what a supermarket can be.