In a recent article, consultant Doug Stephens outlines four purposes for brick-and-mortar retailers in an eCommerce era. He suggests retailers need to pick at least one of these purposes to remain relevant. Here, I explore the purposes and add a fifth. Stephens explains that retailers have always acted as a conduit to connect brands to […]
News/Blog
Thought leadership pieces and industry insights from MSource Idea's founder, Lionel Binnie.
Foxes, Hen-Houses, and other ECommerce Fables
Over 20% of Grocery Retail is likely to move online by 2026 according to a recent Supermarket News article. That’s big news, but equally big is that the vast majority of online grocery shoppers prefer click-and-collect over home delivery. Seventy-six percent of respondents said they favor in-store (44%) and curbside (31%) pickup, compared with 24% preferring delivery. Consumers don’t like to pay for home delivery, […]
The 5 Stages of Growing a Food and Beverage Business
The new caramel-pecan brownies are winning raves with their crunchy, moist deliciousness. That chipotle-lime salsa touches taste buds you didn’t even know existed. Congratulations! You have a product that needs, no, demands, a place in every food shopper’s heart and pantry. Read on to learn how to make that happen. Whether you are an established […]
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know about Food Brokers
I recently interviewed my friend John Wopperer about the food marketing industry. Our conversation was focused on clarifying the topic of Food Brokers, also known as Sales and Marketing Agencies (SMA’s). John founded his own SMA, Venture Sales Group, which he and his partners successfully sold to Acosta recently. Acosta is one of the largest SMA’s in the U.S. I hope the interview […]
Guess We Still Like Shopping, Huh?
This was going to be one of those ‘insightful’, goose-bump-inducing, pieces until I realized how gob-smackingly obvious it is, but still worth saying. So at the risk of sounding like hotel.com’s dorky avatar, Captain Obvious, here goes. What we still like about physical retail Covid showed us, funnily enough, what we like about physical retail. […]
4 Great Omnichannel Retail Service Providers
At the recent NGA (National Grocer’s Association) conference, I spoke with a group of parallel but different companies that help independent grocery retailers get their e-commerce up-and- running. Shop Hero, Rosie, Local Express and EGrowcery, while different, all provide tech, web design and product images, inventory tie-ins, and linkages to delivery services. Together, these service bundles jump-start retailers to a high-level of e-commerce; for both delivery and click-and-collect. With these services […]
2 Ways Local Grocery Retailers Can Compete in Omnichannel
I recently attended the National Grocers Association (NGA) tradeshow and conference in Las Vegas. Notable for me were two conference sessions on e-commerce. Micro Fulfillment Centers (MFC’s) The first covered micro fulfillment centers (MFC’s) – small, largely automated vertical warehouses, provided by AutoStore. These MFC’s pick and pack online grocery orders for online shoppers. Whether for click-and-collect, or delivery. 6 times faster […]
Kroger to Roll Out More Ocado Automated Customer Fulfillment Warehouses
Grocery giant Kroger is opening an Ocado automated fulfillment warehouse (customer fulfillment center or CFC) for home delivery in the Northeast soon. They have no stores in the Northeast, so this is an e-commerce only move for Kroger. They already operate a CFC in central Florida, with more planned in Florida, California and the South. These operations can deliver to a 90-mile radius and can […]
Retailers Own Two Assets: Consumer Mind-Share and Shelf Space
There are two things a retailer has to offer brands; mind-share and shelf-space. Online retailers like Amazon and more offline retailers like Kroger offer the same things to brands; Mind-share – they want to be first-in-mind when a shopper has a shopping need. And then they have shelf space. Shelf space for online retailers is basically […]
Instacart is Another Ad Channel
A recent Wall Street Journal article explains that as COVID-19 worries fade, delivery services like Instacart, with revenues declining from the 2020 ‘stay-at-home’ peak, are turning to ad sales to boost revenue. So when you visit Instacart’s website you’ll be served ads from various food brands seeking your attention. Which is competing with ad dollars […]
