What are retailers focused on now?

As a food brand you must be a-tuned to both your customers: the end consumer and the retailer that has chosen to list your product. Understanding what makes them tick is crucial to the continued success of your product.

When it comes to retailers, here is some areas of focus for 2024 from one source that you should consider in your own strategy. That way, you can stay lock-step with your retail customer.

1. Seamless omnichannel experience: Retailers will need to focus on providing a seamless omnichannel experience to consumers. This means that consumers should be able to shop across multiple channels, such as online, in-store, and mobile, with ease and convenience.

   From small mom and pop to large chains, retailers are embracing the omnichannel experience. Starting with a single channel is reason to celebrate. It’s a great way to get your foot in the door and grow your sales across all the retailer’s channels.

2. Deals and discounts: Deals and discounts will continue to be essential to driving consumer spending in 2024. Personalization efforts should be focused on offering the right product to the right consumer at the right price.

   Retailers expect brands to participate in discounts and deals. Be sure you have built this into the cost model for your product from the beginning.

3. Sustainability and social responsibility: Consumers are increasingly looking for retailers that are committed to sustainability and social responsibility. Retailers that can demonstrate their commitment to these issues are likely to be more successful in 2024.

   Brands that have adopted sustainable packaging, carbon scoring and other climate change initiatives make it easy for retailer and consumers to differentiate between brands when it comes to sustainability.

4. Recommerce: In an effort to promote sustainability and reduce waste, there will be a surge in the popularity of recommerce in 2024. Retailers that embrace the concepts of buying used and secondhand, and reusing, reselling, and thrifting, are likely to be more successful in the coming year 12.

   For food and beverage brands, there are gleaning programs/partnerships that enable retailers to mark down inventory for fast sale so it doesn’t end up as food waste. This should be embraced!

These are just a few areas of focus for retailers in 2024 so you can leverage these concepts in your strategic planning.