As we move forward in the 21st century, retail itself is also evolving in giant steps. The enormous multi-channel supermarkets of a few years ago have now given way to much smaller and more comfortable stores for your customers.
We have gone from managing spaces for your biweekly or monthly purchases, to having an offer of proximity where our customers make their daily purchases.
In new practical, comfortable and efficient store formats, we all have the variety of assortment in common in the areas of food products, cleaning, personal hygiene, each in their respective channels (if it is a generalist chain, of the Latin market, etc).
In these sections, having established a good price policy, betting on always low prices or being aggressive on special offers will also coincide many times with competitors.
Seeing how the market in general has similar standards, one of the areas where the client will make the final decision to go to your establishment or to the competition’s stores, will be without a doubt the fresh products area.
You can have the best assortment in the city with the best prices, but if the fresh products you offer aren’t reaching the minimum of presentation and quality, you will be losing the competitive battle.
Starting with fruits and vegetables, the freshness, presentation and color of the products must be 100% guaranteed from opening hours until closing. To accomplish this, you must manage the purchase planning in a correct way, checking the previous week’s sales so as not to have any missing or leftovers and making a good filtration of the products that are bought.
The bread, meat, fish and delicatessen production areas of the stores are also the most sensitive fresh products and must be managed with daily production plans of an almost scientific accuracy.
Each leader in these areas has the responsibility to prepare the correct production in accordance with the historical consumption data, as well as the follow-up to the fulfillment of the sales budgets that the company has.
Fresh products in your supermarkets will influence customers
Finally, the choice of suppliers of fresh products will have a decisive influence on your objectives.
The suppliers of fresh products should be like our strategic partners where we can also participate in their day to day in the production plants, inspecting and ensuring the quality and freshness of the products that will later reach our stores.
In conclusion, we must take into account that with the market of increasingly competitive and globalized supermarkets, with the best known brands occupying the leading roles in the aisles of stores, it is no exaggeration to say that the secret of success will be in the quality, freshness and presentation of fresh products.