“What you have done in the past to get where you are right now is not always the answer to today’s problems,” stated Anil Aggarwal, founder of the Groceryshop, during his opening remarks at the annual conference in Las Vegas.
In its second year, the Groceryshop brought together more than 3,000 attendees and more than 200 speakers to talk about the transformation of the food and beverage retail industry, changes in consumer behavior, and innovations that are helping retailers to keep up with the continuous changes in consumer expectations and preferences.
Aggarwal offered a clear perspective on the challenges facing the grocery and CPG industry, not to alarm, but on the contrary, to show the path that businesses and entrepreneurs must follow to avoid failure.
“Today’s changes defy the fundamentals of everything we know and force us out of our comfort zones” This is not a unique set of static changes; it is a series of ongoing changes that develop moment by moment over an extended period and are bringing a new era of how we plan, implement and operate,” said the founder of the Groceryshop. [embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/embed?listType=playlist&list=PLREAj1RrmLiWt-Br3lQ4p0MLtOOMbw1lB&v=1C2Zcz34-IU[/embedyt]
“Although this constant flow of changes exists, Aggarwal added, its cumulative impact on our business will be exponential and will change a quota of the considerable market that separates the winners from the losers industry.”
“It is the set of these changes that are driving the transformation of wholesale businesses at the top of the demand curve, where the industry operates at scale and obtains the highest amount of revenue and profitability,” stressed Aggarwal.
Change is undoubtedly complex for the industry because it must take into account many factors based on innovation, advances in technology, and new trends.
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But the CEO of the Groceryshop emphasizes that at this time, it is evident that consumers today have greater access to information and technology, making conscientious when buying.
Consumers expect all aspects of purchases to work based on convenience and experience. Therefore, shopping is no longer only making a trip to the store. “The answer to more and more questions about how to live better and healthier, how I can save more time on my busy day,” said Aggarwal.
What he means is that a substantial number of consumers will buy from CPG retailers and companies that can meet their demands both in physical stores and digitally.
During the four day conference, it became clear that the industry is working to advance technologically to facilitate consumers’ access to products and meet their demands.
However, despite the diversity of conference attendees, the event did not feature sessions that discussed issues related to the impact that ethnic diversity is having on shopping behavior and how Hispanic buying power in the U.S. can be a determining factor in the future of the grocery and CPG industry.