OPINION
IS A MASSIVE PRICE WAR LOOMING? KATIE JENKINS, MARKETING DIRECTOR, KAM MEDIA
IS A ‘MASSIVE PRICE WAR’
ON THE HORIZON?
WITH THE SUPERMARKETS BUILDING BIG WAR CHESTS AS CORONAVIRUS DRIVES HUGE SALES, IS THERE A HUGE PRICE WAR LOOMING? AND WHAT CAN LOCAL RETAILERS DO TO RESPOND, ASKS KATIE JENKINS?
T
PLAY CONVENIENCE TALKS SERIES
here is no shortage of predictions, advice or insights about what the ‘new normal’ might look like in a post-lockdown world. At KAM we’ve had some absolutely fascinating interviews with a range of convenience experts over the last few weeks as part of the Convenience Talks series. But this week was the first time I heard anyone really mention ‘price’. “There is a massive price war coming because the nationals will want to keep their market share and new customers, and they’ve got a war chest now” according to Scott Annan, founder of the Independent Retailer Owners Forum. So, what will this mean for convenience? As an industry we’ve gained many new customers, visiting regularly and buying into a wider range of categories. We’ve developed relationships with new suppliers and embraced new technologies to keep our staff and customers safe and happy. Focussing on offering the cheapest prices
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obviously isn’t the answer for convenience retail. Annan thinks the way to retain our new customers is to offer even better service, wherever the customers wants it. As always, with convenience, service is king, but never more so than now. ‘Where-ever and whenever’ should be a key focus, with many industry experts predicting that home delivery from convenience retail will be the ‘new norm’. There is, however, no ignoring the fact that we now have a much more ‘cautious consumer’ on our hands. Cautious because they’re still scared of this virus (quite rightly) and this is affecting where and how they spend their money. Jonathan James of James Retail told us that “customers are coming back to where they think they are safe. We’re seeing a lot of people come to us because they feel safer in smaller shops. “It’s not until people feel safe that they’re going to shop anywhere near how they were before this virus.”
