Small self-service stores are growing in Europe. Between 2011 and 2017, 100,000 new small self-service stores opened in the 44 countries of Europe. The growth of small self-service stores is partly a response to five megatrends: urbanisation, household size, women in the workforce, the rise of eating out and smartphone penetration, which have supported growing […]
Online grocery has been slow to take off in most of Europe. Even in the two most advanced markets—the United Kingdom and France—online grocery shopping accounts for only about four to five percent of sales respectively. This slow growth, however, shouldn’t fool retailers into complacency: customers want to buy groceries online, and will do so […]
In today’s market, European retailers and manufacturers are often pitted in a fierce battle for share of declining disposable income. They face major disruptions, including new shopper values, changing habits and technologies. In short, developing and selling new products and services has become more complex. To survive, companies must understand the changing shopper needs and […]
An effective shopper information strategy addresses the main information needs of the majority of shoppers as simply as possible while also promoting engagement, informing choice and serving additional information needs based on specific circumstances. This report on shopper insights by the Europe Council outlines recommendations to help retailers and manufacturers understand and respond to evolving […]
We marvel at the rise and spectacular successes of Tesco, Mercadona or Lidl. At the same time, we wonder why North American retail giant Winn-Dixie was forced to declare bankruptcy, while its principal competitor Publix continued to grow and thrive. How did some of the seemingly invincible companies of the past decades, with massive capital […]
This report by the Europe Council and McKinsey & Company summarizes the results of an extensive study on the growth of European discount grocery retailers and the implications of this growth for non-discount supermarkets and hypermarkets. To develop this market research, the Europe Council and McKinsey & Company held discussions with leading experts and surveyed […]
In 2003, European food retailers experienced significant challenges in attracting talent. Despite being one of the largest private sector employers in Europe, the food retailing industry was not viewed as an employer of choice. It failed to meet the expectations of current and potential employees in terms of work content, learning opportunities and work-life balance. […]
While the European food retailing industry has been building stores with an anticipated economic life of at least 15 years, as new channels enter the competition for consumers’ attention, the industry is starting to question whether it can afford to take such a long-term view. The convenience sector in North Western Europe, for example, will […]
As a result of dramatic changes in people’s lifestyles, the traditional boundaries between the retail food market and foodservice providers have become blurred. Increased wealth and time constraints provide a challenge to conventional habits in food shopping and eating out. However, these food industry trends offer an opportunity for retailers to help consumers by giving […]
The opportunity to know your customer is greater than ever before. With these kinds of shopper insights, companies in the food retailing industry should best leverage the information available to create an advantage in their competitive strategy. The report below examines in detail the experiences of other industries in learning about their customers, from the […]