fine food news Researcher Planet Retail warns independents of ‘massive shift in shopping behaviour’
Click-and-collect is latest threat as online competition mounts By PATRICK McGUIGAN
Delis and farm shops that do not embrace internet retailing risk being sidelined as more shoppers switch to ‘click-and-collect’ and the large grocery players hone their home delivery businesses, FFD has been told. Independent retailers have traditionally struggled to make a success of online sales due to constraints on time, space and resources, but retail experts say pressure is building on them to adopt the technology as consumer shopping habits change. According to new research from Planet Retail, the percentage of UK shoppers buying products online and then collecting them in store is poised to more than double by 2017, accounting for 76% of all online shoppers. “Retailers should be readying themselves for this massive shift in shopping behavior,” said Planet Retail analyst Natalie Berg. “Looking ahead to the next five years, the big retailers will be better equipped with relevant technologies to capture additional spend. The danger for indies is when online retailers begin tapping into their unique selling points. For example, Waitrose.com shoppers can order directly from the deli counter.” Online delivery companies are also evolving, with Ocado increasing its range of speciality products, most recently with a campaign to find ‘Britain’s Next Top Supplier’, while Waitrose saw online sales increase by around 40% last year. Online food business FarmDrop launched in March and enables shoppers to buy direct from farmers and small producers, using the click and collect model. Customers order via the website, with producers delivering to a drop point at a set time each week. Each FarmDrop is set up and managed by ‘keepers’, who take 10% of any sale, while FarmDrop’s central office takes 10% and the producer takes 80%. The scheme has nine FarmDrops under development across the country and aims to open up to 350 in the long term. The new scheme potentially cuts out the need for retailers altogether, as founder Ben Pugh explained: “With FarmDrop you are able to order directly from your local farmer, radically shortening the supply chain
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May 2014 · Vol.15 Issue 4
FarmDrop began clickand-collect sales in March. Consumers collect from ‘keepers’, who take a 10% commission
Dot.comment: How retailers see online sales Online is a threat, ❛especially when it comes to hamper sales and gift items. Although people like Waitrose and other delis are competition, they have the same constraints as us. It’s when producers go into trading directly with the public that we can’t compete on price. Our online sales have doubled each year. It’s the preferred way of shopping for a growing number of people, so it is very important for indies to have a foot in this door. We are more likely to lose existing customers, let alone gain new ones, if we don’t offer at least some form of web offering
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Sangita Tryner, Delilah, Nottingham
The internet has ❛definitely changed
❛Online is an irresistible trend and I think everyone has to embrace it Ben Patten, FarmDrop
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and giving you the reassurance you know exactly where your food has come from.” However, CEO Ben Patten told FFD that farm shops and delis could actually benefit from the scheme by signing up as keepers. “They could use FarmDrop as a weekly event to create a buzz around the shop, but also to bring in products that are difficult to manage week in week out. “Online is an irresistible trend and I think everyone has to embrace it. Ninety-plus per cent of houses in the UK now have broadband and 80 per cent have used a click-andcollect service. People expect to buy
their food online.” The rise of online shopping has persuaded the owner of ‘artisan grocer’ Gather & Hunt to close her shop in Marlow, Bucks, to focus purely on internet sales. “People are time-poor and like the convenience of sitting on their sofa and having what they click delivered,” said Martina Hunt. “Rent, rates and staff are the three big costs as a retailer, but we found we don’t need a physical presence to attract online orders. It’s a global market that doesn’t limit us to one high street and one town.” Andy Stevenson, senior retail analyst at Verdict Research, said there would always be a place for specialist shops, but they would inevitably lose sales to online competitors if they do not offer e-commerce. “Online sales will become more of a threat. The growth of online is taking people away from those smaller stores,” he said. Click-and-collect is already available from Waitrose, which saw online sales rise 40% last year
how customers shop. However, people come to us for the service element too and a cup of coffee while they shop – something online retail can’t match. For us, online has been a hugely important area and has helped us to connect with the holidaymakers who only get to visit our shops once or twice a year. It also helps to keep our regular customers interested through sending out a monthly e-bulletin with information about our product ranges and recipes.
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Shumana Palit, Ultracomida, Aberystwyth
The biggest challenge ❛is getting your online business visible in a crowded market. Setting up an online shop is one thing, getting people to find it and use it is another. I suspect a lot of people invest heavily early on, expect a massive onslaught of orders and then lose heart. It is something that needs to be developed and the Search Engine Optimisation aspects are important.
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David Greenman, Arch House Deli, Bristol Follow us on
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