Time for a retail thali

Modern retail has changed the way consumers shop for groceries. The challenge for food marketers is to harness the changes to grow.

One important change is occassion-based shopping. It requires knowing the right context in which people shop for products. Occasions are the context of consumption that rise out of our needs, culture and habits. They give marketers the ability to be truly relevant to consumers. The contexts make consumers choose different categories and brands.

Let us look at the various occasions in a consumer's life where she interacts with a plethora of brands - the moment she reaches out for her toothbrush and paste or the morning cup of tea accompanied by biscuits, the jam that's spread on the bread, and the list goes on.

Every usage occasion is an interplay of multiple product categories. A modern retailer understands the nuances of cross-category consumption because it brings all brands together. There is real opportunity to help the shopper by providing solutions for cross-category, occassion-based consumption.

The one compelling reason for retailers to consider it is the dormant need among shoppers. I have met women shoppers who said they would be glad if they could save 15 minutes from their usual grocery shopping, picking up stuff from different aisles, to spend on their cosmetics-shopping, which needs more effort to sample and select.

And, the compelling reason for brands? They should ask themselves: Do consumers think about the category first while shopping or do they think of a brand first and then the occasion?

How easy would it be to sell an under-penetrated brand if the right occasion for its consumption could be identified and bundled with products that meet other ends but are used around the same time?

Think of having a meal at a restaurant. You could opt for a thali (plated meals) rather than the universal à la carte. The first not only provides value and saves time but also ends up introducing the consumer to a new dish or two.

India is under-penetrated when it comes to many categories. When a consumer thinks of home-cleaning, she may buy a floor cleaner and a toilet cleaner. But a glass cleaner may not be on her list. Combining the three would create a cleaning-solution at a price which would be a little more than buying the toilet and floor cleaners separately, due to economy of scale. Sales of such packs, as tried by an Indian retail chain, resulted in a glass cleaner brand selling in lakhs, when earlier it had sold a few thousands, leading to category development.

For brand marketers who could align with modern retail to explore such occasion-led solutions, making the context relevant is a major challenge. It is imperative for them to understand that the retail store is a branding theatre, leading to customer engagement. The contribution of modern retail to total trade of new-age categories like breakfast cereals, surface cleaners, anti-ageing creams, paper tissue products, air fresheners etc. is in the range of 20-45 per cent, versus the overall contribution of 6-8 per cent. Once a buzz around a category is developed, the products find their way to other channels.

Cuisines too create new opportunities as does entertaining. Think cricket on TV and a soft drinks plus snacks pack. Think tea time and a tea, sugar and biscuits pack. This can go beyond groceries to include paper plates etc.

Many occasions will be cross-category. But companies don't manufacture products across all the different categories. This means brands would have to start working with other suppliers/brands to activate a specific occasion. The thali is not disappearing anytime soon, and there are compelling reasons for something similar to appear in retail.

The author is the president of the Future Group's Food Bazaar