For all those who have admired the consistency and presentability of produce in western supermarkets, here\u2019s proof that tough times really focus us on substance and force us to look beyond skin-deep beauty.<\/p>\n
Even in fruits and vegetables.<\/p>\n
British supermarket Sainsbury has challenged European Union guidelines that restrict the sales of fruits by certain physical standards. Sainsbury’s is questioning EU regulations that prevent selling “ugly” fruit and vegetables. Due to EU regulations such as size of cauliflower (minimum 11 cm diameter) and the shape of carrots (requirement that there should be a single root, not multiple), Sainsbury estimates that up to one-fifth of what is produced in British farms cannot be sold in the supermarket. According to Sainsbury\u2019s estimate, not following these regulations can help to reduce prices by up to 40%, and reduce wastage by up to 20%. The retailer is also trying to drum up customer support by running an online poll (94% responses were in favour of Sainsbury\u2019s move, at the time this column was being written).<\/p>\n
So less beauty could mean more veggies in the supermarket, and more money in everyone\u2019s pocket including, hopefully, the farmer.<\/p>\n
And this may also vindicate anyone who has complained that the beautiful veggies and fruits in western supermarkets taste inferior to their \u201cugly\u201d counterparts sold on Asian hand-carts. Give us more substance and less style, any day.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s look at some other substantial issues that merchants should consider.<\/p>\n
Remember \u201cI can\u2019t get no satisfaction\u201d? That\u2019s what Mick Jagger and his mates in the Rolling Stones hit the world in the face with in 1965, allegedly in response to the rampant commercialism they had seen in the US.<\/p>\n
After 43 years \u2013 at least judging by the modern supermarket shelves \u2013 apparently we still ain\u2019t getting no satisfaction. In fact, the array of choice tends towards \u201coverload\u201d.<\/p>\n
A typical developed country supermarket is estimated to carry over 40,000 SKU\u2019s. Can you think of 40,000 types of items (or even 10,000) that you would need from the supermarket for your home?<\/p>\n
So here\u2019s the result. During my travels, if I\u2019m in a store that is unfamiliar I could spend over an hour wheeling a trolley around before reaching the checkout. The first 5-10 minutes are focussed on figuring out the aisles based on my list. The next 10 minutes are spent picking what is actually on my list. And the rest of the time before the checkout is usually spent browsing through the thousands of SKU\u2019s and picking stuff that we never knew we needed when the family made the shopping list.<\/p>\n
Now, the guys who run the supermarkets are generally a smart bunch \u2013 they\u2019ve figured that the more options you put in front of consumers, the more they buy. My cash receipts are proof of that. But, as American professor and author Barry Schwartz (\u201cThe Paradox of Choice\u201d) says, the point where the choice becomes counter-productive is already well-past in developed markets.<\/p>\n
With such overwhelming choice, consumers get into analysis-paralysis. And even after they finally purchase something out of the enormous range, you get shades of post-purchase dissonance. Only, in this case the dissonance, the dissatisfaction is not related to a bad product, but: \u201cWhat if there I had made another choice? What if there was a better product than this? What if there was something available for less?\u201d<\/p>\n
During these times, it is pertinent to also put this in the context of business costs. There is surely a cost of providing that humongous choice in supermarkets. Have we considered what the saving could be, if the variety was reduced, if the product range was consolidated?<\/p>\n
Consider the time (and therefore cost) spent on product mix and pricing decisions \u2013 surely merchandising teams have to be larger if you have a larger product mix, since each person can only handle a finite workload. Consider the cost of logistics of handling a widely diversified range. Consider the efficiencies lost in diverse production mix. So, does the consumer really need, really even want all that choice?<\/p>\n
Retailers like the German chain Aldi raise precisely those questions. Aldi sells about 1,100 SKUs compared to the usual 40,000. And it claims that the typical shopping basket in Aldi\u2019s UK stores is 25% less than competing supermarkets.<\/p>\n
Indian retailers, of course, are possibly yet to reach that pain threshold of choice. There are possibly some potentially useful choices that are still missing. But even here, it is well worth taking a hard look at the product offering. With availability levels that can dip as low as 50-60%, it is probably worth asking \u2013 what if we dropped XYZ product from our range? Would it really hurt our sales or even our image; or would it help us to focus better on the products that really matter?<\/p>\n
If we took our attention away from building such false choices, could the business become more profitable and therefore more sustainable?<\/p>\n
The US and European markets are often the source of many a management thought and business model related to consumer products and retail, and of \u201cbest practices\u201d.<\/p>\n
So, in closing, I should share this question someone asked me recently: \u201cwhen do you think consumer spending will bounce back in the US?\u201d My first response was, \u201cIf only I had a crystal ball\u201d. But the next thought in my mind was what if US consumers actually came to a decision that they had \u201cenough\u201d? What if their excessive consumption was no longer the role model for consumers in emerging economies? What if, instead, the frugal consumers of India and China became the global role model?<\/p>\n
What would your business model look like then? Would your corporate be more socially responsible? And would it have a better chance of lasting longer?<\/p>\n
For those who are interested in taking this inquiry even further, I can recommend John Naish (\u201cEnough: Breaking Free from the World of More\u201d, 2008), John Lane, Satish Kumar, M. K. Gandhi, Alan Durning (\u201cHow Much is Enough?\u201d), or any number of ancient Indian, Chinese, Greek or Roman schools of thought, many of them pigeonholed into \u201creligious\u201d or spiritual categories.<\/p>\n
You might also like this video of a talk by Barry Schwartz on Ted.com (below).<\/p>\n
Do please share the results of your inquiry with us, too.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Remember \u201cI can\u2019t get no satisfaction\u201d? That\u2019s what Mick Jagger and his mates in the Rolling Stones hit the world in the face with in 1965, allegedly in response to the rampant commercialism they had seen in the US. After 43 years \u2013 at least judging by the modern supermarket shelves \u2013 apparently we still ain\u2019t getting no satisfaction. But what if…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[389,212,274,215,60,37,43,46,1],"tags":[481,446,390,174,176,177,101,102,103,104,107,179,183,250,216,292,391,59,69,166,88,196,65,203,301,487,398,488,208,232],"class_list":["post-1869","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-progressive-grocer","category-consumer","category-csr","category-food-grocery","category-india","category-marketing","category-retail","category-strategy","category-uncategorized","tag-availability","tag-china","tag-column-progressive-grocer","tag-consumer","tag-consumer-behavior","tag-consumer-behaviour","tag-consumer-goods","tag-consumer-markets","tag-consumer-products","tag-consumer-research","tag-consumerism","tag-corporate-social-responsibility","tag-ethical-consumer","tag-fmcg","tag-food-grocery","tag-food-and-grocery","tag-grocery","tag-india","tag-indian-retail-sector","tag-modern-retail","tag-new-products","tag-on-shelf-availability","tag-retail","tag-retail-productivity","tag-retailing","tag-sku","tag-store-productivity","tag-supermarkets","tag-sustainability","tag-usa"],"yoast_head":"\n