Continuing with my Food for Thoughts series, this is my little snippet on WalMart SuperCenter. For those of you who would never set foot inside, you may be surprised by this video. WalMart’s grocery selection is actually pleasantly presented. Pricing on their grocery items, like all other items at WalMart, is budget friendly. While this video may not persuade you to start your grocery shopping at WalMart, I think it’s apparent why WalMart SuperCenters present such a great threat to grocery stores everywhere.
This video would soon be outdated. WalMart is continuously improving their grocery efforts, for good reasons. You may not need a new shirt every week. But, for some families, they need a new gallon of milk every day!
My post on CPGBranding.com this week was inspired by the latest Healthy Choice and U commercials. These ads chose to go into the future by abandoning their past. This is particularly the case with U by Kotex.
These ads mock every other feminine care ads in the past. The point was to say that “we get it” to their target audience: the young ladies who are newly initiated to the world of feminine care. However, such ad put forth a positioning that U is different, U gets it. Therefore, now we will have to see if U can fulfill this promise. U is now beyond its functions. It’s about the colorful packaging. It’s about the online knowledge and support. It’s about connecting with these young ladies.
Today, I was remind of an axiom: Great ads make bad products fail faster. So, the test for U is to see if it can really connect with these young ladies!
I have written before how Kroger Marketplaces are taking on mass merchants. As more mass merchants stock groceries, groceries are staring to stock mass merchant products.
Here is a video taken recently at a Kroger Marketplace. You could see that next to the milk is furniture. This store carries a wide variety of products, most are very economical. I have myself bought a few pieces of home goods from Kroger stores. My area rug costs only $20. I think in the current economy, Kroger Marketplace posts a specific threat. To furnish an entire house / apartment at one time could post a significant financial strain on a family. This is exactly where Kroger could fit in. Along with buying the necessities (e.g. milk), you could easily pick up something for your new / existing home that you’ve been wanting to pick up. Because of the price point, Kroger can actually encourage impulse purchase for home goods. It’s a very different proposition than making a specific trip to a Target.
It doesn’t appear that Kroger is eager to expand this model. It’s being very selective in where to put in a Marketplace store. I look forward to see how this story would continue to evolve.
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