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food consumption trends

What impact do new food consumption trends have on retail?

What impact do new food consumption trends have on retail? 1677 1119 Altavia

 

 

According to Social Food, 79% of French people in 2017 think that food can cause health problems.

 

So they look for certification and methods of consumption that give them control over what they eat.

 

According to Social Food again, 65% of them eat ORGANIC products on a regular basis. In addition to this, of the 60% of French people who think that the Made in France label is a guarantee of quality, 75% favour Made in France for their food.

 

Although this new relationship with food has an explicit impact on communication, as is shown by the Fleury Michon campaigns and the “new” McDonald’s branding, new trends in food consumption are taking longer to become evident in retail. Which raises the question, what impact do new food consumption trends have on retail?

 

Products with certification are increasing in number and are increasingly identifiable on the shelves. Certification is highlighted through the use of stickers and packaging. “Specialist” counters such as fishmongers, delicatessens and butchers are becoming more common and more visible thanks to improved signage.

 

Some brands are going further, however, and offering a new shopper experience.

 

An example of this is the Coop in Milan, which provides online screens to enable customers to check the traceability of products. Online mirrors above fruit and vegetable counters provide customers with full details of the products they select.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kb8txki-9j8

 

In Zona Sul in Brazil, vegetables are kept in the earth, for customers to pick themselves :

 

 

Despite the increase in requirements in terms of food, however, the French have less time to prepare their meals. They head for ready meals, fast food offers and home delivery. Franprix has understood this and joined up with Allo Resto by Just Eat to provide a themed package home delivery service.

https://www.alloresto.fr/livraison/franprix/

 

Despite the new offers and services made available by retailers, alternative methods of consumption are booming. Technological innovations and public actions provide customers with the benefits of a vegetable garden, even in the city. New collaborative consumer channels, such as the Associations for the Preservation of Peasant Farming (AMAPs) are being created.

 

For the first time in 8 years, the volume of supermarket sales in the food sector has fallen:     -0.2% in 2016

 

Although the retail sector is currently adapting in order to respond to new food consumption trends, new players with greater relevance to consumer needs are inviting these consumers to use retail brands alongside the alternative solutions they are gradually adopting.

 

By Sidney Debaque, Strategic Planner, Agence Cosmic

 

Decathlon puts an end to all the phygital fantasies

Decathlon puts an end to all the phygital fantasies 1370 1079 Altavia

 

Are they an enduring innovation or a temporarily trendy idea? Do they benefit customers or are they just another technological gadget? Each month, Bruno Auret, an expert on digital commerce and the founder and CEO of Blackwood Digital, takes a critical look at digital innovation in retail.

 

There has been much talk about the new Decathlon City in the 15th arrondissement of Paris. This space, covering a “mere” 500 m2, is more interactive than ever and is counting on its proximity to customers. But what does Digital Commerce specialist Bruno Auret think of it?

 

“Everyone has been convinced until now that phygital necessarily means training, product personalisation, social walls etc. However, there has not yet been any proof that these propositions generate purchases or that retailers and brands derive any benefit from them. The Cap 3000 shopping centre in Nice is alone in having succeeded, through its Digital Wave, in increasing its shopper numbers by +16% (!) since installing its huge interactive screen.

 

With its shop in rue du Commerce, Decathlon has put an end to all the fantasies about phygital. The brand is counting on an approach that is certainly less glamorous but, in my opinion, more effective: the pain killer. In other words, how to get rid of all the negatives faced by customers in the course of their shopping.

 

– Pain killer No. 1: too far away

 

Until now, Decathlon has been present mainly on the outskirts of big cities, where it is easier for large stores to set up. With the Decathlon City in rue du Commerce, the brand is re-investing in the centre of Paris.

 

– Pain killer No. 2: too many offers are counter-productive

 

The goods available in-store are completely tailored to the catchment area in which the shop is located (families with children). There are Running, Fitness and even Cycling departments. Offers not available in-store are accessible through interactive terminals.

 

– Pain killer No. 3: product not available

 

Do customers really use these digital terminals independently, in a self-service way? No! Nobody travels to a shop to end up alone in front of a screen. Decathlon has not fallen into that trap. For catalogue goods accessible only through the terminals, Decathlon has given an important role back to sales assistants by inviting them to support customers with their explanations and advice.

 

These terminals could certainly have been improved from the point of view of signage, graphics and ergonomics. But they do their job: customers and sales assistants use them together and that is what matters.

 

– Pain killer No. 4: lack of service at fitting rooms

 

Another trap that Decathlon has avoided is the mirror provided by selfie/cross-selling/social networks, etc., which serves no real purpose and also extends fitting room occupation time (an absurdity in business model terms). Digital technology is used here only as a means of communicating with a sales assistant, whom a customer might ask for the same item but in a different size, for example. Decathlon’s focus is on comfort, not glamour. This is a much smarter approach!

 

I do have doubts, however, about the practicality of this good idea. Let’s not forget what happened with Darty, which made a terminal available for customers to call a sales assistant if they were unable to find one in the shop. The end result was merely additional frustration: if sales assistants are not available around the shop, the reason is that they are busy, either with another customer or dealing with stock, or that they are having their break. Customers therefore had to wait in vain for an assistant, when it seemed they were being promised an almost immediate reaction.

 

How will Decathlon City be organised from a logistical point of view? Will there be a dedicated runner for this task? Let’s wait and see.

 

– Pain killer No. 5: waiting at the checkout

 

The brand suggests that customers pay for their purchases with their smartphone, using the Decathlon app. The objective is right, namely avoiding the need to queue, but I am not sure that the response is right. The number of apps being downloaded is decreasing, as people prefer to keep room for photos or music.

 

With regard to the automated checkouts that are also available in-store, these are intended to be quicker than traditional checkouts but they do not really prevent the problem of customers having to wait their turn.

 

Despite a few drawbacks here and there, this is one of the directions that phygital should take, in my view. Less pointless glamour and more business! I feel that the choices made by Decathlon give us a glimpse of what the shops of the future will be like for customers: far, far fewer constraints. ”

 

By Bruno Auret

 

créativité en communication commerciale

Creativity in sales communications : myth or reality?

Creativity in sales communications : myth or reality? 2098 895 Altavia

In a large group focused on production and sales, is there a place for creativity? Benoît De Saedeleer, Creative Director at Altavia ACT*, outlines his vision of creativity.

An environment in which you have to have fun

As a player in production and communication at the point of sale, can we indulge in creativity when we are involved at the critical moment of purchase? According to the Creative Director of the Belgian BU, creativity provides real added value at any moment of communication. However, it is essential to respect the specific constraints of our activities: formats, techniques, time, budget, recurrence of the communication, etc. All these elements define the framework in which we can free our creativity.

 

“For many years, we have learned to control this framework and make it work in our favour to offer consumers a communication that is surprising, entertaining, and above all relevant. Creativity must be used to aid communication, never the other way around” he stresses.

Creativity must be developed

No-one is born creative, they become it. Tinker Hatfield, the brilliant Nike designer, said this: “Sitting in front of a computer all day will not make you more creative. We need to go out and get inspiration from the world around us.” This is exactly what us creatives must do to constantly come up with fresh ideas in an ever more complex field. Amazed by everything, always searching for new ideas, never getting complacent. Today we have access to amazing tools within the group, such as Altavia Watch or ShopperMind, to share this knowledge and inspire each other. “It is also for the purposes of this sharing of knowledge and inspiration, that we have decided to set up a Lab at Altavia ACT*”, Benoît explains to us.

Our own creative identity

The tools and talents that we can draw on, allow us to provide a totally unique profile to our clients. The research we carry out provides context. The concept can therefore be adapted to the real situation in the field and to the consumer to create relevant and effective communication. In addition to the many insights and statistics revealed by our research, we must put ourselves in the shoes of the consumer and learn from our observations.

 

We never forget that we are consumers above all!
Benoît De Saedeleer

A perfect mix

According to the Creative Director of the Brussels Bum creativity is both a matter of introspection and sharing. You must switch between these two phases to find the balance between conscientiousness and letting go. Two ideas that speak to the consumer, shared between their emotions and their rational mind. So just because we work in a purely promotional environment, it does not mean that we should abandon the emotions. The important thing is to arouse something in the consumer, capture their attention in order to win them over.

 

Boldness as a driving force

“By getting rid of their inhibitions, the creative can be unchained” insists Benoît. Daring to share ideas, submitting them to the judgement of others to help develop them and create strong ideas. That is the difficulty and the great secret of the creative. A secret that we have decided to share with you today. Don’t hesitate to pass it on!

 

By Benoît de Saedeleer, Creative Director, Altavia ACT*

 

Semaine européenne du développement durable

European sustainable development week : the 17 goals of this year’s edition.

European sustainable development week : the 17 goals of this year’s edition. 1681 899 Altavia

 

The European Sustainable Development Week takes place from May 30th to June 5th. What’s the goal ? Facilitate individual forms of mobilization, individual and collective, in order to promote sustainable development and raise awareness of its issues. For this 2017 edition, the 17 sustainable development goals set by the United Nations in 2015 are in the spotlight.

 

This is the start of a new Sustainable Week, during which many events are scheduled throughout Europe. In 2016, more than 300,000 citizens in 38 EU Member States and other European countries participated, with 4,146 initiatives, activities and events, including 1,661 in France.

 

This year again, a dedicated website, lists all the French projects – classified by themes or regions. “In Paris, for example, the 1.618 movement opens a concept store on sustainable luxury at La Corderie, in Paris, from June 1st to June 11th,” says Camille Lebret, Environment Project Manager at Altavia. About fifteen French and foreign brands from all areas of the lifestyle sector (design, mobility, gastronomy, new tech, fashion, jewelery, perfume …) will be present. Through its actions, 1,618 seeks to highlight that sustainable development is compatible with creation, quality and aesthetics. ”

 

Improving the lives of people around the world

 

The objective of this 2017 edition is to highlight the 17 sustainable development objectives (SDGs) set by the United Nations in September 2015 under the Sustainable Development Program to 2030. These 17 SDGs hold the challenges that must improve the lives of people everywhere: poverty eradication, food security and sustainable agriculture, health and well-being, quality education, equality between men and women …

 

“In France, actions are carried out by companies that are members of the Global Compact initiative, to achieve the 17 objectives of sustainable development,” says Camille Lebret. With regard to poverty eradication, for example, Essilor International, the world leader in ophthalmic optics, has set up a program to combat uncorrected vision, called Vision for life. “With an initial allocation of € 30 million, the program would be the world’s largest strategic charity commitment to fighting uncorrected vision.

 

Another example, linked to objective 7 “Clean and affordable energy”, is the energy access program, led by Schneider Electric. “Today, nearly 1.1 billion people – almost 1 in 5 people in the world – do not have access to energy,” says the World Energy Management Specialist And automation. By developing inclusive economic models, Schneider Electric contributes to reducing poverty while protecting the environment through an innovative and economically viable approach. ”

 

The Armor-Lux project, linked to the objective “Mode of consumption and sustainable production”, is equally remarkable. In 2011, the company of Breton origin was able to design, from plastic bottles, a polyester jacket recycled and recyclable for the City Hall of Paris.

 

“No impact week”

 

During this European Sustainable Development Week, the Mieux agency also organizes, for the 3rd year, No Impact Week. “Everything started with American blogger Colin Beavan, who experimented with his family on a lifestyle without ecological impact for a year in New York,” explains Camille Lebret. Thomas Parouty, founder of the Mieux agency, was inspired to organize within his company a week dedicated to the reduction of the carbon footprint. “For the 2017 edition, many actions, conferences and sharing of experiences are on the program. Why not start with the first challenge “During the European Sustainable Development Week, I collect with my colleagues at least 1 waste per day! “? Let’s participate!

 

 

 

 

Le succès fulgurant du paiement mobile

[CHINA] The dazzling success of mobile payment

[CHINA] The dazzling success of mobile payment 1570 961 Altavia

 

In China, technological advances in mobile payment have developed hugely in only five years. Electronic wallets are quick, secure and free to use, and today 450 million people in China are taking advantage. Wallets are an excellent way for brands and labels to find out everything (or nearly everything!) about their clients’ habits and preferences.

 

Often, it’s the first thing we do when we wake up. We reach for our smartphones, check our messages, tap in a few notes, see what has been happening on our social media feeds. Then we slide our precious companion into our pockets, only to take it out again two minutes later. Mobiles have become essential items from which we can’t be separated. “In China, some people have understood this and seen huge potential in mobile internet’s first tentative steps,” says Stéphane Joly, Executive Vice President of Altavia Asia, “Major groups like Tencent have focused their technological efforts on mobile use, which has exploded in the past few years.” The Chinese now scan QR codes to access apps or sites and to pay for products and services. It’s all done using a mobile phone.

 

The electronic wallet’s success

 

Whether they use WeChat Pay (Tencent) or Alipay (Alibaba), more and more Chinese people are taking out their smartphones at the tills. More than 450 million in fact! “It has quickly become a habit, although five years ago it didn’t even exist,” adds Stéphane Joly, “I no longer carry cash, just like 45% of electronic wallet users. When I go to a restaurant, I pay with my phone. It’s the same for taxis, the supermarket and a coffee at the café on the corner. Everyone has QR code readers!”

 

In China, mobile payment transactions today represent 5.5 trillion dollars. That’s 50 times the size of the American market (10 times more for a comparable population size).

 

Mobile payment is totally secure, free, efficient and leads to significant time savings for users (scanning and paying only takes a few seconds). And there’s the freedom you gain by not having to deal with cash.

 

Always a step ahead 

 

Behind the phenomenal success of WeChat, launched in 2011, is Chinese new technology group Tencent. The group is almost unknown in Europe, although they have been experiencing rapid growth over the last few years. Tencent has risen to become one of the 10 highest-listed companies in the world, with 300 billion market capitalisation (in first place is Apple, with 800 billion dollars).

 

Originally a simple messaging system, WeChat has today become an app which lets you do almost anything; Chinese users spend 30% of their online time on it. However, in 2013 two messengers were being widely used: QQ, with 820 million users, and the young WeChat, which only had 200 million users at that time. Four years later, QQ has not developed and is about to disappear, whereas WeChat, which has integrated mobile payment into its functions, has grown its user base to five times its 2013 size. Messengers without mobile payment have no future in China, and Tencent has quickly become aware of the fact.

 

And the adventure is far from over. When it comes to electronic wallets, “the Chinese are always thinking about how they can help users become more at ease and confident,” says Stéphane Joly, “Alibaba subsidiary Ant Financial has just acquired the American start-up EyeVerify and its iris recognition technology for mobile apps. Fingerprint secure transactions will soon be replaced by a system which they say is impregnable.” Indeed, China is always one step ahead!

 

Dominating the world of transactions

 

Focusing technological efforts on the mobile sector, and, in particular, phone payment, is in fact a highly strategic choice. According to Stéphane Joly: “We know that the crux of customer insight is understanding client transactions, so enabling the electronic wallet to succeed is more than relevant. The Chinese have invested everything in QR code technology, which involves scanning codes with a phone, with a view to dominating these notorious transactions.” Considerable amounts of data are collected and brands know everything about their clients’ behaviour and habits: perfect for launching a carefully targeted ad campaign with results of which you can be sure.

 

 

S-Commerce

S-Commerce: The return of the local shop.

S-Commerce: The return of the local shop. 1455 920 Altavia

 

Ask around you, the major difference between stores and shops is the relationship between consumers and sellers. The brands have invested social networks to provide advice and recommendations, while working at the point of sale to streamline the purchasing process and personalize the experience through customer knowledge.

 

However, despite their efforts and, except in rare occasions, social and retail networks operated in silos. According to a Harris Interactive study, 62% of consumers use social networks to search for product information, 58% read reviews, and 51% search for special offers. Social networks are thus a major element of the shopping process and shorten the journey between networks and the act of purchase which is all the more crucial.

 

# There’s An App for That

 

There are as many lines of business as there are typologies of social networking.

 

To play on the influence, services like Iam8Tv or MikMak make it possible to make videos on Snapchat and Instagram and to attach a product, so that it is directly buyable.

 

In order to use the native side of instant messaging services, bots allow to order through Messenger. MasterCard for example has developed a complete bot from information retrieval to secure payment, all in the Messenger application.

 

More traditional but equally effective, it is possible to buy products directly through Pinterest. This is actually the use paint brand Krylon made of it in the United States, during their Pinterest Yard Sale activation.

 

 

Brands reappropriate social networks in order to get closer to their customers. They have succeeded in overcoming top-down communication by giving the floor and putting their fans in value. Thanks to the innovations of the social ecosystem, the next step is to create a space that aggregates contents, advice and trading platform. Like a shop.

 

By Sidney Debaque, Strategic Planner @ Agence Cosmic.

 

carte de fidélité connectée

Are Connected Loyalty Cards a Step Forward or Backward?

Are Connected Loyalty Cards a Step Forward or Backward? 1678 1119 Altavia

 

Are they an enduring innovation or a temporarily trendy idea? Do they benefit customers or are they just another technological gadget? Each month, Bruno Auret, an expert on digital commerce and the founder and CEO of Blackwood Digital, takes a critical look at digital innovation in retail.

 

This month, he has chosen to break down and analyse connected loyalty cards recently tested by Kiabi with 20 customers in their Beauvais store.

 

Even though they were supposed to be spreading like wildfire for the last two to three years, digital in-store experiences have not taken off. Why? “Because they don’t do anything”, you might respond. While this statement is certainly a bit radical, it is essentially true. Eighty percent of digital innovations tested in stores in the last few years did not do much.

 

Though interesting at first glance, the connected loyalty card tested by Kiabi at the beginning of the year is, in my opinion, representative of what is happening now in the phygital world.

 

First of all, let’s examine the principle behind it and how it functions.  When a customer enters a store, they are instantly recognised through their connected loyalty card (with its RFID or NFC technology). This way, the customer receives shopping recommendations via a large screen display as soon as they enter the store and is greeted personally at the checkout, without the “Hello, [insert first name of your choice here]!” formula. In other words, it personalises the customer’s journey through the store through data collected in advance on the internet. However, while this approach may seem appealing, I do not believe it is the right one for several reasons:

 

The shopper is not an Internet user.

 

When you go shopping, especially at busy times, you are just one more anonymous person in a crowd of strangers. Now imagine that in this context, you walk into a store anonymously (or at least so you think), and there on a giant screen where everyone can see it, your name (and maybe even your picture) appears with recommendations based on your latest online purchases. Doesn’t this situation make you uncomfortable? There is a real issue with privacy. When it comes to speaking to me personally, it should happen in private sphere, not in front of everyone.

 

Far be it from me to say that we should not put on a performance with the customer in the store–we’ve actually stepped in this direction ourselves. Cap 3000 is the latest example of this. However, it is absolutely essential that the customer be an active participant who is in control of the information presented. In this case, the information is shown in spite of what they may want.

 

As far as the content of recommendations, will they be relevant? If yes, it means that the customer’s interests and previous purchases were tracked in advance, probably on the internet. In this light, a card like this one could be seen as a kind of harassment. We have all been in the position of looking for a product online, buying it (or not), and continuing to see the product suggested to us for several weeks.

 

The store is not a museum.

 

If the loyalty club works well, which we hope it does for Kiabi, it is easy to imagine that many people might get the loyalty card and they might come into the store at the same time. In this case, how would the display work? Who would get priority? Examining this scenario, it becomes clear that the concept was designed with one-to-one interactions in mind.

A system like this might work well in places with controlled flows of visitors, like museums, for example. In a store, however, people walk in all directions. There is generally a path customers are intended to take, but in the end, they will do what they want. And we all know how hectic a Saturday afternoon can be in a store, with all of the constraints of a real point of sale.

 

Just because technology can do something doesn’t mean it should.

 

Why not have a card that can communicate with a website and screens? But what does it provide? What benefit does it bring the customer? What does it do for the brand (in reality, not just the buzz it creates)? Technology is a means to an end, not an end in itself, or even an entrance key.

 

What if the value added of the Kiabi card lay in the fact that it is a physical object?

 

In the end, the true good idea in this new loyalty card ideas may be its old-school aspect. Kiabi is going against the current trend to go electronic by opting for a physical card. And why not? Why not have a few cards in your wallet again? A symbolic object for some or a status sign for others, a card can have real meaning. After all, every movement creates its own opposite. The more we move towards a paperless, electronic world, the more people will want to hang on to physical materials. The goal becomes: fewer, but better.

 

By Bruno Auret

AND THE WINNERS OF THE 2015 SHOPPER VALUE® AWARDS ARE…

AND THE WINNERS OF THE 2015 SHOPPER VALUE® AWARDS ARE… 605 403 Altavia

…Auchan and Apple, elected by their french clients !

mosaique-shoppermind-hd

For the 36th edition of the LSA Innovation Awards, ShopperMind, Altavia group’s research laboratory that investigates and forecasts trends in consumption, rewarded Auchan and Apple of the “Trophée de la Valeur Shopper” ( Shopper Value Award).

Since 2010, the barometer of Valeur Shopper  measures the quality of the link between a retailer and its clients, on the basis of the 10 fundamental needs, constituying the Valeur Shopper.

Thus, the Valeur Shopper Award gives consumers a voice and recognizes the 2 retailers -one food and one non-food- that have been effective in meeting their customer’s needs.

On december the 16th, at Salle Wagram in Paris, Nathan Stern, ShopperMind’s chairman, rewarded Auchan and Apple, in front of an audience of more than 500 decision-makers of the French retail segment.

For the second year in a row, Auchan is rewarded by its clients, thanks to its quality of service and its empathy. Its last cross canal oriented communication campaign is under a thematic that really matters to them : ” And you, how do you like the life?”
With its “shopping” advertisement, the retailer was already giving an image of accessibility through its different services : drive, mobile, delivery, shops… which really is consistent for a service-oriented company.

In the sector of specialist retailers, Apple succeeds Nature & Découvertes ( last year’s winner). An unshakeable concept, created in 2001 by Steve Jobs himself, with stores more relation-oriented than business-oriented. A model which has been imitated or which has inspired many other brands..but which staysTHE reference of the contemporary commerce, even more so with its latest successes with the launch of Iphone 6 and Apple Watch. Regarding the progress of the brand, the 13th official Apple Store which opened in China, did not on a street or an avenue of a bIg city but on… Alibaba! This is undeniably a sign for the future of retail.

Congratulations to them!

shoppermind