Page 9 - RetailWorld-May2021-Tobacco-Updated

across the country. “We expect the sales growth to continue as more families continue to eat at home and not in restaurants,” Mr Booysen told Retail World. “Covid is unpredictable, which makes it hard to plan ahead for sales. One case, or a lockdown, does disrupt the supply chain.” According to Mr Booysen, the top five new shopper trends to have emerged from the grocery market in 2020 are: • More eat-at-home occasions. • Customers buying more locally, rather than visiting major shopping centres. • Buying across brands rather than house brands. • Buying across wider ranges. • Price not being as much of an issue as it was. Mr Booysen says customers want to shop local and buy trusted, branded products at a good price. “Customers are shopping local, and not going to big shopping centres,” he said. “Customers are buying across a number of brands and enjoying leading brands as they cook more at home rather than going out.” One of the biggest challenges, says Mr Booysen, is finding enough trained staff out in the country areas. “This hampers our delivery of a great shopping experience for our customers,” he said. “Freight to country stores is always a challenge, but, working closely with Metcash, we’ve overcome the serious issues.” Over the next year, Mr Booysen believes, the grocery industry will incorporate several new formats, with retailers diversifying their ranges and shopping experiences. “Independents will be a lot stronger in the market than they currently are,” he said. “Independents are opening amazing new stores and aren’t a copy- and-paste formula of the chains. “Online shopping will become bigger and bigger, and all retailers will have to have some sort of online platform. In saying that, I believe customers still want a good retail experience, and retailers will continue to experiment with different formulas and ranges.” STORE PROFILE MAY, 2021 RETAIL WORLD 7