January 16, 2024 • 24 mins
Discover the profound shifts in consumer experiences as Lisa W. Miller, celebrated author and industry expert, joins us to dissect the revelations from her 2024 consumer survey. We delve into the escalating costs and waning satisfaction that shadow traditional leisure activities like dining out and watching movies. With keen analysis, we confront the challenges these industries face, from staffing shortages to price increases, and explore their substantial impact on family finances and the pursuit of everyday joy. Amidst the turmoil, we also spotlight the resilient rise of food co-ops and the implications of major market consolidations, shedding light on the evolving food industry landscape.
Listen in as we navigate the convergence of economic pressures and lifestyle choices shaping family budgets and consumer habits. The conversation takes an intriguing turn as we discuss the 'Zellenial' demographic, a segment caught between millennials and Generation Z, known for their economic tenacity and socially conscious spending. This engaging discussion not only reflects current consumer discomforts but also uncovers the silver linings in community-driven initiatives and the potential for market adaptation in an ever-changing world. Join us for a compelling journey through the highs and lows of modern consumer behavior and the search for connection in a digitized age.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Phil (00:05):
Welcome to the Wentworth Report LIVE.
On today's broadcast.
A very special look at customerpain points for 2024 with our
guest Lisa W.
Miller, author of the Businessof Joy and her latest consumer
survey.
The Walmart AI exit strategy.
Dollar store's latest threat tosupermarkets.
(00:27):
On FoodN ot Phones, how screentime is hurting our eyesight and
on the bulls eye, Kellogg's haswhat they hope is a new path to
the Zillennials.
Do they?
Sally has the day off.
Let's get started.
Lisa W.
Miller is president of LisaMiller Associates, creating
(00:48):
motivating insights and drivenactions, and she gets right to
the heart of 'So What?
' and 'Now What?
'.
She brings over 30 years ofconsumer insights and innovation
experience, collecting over450,000 consumer interviews.
Her insights come from animpressive background as VP of
(01:09):
innovation at BrinkerInternational, serving brands
including Chili's and Magianos,and VP of consumer strategy and
insights at PepsiCo and atQuaker.
Today she'll share her latest2024 consumer survey findings.
Lisa, welcome to the LempertReport LIVE.
Lisa (01:29):
Thanks so much.
Excited to be here.
Phil (01:32):
So first I want to talk about Joy, and one of the things
that obviously you know yourbook talks about, all your
interviews talks about, has todo the importance of us being
joyful, and I found from theGreater Good Science Center at
the University of California atBerkeley a comment and I want to
(01:54):
get your reaction to this thatpeople who commit daily
micro-acts of joy experienceabout a 25% increase in
emotional well-being over thecourse of a week.
Is that true?
Lisa (02:09):
Oh my gosh, I love that statistic and Phil, that just
nailed it right.
Is that basically those littlemoments of joy is what helps us
get through the day?
And I always say that joy is achoice, it's how we choose to
see the world.
And yes, there was a statisticI read from the government just
(02:30):
saying that if you have more joyit reduces the heart you know
your heart disease and all ofthat.
So not only is joy just feelgood, it's actually good for our
health.
So I love that statistic.
So Joy, everybody needs to makeroom for it.
Phil (02:46):
Combination of mental health and well-being Great.
So let's talk about your newsurvey First up.
You know I know that a lot ofyour background is food service,
but certainly as supermarketsget more into gross rounds, as
supermarkets are fighting toothand nail to get some of those
food service dollars so that weeat at home, there's a lot that
(03:10):
we can learn from your survey,and I guess the first question
that you asked had to do withhaving dinner and moviegoer
frustrations.
Tell us about that.
Lisa (03:22):
Well, I will say we are in a share of wallet war for our
fun money, for consumers' funmoney, and so back in the day,
you know it'd be likeeverybody's like, let's go to
dinner in a movie.
Well, now it's getting kind ofexpensive.
Phil (03:36):
Very expensive.
It's outrageously expensive.
Lisa (03:40):
And what's interesting, when you look at the data that's
up on the screen about themoviegoer frustrations.
Half of moviegoers basicallysay prices are up too much.
And then you can read down thelist with not enough staff, even
dirty restaurants.
What's fascinating, though,Phil, is that since April/ May,
all of these numbers have goneup a lot.
(04:02):
So what happened then?
Barbie, Oppenheimer all ofthese people are coming back to
the movies and they're prettyfrustrated, so it's not that
joyful.
Phil (04:12):
And also what's interesting to me in just a
firsthand observation.
The Palm Springs Film Festivaljust took place and the
attendance was down considerably.
And one of the things that Iwas talking to someone about is
why are people not wanting to goto films?
And they said, no, the worldhas changed, you can now.
(04:36):
You don't have to go to a filmfestival to see these state of
the art films that are not theseblockbusters, you can just
stream them.
So we're really experiencing awhole new way of looking at
movies, whether it's throughstreaming.
I mean, it used to be VHS andBeta and those big discs.
(04:56):
Then it was the small discs,Blockbuster's gone and all that.
But now touch of a button, wecould just stream.
So what about the restaurantgoers and their frustrations
when they go to restaurants asthat part of the dinner of the
movie?
Lisa (05:17):
Well, definitely.
And on the movies, one of thethings that movie theaters need
to talk about is just thisexperience sitting at home
watching it.
Even if you have the bestentertainment center, still not
the same as the big screen.
So there's opportunity formovies to really market that.
When it comes to restaurants,you can see that the pricing
frustrations are even higherwith 60%, but not surprising
(05:40):
what's happening not enoughstaff, the wait times are long
and it's just again.
It's just not that joyful.
So when you're trying to figureout what do you want to go do
dinner and a movie people arepicking one or the other because
, don't forget, for a lot ofhouseholds with young kids,
you've got babies sitting on topof that, and so people are just
(06:00):
having to make tough choicesand they want to have fun.
Consumers half of Americans arecraving I mean literally feel
they're craving socialconnections with people to get
out with their family andfriends.
It's just expensive.
Phil (06:16):
Very expensive and if you take a look at the prices that
continue to go up for foodbecause of whether it's climate
change or supply chain issuesand the like, I was just talking
to a friend of mine a week orso ago and was complaining about
how they used to go to a dinerif you would, and they could get
(06:39):
scrambled eggs for breakfastand toast and so on and it was
affordable.
And now he was telling me thatit's like 20 bucks for scrambled
eggs and potatoes and toast andcoffee and that's just absurd.
Lisa (06:56):
Oh no, I was going to say one story I just had the time in
is speaking of that same thing.
I went to breakfast with afriend.
Two oatmeal, a coffee and a tea, plus tip at a full service
restaurant $41 for two oatmealin Dallas.
Phil (07:13):
Unbelievable.
Lisa (07:14):
Guess what that was 'not worth it'.
Phil (07:17):
Yeah, so it goes back to your Quaker days and having like
a little cup of oatmeal thatyou could bring with you and add
some water to.
Let's pull back away frommovies, away from restaurants,
and talk about retail in general, not just grocery retail.
But what are people feeling,what frustrations, what are
(07:38):
their pain points when they'regoing shopping for just about
anything these days?
Lisa (07:43):
Well, I bet everybody out there can guess what's the
number one on the list, which isprices have gone up too much.
Now this one is actuallyimpacted also because of the
holidays, and so we saw Novemberand December increases in
frustrations and not enoughstaff and pricing and still
dirty restrooms and things likethat.
(08:05):
But it is impacted by theholidays.
What I would say is that thoseretail outlets that really can
focus on the customer experienceand a joyful experience,
training the employees I alwaystell people the next best dollar
spent is on your employees.
I know the marketing peoplemight get mad at me, but the
(08:28):
training in the retail spacerestaurant space, movies train
your people because that isgoing to be the differentiator
moving forward.
Phil (08:38):
Well, if we look at certain retailers like Wegmans,
Danny and Colleen, you know, puttheir money where their mouth
is.
They do great training, theyhave very loyal employees, which
then translates to a greatcustomer experience, to your
point.
So I think that that's really,you know, something that we can
(08:58):
never forget in retail, thatit's not just about price, but
that whole holistic experience,if you would, and it starts with
the employees.
When you look at your crystalball and you look at some of the
pain point and frustrationsover the next six months and
(09:19):
certainly we're in a verystressful time, with wars going
on, with elections going on andso on what do you see happening?
Is it still going to all beabout prices or are there going
to be some other pain pointsthat we've got to recognize?
Lisa (09:34):
Well, I think the key to 2024 is going to be recognizing
the value equation.
It's the simple thing what youget for what you pay.
But now you're paying with yourtime and your money.
Is it worth my time, is itworth my money?
And so what's happening is thatwe've raised the prices.
(09:55):
So, like, the denominator ofthat equation is we're upside
down on the value equations inmost business verticals, whether
it's grocery, restaurants,movies, retail the value
equations upside down.
So in 2024, what can you do toadd value to what you're giving?
So, if you have to take a priceincrease, what can you give
(10:15):
back in the experience?
And that's where training,really focusing on your people,
can provide that little extra.
I will say two other points.
One is for the grocery people.
Now is it a unique moment intime where delivery is kind of
in a crazy place restaurantdelivery and so for grocery
(10:38):
stores, if they can think aboutthat, when people are coming and
shopping, how can you enticethem to get to the food service
part of it?
Because right now people arereally tapping out of delivery
and it could be a unique shareof wallet opportunity for the
grocery store.
And then, the last thing that Iwould say when I ask people
about their New Year'sresolutions.
Basically people are talkingabout wanting to prioritize and
(11:02):
connect in person.
They want to find joy in an allkind of loops backfill with
where you started with yourquote.
It's investing in littlemoments in joy In retailers,
grocery stores, restaurants,movies.
If they can invest a little bitof joy for their employees,
it'll transcend to theircustomers.
Phil (11:23):
Well, Lisa, that's a great forecast, if you would, for our
audience, for retailers, forrestaurant tours to be able to
put at the top of their list,adding a little joy to their
customers, and I think it'llcome back with new business and
new profits.
So, lisa, thanks so much forjoining on the Lempert Report
(11:44):
LIVE today .
Lisa (11:46):
Thank you so much, Phil.
Have a good one.
Phil (11:48):
You too.
So let's talk about a storythat we've been talking about a
lot over the past few weeks.
It's about self-checkoutWalmart, where we've seen all
these stories aboutself-checkout.
Well, a new announcement justcame out from Walmart as it
relates to Sam's Club, and whatthey've said is they're going to
(12:12):
stop checking receipts at Sam'sClub.
Now, if you've got to Costco orSam's Club, there's always
somebody at the door checkingyour receipt to make sure that
you're not stealing anything.
We've had that experience witha lot of self-checkout as that's
expanded, as the shrink hasincreased on that.
(12:33):
But what they're doing veryinteresting is that they're
using AI.
It's a tradition that they'regoing to start that I think is
going to translate tosupermarkets and drug trains
very quickly.
So basically, what they'redoing is they're going to have
(12:54):
this AI device that checkswhat's in your shopping cart as
you leave, against your registerreceipt, and that way you don't
have to be confronted bysomebody.
What's interesting about thistechnology and this is a quote
from Sam's Club they will haveno problem scanning a
(13:16):
queen-sized bed, an entireWitcher wardrobe or a cart full
of breakfast cereal.
So it'll be interesting to seehow that works if it does work,
and certainly as it relates todrug chains as well as
supermarkets.
Dollar stores have beenexpanding terrifically.
(13:37):
We know that.
But there's been some downside.
If we look at dollar stores andI'm not talking about the
customer experience, but theretail experience there's a new
study that's just come out thatfinds that one out of every 20
independent grocery stores willgo out of business within a
(13:57):
couple years of a dollar storearriving in their area.
Dollar stores have announcedmore than a thousand new stores
opening every single year, andwhen we take a look at this
study that comes out of theCollege of Agriculture, health
and Natural Resources, theyfound that when dollar stores
(14:18):
enter markets, independentgrocery stores shut down, so
it's not affecting the chainstores as much as independence.
And as we take a look at what'sgoing on with the Kroger/
Albertsons merger now againbeing put on hold from a lawsuit
from the state of Washington AG, basically what they're talking
(14:41):
about, in my opinion, is thatthis CNS deal that is gonna take
over 400 stores from Kroger andAlbertsons is not gonna be
enough to satisfy.
What I think is gonna be thekey here for the FTC as well as
the different attorney generals,is being able to divide some of
(15:02):
these stores.
I think it'll be upwards of 600stores, not 400 stores.
Among smaller independentgrocers, those stores that might
have 20 to 100 stores, they'rethe ones that are gonna pick up
these extra stores, especiallyin California and the state of
Washington.
And I think that, while a lotof the attention of the unions
(15:26):
and the AGs have focused on lossof jobs at retail, that's not
the issue.
The issue for me is I don'tthink we're gonna see any loss
of jobs at retail.
We'll see loss of jobs atheadquarter level when we start
to see consolidation in buyingand merchandising, certainly in
(15:49):
operations and distribution.
That's number one.
But again, for me, let's notforget that the combined buying
power, if you would, of havingover 30,000 store brands between
Albertsons and Kroger, that'sgonna be the key, that's gonna
be a powerhouse and probably putthem as the third largest CPG
(16:13):
brand, if you would, in the US,and that's gonna be the dynamic
that nobody's talking about that.
Frankly, I think that theattorney generals and these
lawsuits are missing the keypoint and that's gonna be even
more powerful than the retailside.
Also, the important thing tonote is, with these dollar
(16:35):
stores, keep in mind they've gota lot less employees than an
independent grocer does, theymight only have two or three
employees in a dollar storeversus the scores of people that
are in an independent grocer.
So as these dollar storesproliferate, that's where it
hurts the economy, not only forconsumers and consumer choice,
(16:59):
because there's so much of theultra-processed food that's sold
in dollar stores but frankly,that's where we're gonna see a
loss of jobs.
So I think it's reallyimportant, as the industry looks
at this Kroger/ Albertsons deal, to look much more holistically
at what's going on with dollarstores, with the CPG brands
(17:20):
being affected by the storebrand consolidation, not focused
on the loss of jobs at retail,because I don't think that's
gonna happen nearly as much aseverybody portends that it's
gonna be.
So the other thing that we'reseeing with dollar stores
(17:41):
because of what's going on thereis we're seeing a rise of
co-ops, and that's beenfascinating for me.
I happened to when I was incollege.
I was part of the PhiladelphiaCo-op.
That was my first workingexperience in a co-op and the
great news is that, with thisdollar store phenomenon taking
(18:03):
place, more communities arefunding dollar stores.
Now the problem is it takes alot of people it takes three to
five years to create a co-op.
But if we can see that channelof distribution growing, I think
it helps the communities, Ithink it helps the assortment of
products that are out there andcertainly it gives everybody
(18:26):
much more of a good feeling ofworking.
On FoodNotPhones today, there'sa report that comes out from an
eye doctor, Irfan Jeeva, who hasraised concerns about the
impact of excessive screen timeon our kid's eyesight, pointing
to the increasing need forglasses among youngsters.
(18:49):
What they're talking about isthe digital devices, including
phones, tablets and TVs, arecontributing factors
significantly to thedeterioration of kids' eyesight.
So certainly one solution arethese blue tinted glasses that a
(19:10):
lot of people are now using asthey're doing their screen time.
But, most important, let's goback to the premise of Food Not
Phones.
Talking to each other, notlooking at screens.
That's what's critical morethan anything else In today's
society.
We keep on seeing more reportsfrom a health standpoint, from a
(19:34):
wellness standpoint, of what'sgoing on with screen time, and
we really need to start payingattention to that before it's
too late.
On today's bullseye, it lookslike the cereal giant Kellogg's
is focused on targeting whatthey're calling the Zellenial.
You know the Zellenial is ademographic cohort that sits on
(19:58):
the cusp of millennials andGeneration Z.
This is a group that's bornbetween 1992 and 1998, although
some like to expand the range tothose born up to the year 2000
or even 2002.
Now, regardless of that, itseems that this group, depending
on how the years are calculated, is between 30 to 48 million
(20:23):
people.
What's interesting to me andalluring to marketers about this
group is that they're moreeconomically secure than
Generation Z.
They have higher spending powerthan millennials, and surveys
report that they have high brandloyalty and low price
sensitivity.
Perhaps this group is an idealtarget for us to go after.
(20:46):
No one yet, at least, has triedto attach food trends and
preferences to this group.
It's likely that there will bea spillover from both
millennials and Generation Z'stastes and habits, but one thing
is very clear there's certainlya digital generation that will
have at the top of their foodphones the impacts of the
(21:09):
environment and climate change,an attachment to social causes
and, hopefully, health andwellness, which is what
Kellogg's new vegan brand, eatyour Mouth Off, is hoping for.
By the way, I certainly hopethey didn't pay a lot of money,
or practically any money, to abranding group to come up with
(21:30):
this name.
Eat your Mouth Off, is rollingout on grocery shelves right now
, although I've checked at leasta dozen different stores and I
haven't been able to find it,but I did see it available
online at Walmart, Kroger andRalphs.
I haven't tasted it, obviously,and frankly I find the package
(21:51):
designed to be amateurish andtrying a bit too hard with its
bold depiction and symbolism ofa smiling mouth.
This cereal is 100 plant-based,with 22 grams of plant-based
protein, 0 grams of sugars and 2grams of net carbs or less per
(22:11):
40 grams.
Serving Now the chocolateflavor.
Ingredients are soy protein,isolate pea protein, isolate
canola oil, lentil protein,modified tapioca starch, cocoa
processed with alkali and thentrace ingredients of oat fiber,
sucralose, esteem-bea leafextract, natural flavors and BHT
(22:36):
.
For I just love the brilliantmarketer who aided the asterisk
showing a trivial amount ofsugar.
Is that even legal?
Kellogg's just marketing this7.5 ounce box at $8.99.
And while that might seem to bepriced higher than most, taking
(22:56):
a look at the rise in the priceof breakfast cereals from
quarter one twenty twenty-two toquarter one twenty twenty-three
on Amazon, compiled by PatternData Science, the average price
for all breakfast cereals rose13.6%.
They cite examples, againpriced on Amazon, of Captain
(23:17):
Crunch at $10.24 a box Chex at$7.68 a box and Cheerios at
$8.00.
Their study did not compare thenet weight per box.
Now let's put pricing on thesidelines.
The question I have is this subgeneration that clearly is an
(23:38):
important group, which I predictwill be the next marketers
dream target aligns with thevalues of this brand, its image,
its ingredients and its twoflavors of chocolate and fruity.
Hey, we're talking about adultshere, not the taste buds of a
six year old.
We certainly need a bit morefood research about millennials,
(24:02):
but knowing that they carestrongly about the environment
and social causes, I would haveat least expected eat your mouth
off.
To highlight and contain no GMOingredients like soy and canola
.
The taste better be fantastic.
To overcome all these obstacles, I'll take bets on how big this
(24:24):
brand might be on the shelvesor how long Might be a good idea
, but this one only misses themark.
Thanks for joining us today onLempert Report LIVE and we'll
see you back here next week.
Same time, same place.
And in the meantime, don'tforget to go to SupermarketG uru
.
com.
Lisa (24:44):
Be sure to visit SupermarketG uru.
com for the latest marketinganalysis issues and trends.
Don't forget to join us backhere next Tuesday at 2:30 pm
Eastern for more.
Welcome to the Wentworth Report LIVE.
On today's broadcast.
A very special look at customerpain points for 2024 with our
guest Lisa W.
Miller, author of the Businessof Joy and her latest consumer
survey.
The Walmart AI exit strategy.
Dollar store's latest threat tosupermarkets.
(00:27):
On FoodN ot Phones, how screentime is hurting our eyesight and
on the bulls eye, Kellogg's haswhat they hope is a new path to
the Zillennials.
Do they?
Sally has the day off.
Let's get started.
Lisa W.
Miller is president of LisaMiller Associates, creating
(00:48):
motivating insights and drivenactions, and she gets right to
the heart of 'So What?
' and 'Now What?
'.
She brings over 30 years ofconsumer insights and innovation
experience, collecting over450,000 consumer interviews.
Her insights come from animpressive background as VP of
(01:09):
innovation at BrinkerInternational, serving brands
including Chili's and Magianos,and VP of consumer strategy and
insights at PepsiCo and atQuaker.
Today she'll share her latest2024 consumer survey findings.
Lisa, welcome to the LempertReport LIVE.
Lisa (01:29):
Thanks so much.
Excited to be here.
Phil (01:32):
So first I want to talk about Joy, and one of the things
that obviously you know yourbook talks about, all your
interviews talks about, has todo the importance of us being
joyful, and I found from theGreater Good Science Center at
the University of California atBerkeley a comment and I want to
(01:54):
get your reaction to this thatpeople who commit daily
micro-acts of joy experienceabout a 25% increase in
emotional well-being over thecourse of a week.
Is that true?
Lisa (02:09):
Oh my gosh, I love that statistic and Phil, that just
nailed it right.
Is that basically those littlemoments of joy is what helps us
get through the day?
And I always say that joy is achoice, it's how we choose to
see the world.
And yes, there was a statisticI read from the government just
(02:30):
saying that if you have more joyit reduces the heart you know
your heart disease and all ofthat.
So not only is joy just feelgood, it's actually good for our
health.
So I love that statistic.
So Joy, everybody needs to makeroom for it.
Phil (02:46):
Combination of mental health and well-being Great.
So let's talk about your newsurvey First up.
You know I know that a lot ofyour background is food service,
but certainly as supermarketsget more into gross rounds, as
supermarkets are fighting toothand nail to get some of those
food service dollars so that weeat at home, there's a lot that
(03:10):
we can learn from your survey,and I guess the first question
that you asked had to do withhaving dinner and moviegoer
frustrations.
Tell us about that.
Lisa (03:22):
Well, I will say we are in a share of wallet war for our
fun money, for consumers' funmoney, and so back in the day,
you know it'd be likeeverybody's like, let's go to
dinner in a movie.
Well, now it's getting kind ofexpensive.
Phil (03:36):
Very expensive.
It's outrageously expensive.
Lisa (03:40):
And what's interesting, when you look at the data that's
up on the screen about themoviegoer frustrations.
Half of moviegoers basicallysay prices are up too much.
And then you can read down thelist with not enough staff, even
dirty restaurants.
What's fascinating, though,Phil, is that since April/ May,
all of these numbers have goneup a lot.
(04:02):
So what happened then?
Barbie, Oppenheimer all ofthese people are coming back to
the movies and they're prettyfrustrated, so it's not that
joyful.
Phil (04:12):
And also what's interesting to me in just a
firsthand observation.
The Palm Springs Film Festivaljust took place and the
attendance was down considerably.
And one of the things that Iwas talking to someone about is
why are people not wanting to goto films?
And they said, no, the worldhas changed, you can now.
(04:36):
You don't have to go to a filmfestival to see these state of
the art films that are not theseblockbusters, you can just
stream them.
So we're really experiencing awhole new way of looking at
movies, whether it's throughstreaming.
I mean, it used to be VHS andBeta and those big discs.
(04:56):
Then it was the small discs,Blockbuster's gone and all that.
But now touch of a button, wecould just stream.
So what about the restaurantgoers and their frustrations
when they go to restaurants asthat part of the dinner of the
movie?
Lisa (05:17):
Well, definitely.
And on the movies, one of thethings that movie theaters need
to talk about is just thisexperience sitting at home
watching it.
Even if you have the bestentertainment center, still not
the same as the big screen.
So there's opportunity formovies to really market that.
When it comes to restaurants,you can see that the pricing
frustrations are even higherwith 60%, but not surprising
(05:40):
what's happening not enoughstaff, the wait times are long
and it's just again.
It's just not that joyful.
So when you're trying to figureout what do you want to go do
dinner and a movie people arepicking one or the other because
, don't forget, for a lot ofhouseholds with young kids,
you've got babies sitting on topof that, and so people are just
(06:00):
having to make tough choicesand they want to have fun.
Consumers half of Americans arecraving I mean literally feel
they're craving socialconnections with people to get
out with their family andfriends.
It's just expensive.
Phil (06:16):
Very expensive and if you take a look at the prices that
continue to go up for foodbecause of whether it's climate
change or supply chain issuesand the like, I was just talking
to a friend of mine a week orso ago and was complaining about
how they used to go to a dinerif you would, and they could get
(06:39):
scrambled eggs for breakfastand toast and so on and it was
affordable.
And now he was telling me thatit's like 20 bucks for scrambled
eggs and potatoes and toast andcoffee and that's just absurd.
Lisa (06:56):
Oh no, I was going to say one story I just had the time in
is speaking of that same thing.
I went to breakfast with afriend.
Two oatmeal, a coffee and a tea, plus tip at a full service
restaurant $41 for two oatmealin Dallas.
Phil (07:13):
Unbelievable.
Lisa (07:14):
Guess what that was 'not worth it'.
Phil (07:17):
Yeah, so it goes back to your Quaker days and having like
a little cup of oatmeal thatyou could bring with you and add
some water to.
Let's pull back away frommovies, away from restaurants,
and talk about retail in general, not just grocery retail.
But what are people feeling,what frustrations, what are
(07:38):
their pain points when they'regoing shopping for just about
anything these days?
Lisa (07:43):
Well, I bet everybody out there can guess what's the
number one on the list, which isprices have gone up too much.
Now this one is actuallyimpacted also because of the
holidays, and so we saw Novemberand December increases in
frustrations and not enoughstaff and pricing and still
dirty restrooms and things likethat.
(08:05):
But it is impacted by theholidays.
What I would say is that thoseretail outlets that really can
focus on the customer experienceand a joyful experience,
training the employees I alwaystell people the next best dollar
spent is on your employees.
I know the marketing peoplemight get mad at me, but the
(08:28):
training in the retail spacerestaurant space, movies train
your people because that isgoing to be the differentiator
moving forward.
Phil (08:38):
Well, if we look at certain retailers like Wegmans,
Danny and Colleen, you know, puttheir money where their mouth
is.
They do great training, theyhave very loyal employees, which
then translates to a greatcustomer experience, to your
point.
So I think that that's really,you know, something that we can
(08:58):
never forget in retail, thatit's not just about price, but
that whole holistic experience,if you would, and it starts with
the employees.
When you look at your crystalball and you look at some of the
pain point and frustrationsover the next six months and
(09:19):
certainly we're in a verystressful time, with wars going
on, with elections going on andso on what do you see happening?
Is it still going to all beabout prices or are there going
to be some other pain pointsthat we've got to recognize?
Lisa (09:34):
Well, I think the key to 2024 is going to be recognizing
the value equation.
It's the simple thing what youget for what you pay.
But now you're paying with yourtime and your money.
Is it worth my time, is itworth my money?
And so what's happening is thatwe've raised the prices.
(09:55):
So, like, the denominator ofthat equation is we're upside
down on the value equations inmost business verticals, whether
it's grocery, restaurants,movies, retail the value
equations upside down.
So in 2024, what can you do toadd value to what you're giving?
So, if you have to take a priceincrease, what can you give
(10:15):
back in the experience?
And that's where training,really focusing on your people,
can provide that little extra.
I will say two other points.
One is for the grocery people.
Now is it a unique moment intime where delivery is kind of
in a crazy place restaurantdelivery and so for grocery
(10:38):
stores, if they can think aboutthat, when people are coming and
shopping, how can you enticethem to get to the food service
part of it?
Because right now people arereally tapping out of delivery
and it could be a unique shareof wallet opportunity for the
grocery store.
And then, the last thing that Iwould say when I ask people
about their New Year'sresolutions.
Basically people are talkingabout wanting to prioritize and
(11:02):
connect in person.
They want to find joy in an allkind of loops backfill with
where you started with yourquote.
It's investing in littlemoments in joy In retailers,
grocery stores, restaurants,movies.
If they can invest a little bitof joy for their employees,
it'll transcend to theircustomers.
Phil (11:23):
Well, Lisa, that's a great forecast, if you would, for our
audience, for retailers, forrestaurant tours to be able to
put at the top of their list,adding a little joy to their
customers, and I think it'llcome back with new business and
new profits.
So, lisa, thanks so much forjoining on the Lempert Report
(11:44):
LIVE today .
Lisa (11:46):
Thank you so much, Phil.
Have a good one.
Phil (11:48):
You too.
So let's talk about a storythat we've been talking about a
lot over the past few weeks.
It's about self-checkoutWalmart, where we've seen all
these stories aboutself-checkout.
Well, a new announcement justcame out from Walmart as it
relates to Sam's Club, and whatthey've said is they're going to
(12:12):
stop checking receipts at Sam'sClub.
Now, if you've got to Costco orSam's Club, there's always
somebody at the door checkingyour receipt to make sure that
you're not stealing anything.
We've had that experience witha lot of self-checkout as that's
expanded, as the shrink hasincreased on that.
(12:33):
But what they're doing veryinteresting is that they're
using AI.
It's a tradition that they'regoing to start that I think is
going to translate tosupermarkets and drug trains
very quickly.
So basically, what they'redoing is they're going to have
(12:54):
this AI device that checkswhat's in your shopping cart as
you leave, against your registerreceipt, and that way you don't
have to be confronted bysomebody.
What's interesting about thistechnology and this is a quote
from Sam's Club they will haveno problem scanning a
(13:16):
queen-sized bed, an entireWitcher wardrobe or a cart full
of breakfast cereal.
So it'll be interesting to seehow that works if it does work,
and certainly as it relates todrug chains as well as
supermarkets.
Dollar stores have beenexpanding terrifically.
(13:37):
We know that.
But there's been some downside.
If we look at dollar stores andI'm not talking about the
customer experience, but theretail experience there's a new
study that's just come out thatfinds that one out of every 20
independent grocery stores willgo out of business within a
(13:57):
couple years of a dollar storearriving in their area.
Dollar stores have announcedmore than a thousand new stores
opening every single year, andwhen we take a look at this
study that comes out of theCollege of Agriculture, health
and Natural Resources, theyfound that when dollar stores
(14:18):
enter markets, independentgrocery stores shut down, so
it's not affecting the chainstores as much as independence.
And as we take a look at what'sgoing on with the Kroger/
Albertsons merger now againbeing put on hold from a lawsuit
from the state of Washington AG, basically what they're talking
(14:41):
about, in my opinion, is thatthis CNS deal that is gonna take
over 400 stores from Kroger andAlbertsons is not gonna be
enough to satisfy.
What I think is gonna be thekey here for the FTC as well as
the different attorney generals,is being able to divide some of
(15:02):
these stores.
I think it'll be upwards of 600stores, not 400 stores.
Among smaller independentgrocers, those stores that might
have 20 to 100 stores, they'rethe ones that are gonna pick up
these extra stores, especiallyin California and the state of
Washington.
And I think that, while a lotof the attention of the unions
(15:26):
and the AGs have focused on lossof jobs at retail, that's not
the issue.
The issue for me is I don'tthink we're gonna see any loss
of jobs at retail.
We'll see loss of jobs atheadquarter level when we start
to see consolidation in buyingand merchandising, certainly in
(15:49):
operations and distribution.
That's number one.
But again, for me, let's notforget that the combined buying
power, if you would, of havingover 30,000 store brands between
Albertsons and Kroger, that'sgonna be the key, that's gonna
be a powerhouse and probably putthem as the third largest CPG
(16:13):
brand, if you would, in the US,and that's gonna be the dynamic
that nobody's talking about that.
Frankly, I think that theattorney generals and these
lawsuits are missing the keypoint and that's gonna be even
more powerful than the retailside.
Also, the important thing tonote is, with these dollar
(16:35):
stores, keep in mind they've gota lot less employees than an
independent grocer does, theymight only have two or three
employees in a dollar storeversus the scores of people that
are in an independent grocer.
So as these dollar storesproliferate, that's where it
hurts the economy, not only forconsumers and consumer choice,
(16:59):
because there's so much of theultra-processed food that's sold
in dollar stores but frankly,that's where we're gonna see a
loss of jobs.
So I think it's reallyimportant, as the industry looks
at this Kroger/ Albertsons deal, to look much more holistically
at what's going on with dollarstores, with the CPG brands
(17:20):
being affected by the storebrand consolidation, not focused
on the loss of jobs at retail,because I don't think that's
gonna happen nearly as much aseverybody portends that it's
gonna be.
So the other thing that we'reseeing with dollar stores
(17:41):
because of what's going on thereis we're seeing a rise of
co-ops, and that's beenfascinating for me.
I happened to when I was incollege.
I was part of the PhiladelphiaCo-op.
That was my first workingexperience in a co-op and the
great news is that, with thisdollar store phenomenon taking
(18:03):
place, more communities arefunding dollar stores.
Now the problem is it takes alot of people it takes three to
five years to create a co-op.
But if we can see that channelof distribution growing, I think
it helps the communities, Ithink it helps the assortment of
products that are out there andcertainly it gives everybody
(18:26):
much more of a good feeling ofworking.
On FoodNotPhones today, there'sa report that comes out from an
eye doctor, Irfan Jeeva, who hasraised concerns about the
impact of excessive screen timeon our kid's eyesight, pointing
to the increasing need forglasses among youngsters.
(18:49):
What they're talking about isthe digital devices, including
phones, tablets and TVs, arecontributing factors
significantly to thedeterioration of kids' eyesight.
So certainly one solution arethese blue tinted glasses that a
(19:10):
lot of people are now using asthey're doing their screen time.
But, most important, let's goback to the premise of Food Not
Phones.
Talking to each other, notlooking at screens.
That's what's critical morethan anything else In today's
society.
We keep on seeing more reportsfrom a health standpoint, from a
(19:34):
wellness standpoint, of what'sgoing on with screen time, and
we really need to start payingattention to that before it's
too late.
On today's bullseye, it lookslike the cereal giant Kellogg's
is focused on targeting whatthey're calling the Zellenial.
You know the Zellenial is ademographic cohort that sits on
(19:58):
the cusp of millennials andGeneration Z.
This is a group that's bornbetween 1992 and 1998, although
some like to expand the range tothose born up to the year 2000
or even 2002.
Now, regardless of that, itseems that this group, depending
on how the years are calculated, is between 30 to 48 million
(20:23):
people.
What's interesting to me andalluring to marketers about this
group is that they're moreeconomically secure than
Generation Z.
They have higher spending powerthan millennials, and surveys
report that they have high brandloyalty and low price
sensitivity.
Perhaps this group is an idealtarget for us to go after.
(20:46):
No one yet, at least, has triedto attach food trends and
preferences to this group.
It's likely that there will bea spillover from both
millennials and Generation Z'stastes and habits, but one thing
is very clear there's certainlya digital generation that will
have at the top of their foodphones the impacts of the
(21:09):
environment and climate change,an attachment to social causes
and, hopefully, health andwellness, which is what
Kellogg's new vegan brand, eatyour Mouth Off, is hoping for.
By the way, I certainly hopethey didn't pay a lot of money,
or practically any money, to abranding group to come up with
(21:30):
this name.
Eat your Mouth Off, is rollingout on grocery shelves right now
, although I've checked at leasta dozen different stores and I
haven't been able to find it,but I did see it available
online at Walmart, Kroger andRalphs.
I haven't tasted it, obviously,and frankly I find the package
(21:51):
designed to be amateurish andtrying a bit too hard with its
bold depiction and symbolism ofa smiling mouth.
This cereal is 100 plant-based,with 22 grams of plant-based
protein, 0 grams of sugars and 2grams of net carbs or less per
(22:11):
40 grams.
Serving Now the chocolateflavor.
Ingredients are soy protein,isolate pea protein, isolate
canola oil, lentil protein,modified tapioca starch, cocoa
processed with alkali and thentrace ingredients of oat fiber,
sucralose, esteem-bea leafextract, natural flavors and BHT
(22:36):
.
For I just love the brilliantmarketer who aided the asterisk
showing a trivial amount ofsugar.
Is that even legal?
Kellogg's just marketing this7.5 ounce box at $8.99.
And while that might seem to bepriced higher than most, taking
(22:56):
a look at the rise in the priceof breakfast cereals from
quarter one twenty twenty-two toquarter one twenty twenty-three
on Amazon, compiled by PatternData Science, the average price
for all breakfast cereals rose13.6%.
They cite examples, againpriced on Amazon, of Captain
(23:17):
Crunch at $10.24 a box Chex at$7.68 a box and Cheerios at
$8.00.
Their study did not compare thenet weight per box.
Now let's put pricing on thesidelines.
The question I have is this subgeneration that clearly is an
(23:38):
important group, which I predictwill be the next marketers
dream target aligns with thevalues of this brand, its image,
its ingredients and its twoflavors of chocolate and fruity.
Hey, we're talking about adultshere, not the taste buds of a
six year old.
We certainly need a bit morefood research about millennials,
(24:02):
but knowing that they carestrongly about the environment
and social causes, I would haveat least expected eat your mouth
off.
To highlight and contain no GMOingredients like soy and canola
.
The taste better be fantastic.
To overcome all these obstacles, I'll take bets on how big this
(24:24):
brand might be on the shelvesor how long Might be a good idea
, but this one only misses themark.
Thanks for joining us today onLempert Report LIVE and we'll
see you back here next week.
Same time, same place.
And in the meantime, don'tforget to go to SupermarketG uru
.
com.
Lisa (24:44):
Be sure to visit SupermarketG uru.
com for the latest marketinganalysis issues and trends.
Don't forget to join us backhere next Tuesday at 2:30 pm
Eastern for more.
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