I am not overly worried and while news sites like to make it out as possible doom and gloom for the existing retailers the key is, they have 463 locations nation wide.
that isn't enough to disrupt but it is enough with a pliant press to make it seem you can. ALDI has 1600+ stores in 35 states and while its expected customers are more limited by means the appeal of ALDI does cover a lot of income levels.
I agree. Plus, I think most people shop at grocery stores based on convenience first, and then everything else. I have a WF that I could easily visit during the week, but it is also so busy that I end up going to a different store that is in my neighborhood.
At some point though, these discounts are going to get deep enough to get me to put up with the WF crowds.
This is definitely a huge factor in the equation and just due to proximity. We live in close proximity to 6 grocery stores, 3 are the same brand. The store we choose to shop at comes down to selection because even among the 3 same branded stores the stock varies.
In terms of default narratives in the press, the interesting thing about Amazon's Whole Foods play is that the small fraction of the US grocery market cost Amazon almost as much (~$13b) as Walmart's recent acquisition of Flipkart (~$16b) giving it a prominent position in Indian eCommerce. Walmart was seen as overpaying and the business press is still breathless over Whole Foods...even when Amazon is basically replicating Sams Club.
True. And the real story in grocery is that Walmart owns digital shopping(via grocery pickup) , with something like 60% market share vs ~5-10% for Amazon(if I'm not mistaken , they are fourth in market share).
And that Kroger, just this week, did a partnership with ocado, which is the world leader in automation for grocery deliveries.
I think delivery is over-rated. Amazon's disruption was more a product of access to the long tail than delivery. Delivery was just a byproduct of that access. It was important because the choice was not between local shopping and delivery but between delivery and not having it (Amazon's price also played a role in "not having it").
Groceries are like pizza. Pickup is a viable option because sometimes it is more convenient...twenty versus sixty minutes (hopefully) before eating.
What you say about the value of the long tail is definitely true.
But I would underestimate the value of pickup: from a point of view of a busy mom with 2 small kids, doing a grocery pickup is a much better experience, enough to be the differentiator that will determine to which store to go.
I'm not sure I was as clear as I intended. I meant pickup might be a viable option versus delivery for groceries in the same way that pickup can be a viable option to delivery for pizza.
that isn't enough to disrupt but it is enough with a pliant press to make it seem you can. ALDI has 1600+ stores in 35 states and while its expected customers are more limited by means the appeal of ALDI does cover a lot of income levels.