In the Trenches: Produce leaves lasting first impression

BY RON PELGER | NOVEMBER 22, 2017

Suppose you walked into a supermarket to buy some fresh produce and upon entering the department you instantly recognized it to be messy and disorganized, with wilted vegetables haphazardly displayed. What would that reveal about the product you are about to purchase?

Imagine you entered another produce department down the street that made you stop in your tracks as the overall scene was neat, clean, bright, colorful and fresh smelling. What thoughts would you feel about shopping for your produce in that store?

What do these two shopping situations have in common? Simply put, they are both examples of first impressions.

How do consumers react after shopping at both scenarios? They tell their friends, neighbors and relatives about it, and you can be sure of the fact that the negativity of the disheveled produce department would be a hot topic.

As soon as a customer steps into a store and has a glimpse of the overall view, that is the instant they grasp a certain feeling of good or bad. It happens in a flash. What they see is what they get as that very first impression sets in on them.

There has been an ever-changing food shopping behavior by consumers. This has forced supermarket management to concentrate in new directions in order to protect their business. Other and newer forces are entering the scene and putting up a fight for a chunk of the food sales pie. Yet, some companies unfortunately still stick with the same old methods.

Other than the online grocery shopping spree that has captured the industry headlines, cutting-edge brick-and-mortar food banners are popping up all over. These exclusive food markets are leaving some exciting first impressions on consumers with an expanded emphasis on fresh produce departments. When customers enter the store, they are met with a display of fresh produce right off the bat even before entering the department.

This is rapidly becoming a world of fresh fruits and vegetables with a huge opportunity for healthy eating. That is why it is important to capture the attention of a potential customer by means of a first impression before they start shopping. Fresh produce is that new first impression.

The retail produce business is somewhat like Major League Baseball in that it is a new ballgame being played on different fields. The equipment is better and the players have extraordinary talent. The stores are expansion teams entering the same league and are out to win the competitive games. The big difference is they are using a new playbook.

So how do you play the game today? Where do you start? The customers are your audience and they want to go home a winner. How do you keep them in your stadium? What’s their first impression of your team?

Here are five tips to influence better first impressions:

The store entrance
Shoppers think healthy when buying food today. This is where the customer has to be instantly captured. Hit them in the face with a dramatic fresh produce display of no more than one or two hot blockbuster items.

Clean and neat
The area must be immaculately clean all around the display.

All product should be hand placed, orderly, labels facing and stacked safely. Signage should be posted and bags should be readily available for customers.

Impulse with impact
An entrance display should excite and entice customers to make immediate purchases. It must show a positive impression. The display and product should overpower an instant response as an attention-grabber.

Value
Price the produce items for a value rather than just cheap. Offer premium quality and large sizes in order to raise the product value.

Upkeep
Remember, this is the immediate area the customers will see. Maintaining the display presentation is critical. It not only must be kept clean and neat, but also restocked often, since the items will be purchased more rapidly upon entrance into the store.

The first impression is the most important. In today’s supermarkets, fresh healthy produce is what the new generation wants. The old tradition of just a grocery item first doesn’t cut it anymore. If CEOs, presidents or owners don’t change that thinking, their supermarket soon will be outclassed by the new, more advanced food chains coming to town.