Online food sales will be essential in supermarkets

The growing desire of the Brazilian by virtual facilities has dramatically increased the demand for e-commerce of food. If in 2016 only 6% of consumers wanted to buy food products over the Internet, this year the cipher should reach almost a quarter of consumers. The numbers are part of a survey by PwC and point out that the desire to make purchases of groceries over the Internet is growing in the world, movement that has stimulated retailers of all sizes and profiles to think about how to structure a healthy virtual operation, Efficient and cost-effective. "The new generations are born with much more detachment from the physical store, and accept even pay a little more for facilities. Supermarkets need to find ways to also encompass this customer profile ", says the retail consultant, Miriam Robusta. In the expert's view, the major supermarket chains in Brazil have already begun to take the first steps in this direction, even though the maturity of this business modality will still take a few years. "A business model will not cannibalize the other. When the Attackings were born, many said that the supermarkets would die, but that did not happen. The spraying of the shopping models is good for everyone, "he notes. As an example, she cites the GPA group, which recently purchased the delivery startup of James Delivery and previously had partnered with Rappi thinking about the greater mobility and freedom of customers. "One of the main changes in consumer behavior is that the car is no longer an ambition of all, and this changes the way to buy in supermarkets." Other technologies another promising initiative landed in São Paulo this year. With the implementation of the supermarket Zaitt, which operates a completely autonomous unit. This is the second of the brand and has Carrefour as its partner. In the GPA group, the elimination of traditional boxes is also on the radar through a non-queue payment model. The purchase is terminated by the mobile phone, using the camera and bar code. Today in a pilot project, the technology is available to employees of the company's headquarters in São Paulo (SP), in the application of the loyalty program of the Sugar Loaf bread, the sugar loaf more. "We are transferring the point of sale into the mobile phone of each consumer. By merging the digital and the physical, we eliminate queues and make the purchasing process even more personalized and agile, "explains the director of digital transformation and e-commerce of GPA, Antonio Salvador. According to a survey by the Paulista Association of Supermarkets (APAS), self-checkout is one of the strongest trends for the sector, so much so that 58% of the supermarket companies understand that improving the shopping experience is essential for the future. Who leverages this potential is Neomode, a startup focused on online and offline channel integration of retail. According to the company spokesman, Fabíola Paes, a well-made integration of the channels can increase sales by 20%. "Because in addition to sending exclusive offers to the customer, it stimulates the willingness to come to the store," he says.