Specialty Food Magazine is the leading publication for retailers, manufacturers and foodservice professionals in the specialty food trade. It provides news, trends and business-building insights that help readers keep their businesses competitive.
Issue link: https://specialtyfoodmagazine.epubxp.com/i/691740
The Market and Its Consumers In 2015, business-to-consumer e-commerce sales represented 10 percent to 11 percent of total retail sales, and are predicted to hit 17 percent to 18 percent by the end of the decade, said Mary Brett Whitfield, senior vice president of shopper insights for Kantar Retail, a consultancy group specializing in retail and shopper assets. For foods and beverages specifically, online now encompasses one percent of sales and will grow to five percent in the same timeframe, said Whitfield in her keynote presentation, "Finding Growth in a Dynamic Landscape." In terms of specialty shoppers, 53 percent say they made at least one specialty food purchase online in the past six months, according to the 2015 "Today's Specialty Food Consumer" report, MANUFACTURERS: FIVE THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT SELLING ONLINE T here are many reasons for manufacturers to sell their products online. You basically can establish a national presence immediately. "Shelf space" is unlimited and small companies don't need to fear being edged out by bigger brands with deeper pockets. E-commerce is often dubbed a meritocracy because it does not require huge sums of money to be successful, said Betsy McGinn, principal and founder of McGinn eCommerce Consulting. Manufacturers need to consider myriad things when going down the e-commerce route, from whether they have the right product to offer to whether to sell on their own site or through a third-party like Amazon to how they will keep products in stock and much more. Here are five major areas to consider before getting started. 1. Size and packaging. Your product needs to arrive at its destination on time and in good condition. You need to assess if it's the right size, if it needs to be offered in a different pack count, and how it will travel. Is it limited by weight, is it prone to leakage? Ask yourself if it can withstand the rigors of shipping, said McGinn. Amazon established "Frustration Free Packaging" that is a success model. "If you get it right for Amazon you'll likely have it right for other ecommerce partners," she noted. Recyclable packaging is also a consumer concern to address. 2. Price point. Pricing can be complicated, especially when selling via sites like Amazon. But it is important to know that the right price does not mean the lowest. In a look at the top-selling coffee brands on Amazon, McGinn noted the top sellers are in the $49 range. Finding specialty and unique products are important to consumers. Though the ideal price point varies among platforms for food products, McGinn places the sweet spot around $15 to $40. 3. Content. Best practices in content are how you get people to your products online. Your digital product pages act as your shelf, stressed McGinn. You want to provide product detail, enhanced content, visually compelling images, and videos. Images, especially, are important. "Make them bigger and better," said Tony Cox, founder of The 5th Food Group, a direct marketing consultancy working in the specialty food online and catalog industry. "It's a visual medium. If the product doesn't look delicious, no one will stop to read copy and find out the price." 4. Search engine optimization. Your content must include keywords, search terms, and tags. These elements especially power sales at Amazon. The quality of the setup and content is what drives awareness of the item on Amazon, said Mike Burrington of Ideoclick, an e-commerce consultancy, and a former Amazon employee. The site will not generate demand on its own, and the wrong setup can plague a product for years. 5. Marketing strategy. E-commerce is a "marketing-intensive business that requires a different skill set than selling food to resellers or distributors," stressed Cox. You can use direct traffic from your own site, referring websites like Facebook, search engines, and your own PR efforts and email communications to drive traffic. Even print mailings or catalogs can be major traffic builders. "A return to print marketing—specifically catalogs—is paying off for all our clients who are using them," said Cox. "The cost per new customer acquired is higher than through most online channels, but the loyalty and repeat buying behavior of these customers is much higher."—D.P. 38 ❘ SPECIALTY FOOD MAGAZINE specialtyfood.com