Is CPG Dying in Canada? How to do Rightsizing the Right Way

Change is a constant factor in the retail landscape, and adapting to change is a critical component of any brand or retailer’s strategy. It seems as though many companies are making the move to smaller locations, downsizing and putting emphasis on online sales. This trend to downsize has had many impacts - not least of which is the continued competition, impact on brand loyalty and the impact on employees (lots of people are finding their jobs being downsized as well).

Canadian Grocer recently weighed in on the online grocery trend with their article “Get ready for online grocery’s rise.” According to the article, “Of Canada’s vast supermarket sales, only a drop in the bucket are online. Nevertheless, grocers and CPGs should start to plan their e-commerce strategy now or else get left behind as consumers start to fill their pantry from their computers and smartphones.”

Furthermore, according to Keith Anderson, vice-president of strategy and insight at Profitero, “By 2018, three per cent of CPG sales in Canada could be online, up from the current estimates of 0.5 to one per cent.” That is a major mark up!

Check out the full article here: http://www.canadiangrocer.com/top-stories/get-ready-for-online-grocerys-rise-in-canada-54240.

So what does this mean for retailers across the nation? Well, with the downsizing trend often comes lost loyalty, so you absolutely need to be sure that you are rightsizing!

What does rightsizing mean? Whether you are downsizing or upsizing (yes, while the trend seems to be downsizing, many other stores are upping their square footage rather than reducing it), if you do it correctly, you are rightsizing. This means keeping customer service levels high and staying on top of empty or messy shelves and employee to customer ratios.

Is CPG dying in Canada? Of course not. It is just changing. Chances are we won’t see the demise in our lifetime - we can always keep our fingers crossed just for good measure - but that doesn’t mean that we can keep doing things the way we’ve always done them.

The old saying adapt or die may not necessarily apply here, but when it comes to rightsizing, you always need to keep an eye on strategy.

For more about retail downsizing, upsizing, or as we like to call it, rightsizing, please call Storesupport today at 1-877-421-5081.