Capturing consumers’ attention and retaining it is an opportunity every retailer has in the highly competitive grocery industry. A store’s unique blend of pricing, assortment, and customer service feeds into the value proposition consumers come to know and appreciate in their store. One way AWG retailers can differentiate themselves from the competition is by offering items for distinct shoppers through the AWG Expanded Variety program.
Since the opening of AWG’s All-In-One Distribution Hub (AIO) in 2022, AWG’s goal has been to offer a wider variety of products to AWG member retailers at the lowest cost of goods possible. Historically, AWG members had to buy these niche items from alternative sources and pay higher costs to get them to the stores. Now, more than 1,200 grocery, frozen and dairy products are available to order across these departments. This gives AWG member retailers breadth and depth to meet consumer requests and cater directly to what their own particular consumers are seeking.
Examples of newer brands added to the assortment include Rao’s, Fatty Meat Snacks, Tippy Toes and Cabot, while brand expansion examples include Jack Links, Zatarain’s and Eggland’s Best.
This broadening of consumer choices builds shopper loyalty as consumers find items within the store that they might not be able to find anywhere else. The program aims to help AWG member retailers generate additional sales while keeping costs for these items low since these items follow the same pricing rules of other products from the AIO facility.
While a small percentage of the total assortment offering or sales will be comprised of expanded variety items, they can turn into foot traffic drivers, especially if consumers come to know a store for the unexpected items. Catering to the consumer’s desire to find and explore new items while providing them the convenience of buying it at a store they’re already at has advantages to everyone involved.
