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5 things we learned at FMI

From fresh trends to e-commerce, here are five trends Supermarket News learned at FMI’s Midwinter conference.

Two major themes that emerged from FMI’s Midwinter conference last month were prioritizing and marketing local, fresh products and dealing with the digital future. Here are five things we learned to help drive your business.

1. Seventy percent of all sales are influenced by information consumers find on the web. Even though they might purchase the item in a physical store, they are likely to find that info online first and do research online first. That means retailers and manufactures alike need to make sure information is easily and readily available. And that product shots, particularly those of packaging online, are easily recognizable.

2. Alternative foods are hot. Almost all fresh foods are somewhere in this group, including those defined by the presence or absence of a characteristic (gluten-free, organic, free-from, for example). These alternative foods are going to drive fresh. “Good” food is defined by perception and opinion, not fact and/or science, and this movement is only growing.

3. Forty percent of center store and nonfood purchase are projected to be made digitally by 2025. Are you ready for those customers?

4. Holistic health is hot. It’s no longer just about your physical wellbeing but your emotional and spiritual as well. And it’s difficult to know where one part of your wellbeing ends and another begins. As healthcare premiums get higher for both employers and employees, this all-encompassing healthcare notion is only going to grow. That means everything from drinking more water to eating more fruits and vegetables will be big consumer trends.

5. Other industries (apparel, footwear, for example) are changing the way shoppers are influenced. So how my shoes are delivered to me will affect the way I want my milk shipped to me and will impact how our consumers expect to interact with retailers. Do you have a game plan to meet these shifting expectations?

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