LAST MONTH, I DISCUSSED HOW SUPERMARKETS WILL NEED TO
change to meet the challenges of e-commerce fulfillment. To make a prof-
it, stores need to become more efficient at picking orders and preparing
them for customer pickup or home delivery.
Along with revising supermarket layouts to accommodate automa-
tion (essentially transforming them into mini-DCs), this model will also
require changing the way products are packaged to allow for more efficient
handling and delivery.
The packaging for most of today’s food and consumer goods is designed
to catch the consumer’s eye, with bright colors and
bold graphics. Packages may also incorporate clear
plastic to make it easy for buyers to see what’s inside.
Sometimes, the larger the product, the more attention it gets. How many of us have bought a food item
that is much smaller than the packaging surrounding
it? Yes, I know we’re told that “some settling of product occurs during shipping,” but I think we all know
that’s really not a good explanation for why a potato
chip bag is only half full.
How products are placed on store shelves is a sci-
ence. Manufacturers vie to have their goods placed at
eye level to make them easier for consumers to see,
which of course results in higher sales.
Aisle end caps are another coveted space, and often
packaging is designed to stand out when positioned there, including mul-
tisided images that can be read from more than one angle as a consumer
turns the corner to the next aisle.
So, if products are packaged for consumer attention, how should pack-
aging change when customers are no longer picking their own orders?
Space will be at a premium in tomorrow’s grocery stores. Therefore,
products need to be packaged with as little waste as possible to optimize
space in the automated equipment, delivery vehicles, and lockers or kiosks
that serve as collection points.
Consistently shaped packaging should also be adopted for grocery items.
Products in square cartons are easiest to handle, slot, and stack. Products
should also be designed to fit easily into standardized (and nestable) deliv-
ery containers.
Reimagining grocery packaging should help to offset some of the additional picking and delivery costs within our stores of the future. Without
expensive eye-catching graphics, such packaging will be less costly to print
and require fewer surrounding materials. That means less waste for the
supermarket, the end consumer, and the environment.
bigpicture
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