Video: eGrocery Insights - June 2025

In this episode, Mark and David focus on the strategic insights, diving into what's working (and what's not) for regional grocers as they compete against eGrocery rivals like Walmart. 

The discussion begins with Walmart's ongoing success story, highlighting its increasing profitability. David explains why this is more than scale. It's about deeply understanding who the customers are and clearly aligning products and services with their needs. 

Mark raises a common push back from regional grocery executives: "We already know our customers." David counters by stressing the importance of not only identifying core customers but also regularly reassessing evolving preferences and demographics. He points to the impact of leveraging multi-channel solutions, such as unified mobile apps and enhanced in-store technologies like Scan & Go, to meet changing consumer expectations. 

As fulfillment strategies shift, Delivery has increasingly become the dominant player. David discusses the critical factors behind Delivery's growth, particularly how memberships and subscription programs have effectively reduced explicit fees for customers. 

Next, Mark and David discuss whether Pickup’s convenience has reached its growth ceiling and how regional grocers can strategically leverage time-slot pricing to optimize their delivery operations. 

David points to heavy reliance on third-party platforms as something of a” blind spot” for grocers, noting the limitations it places on a retailer’s control over critical customer data. He emphasizes that a strong first-party ecosystem is vital—not only for personalization but also for monetization opportunities, competitive differentiation, and customer retention. 

Finally, Mark asks David how he would allocate any remaining marketing and merchandising budget if he were a regional grocer CMO. David shares his "70-20-10" rule, prioritizing existing customer protection and growth while also targeting innovation through the strategic exploration of emerging technologies like AI agents. 

Watch the full episode for clear and practical takeaways on:

• Why continuously reevaluating your customer profiles is vital
• The importance of consolidating disparate customer-facing apps
• How the removal of explicit delivery fees changes consumer behavior
• Strategic opportunities from enhanced first-party data ecosystems

Video Chapters

0:00 – Introductions and Strategic Conversation 

1:08 – Reevaluate your Customer Profiles - How is your eGrocery customer changing?

3:32 - Solve In-store Problems Online: Exploiting opportunities for an Omnichannel experience

7:25 - Pickup vs. Delivery: How removing explicit fees has changed shopper behavior 

13:18 - Blind Spot: The strategic value of 1st-Party data 

15:26 - If David were a CMO...where would he spend his remaining 2025 budget? 

18:02 – Closing Thoughts 

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