rs that focus on shopper solutions to consumption occasions stand out because making shopping easier leads to an increased basket spend. One of the most obvious is the ‘ready to eat’ market, where supermarkets introduced pizza and sushi bars to inspire shoppers and capture a share of spend traditionally gone to other retailers. Understanding the shopper need state is critical. Consider hot roast chickens, a staple convenience food. Primo Smallgoods recognised that the core occasion was not chicken, but a hot ready meal and innovated with ‘Hot Roast Portions’ of other meats. 2. Collaborate with retailers for common purpose A renewed focus on the convenience channel is an avenue to help offset the growing margin pressure from supermarkets, but your people, products, and strategy must be aligned to synchronise with the retailer, shopper, and consumer needs in this channel. A change of strategy in this vein saw Krispy Kreme move from failing as a retailer to partnering for success with 7-Eleven. For 7-Eleven, this collaboration enhances its strategy of being a destination for great foods and beverages, not just a petrol station that also sells food. Thinking food, breakfast remains an opportunity for the channel. While some products have been tailored to this gap there remains potential for much more collaboration and innovation. 3. Overcome barriers and leverage triggers Influencing shoppers can sometimes be as simple as understanding why they don’t buy into a category and providing a solution to overcome this. Take fruit salad – you have to buy lots of fruit and then you have to cut it up. The barriers of cost, time, waste and space all create barriers, no matter how much the shopper likes fruit salad. Supermarkets have responded by expanding ranges of fresh sliced fruits and even ready-made fruit salad. A common trigger, ‘dinner for tonight’, prompted German supermarket chain, Kochhaus, to introduce ‘recipe on a table’ merchandising to inspire with simple meal solutions, recipes, and ingredients in one location. Video rental vending machines in petrol stations are a new trigger for incremental purchase, increasing basket size and encouraging local shoppers to visit more regularly. 4. Make shopping quick and easy In our time poor digital world shoppers are rapidly changing behaviours and retailer expectations. The big weekly shop is no longer standard and supermarkets have responded by focusing on convenience to satisfy ‘grocery’ shoppers and enticing customers through innovation. Self serve checkouts have simplified one end of the experience, but with 90 per cent of time in store spent navigating, the opportunity lies in the aisles. Solutions can take many forms from segmentation to simplified ranges. Woolworths has focused on health, taste, and variety in lunchboxes with its Healthier Bites solutions. Interestingly it has stated that although this is a growth category, there is a distinct lack of proactive new product concepts being presented by their suppliers. Convenience will continue to expand as a growth driver and the form of its impact will evolve. Capitalising on convenience requires a clear understanding of what it means to your shoppers today and the factors driving changes tomorrow. Harnessing these insights can set you apart to lead in convenience growth with your consumers, shoppers and business partners. Chris Eyers is a consultant at Kantar Retail, a global management consultancy supporting manufacturers and retailers by turning insight in to strategy and activation. chris.eyers@kantarretail.com