How Picnic is challenging the Dutch Groceries landscape

17

September

2018

5/5 (2)

picnic_amsterdam_duitsland_719_433_84_s_c1

Picnic is a Dutch online retailer which started its operations in 2015. Picnic is unique in the Dutch retail market since it doesn’t own any physical stores. Picnic operates on your smartphone via its app, it is known for delivering its products to consumers via a small electronic trolley. Thanks to its data-driven business model Picnic is able to deliver its products fast, at a low price and moreover; free of delivery costs (Staalduine, 2016)

 

In 2017 Picnic tripled their revenue to €100 million, and for 2018 they expect to earn €300 million and so tripling their revenue for the second time in a row (Distrifood, 2018). This enormous expansion doesn’t go by unnoticed by their competitors. The Dutch retail market is dominated by Picnic’s two main competitors: Albert Heijn and Jumbo, together they account for 52% of the market (Vermijs, 2017). Both competitors launched a groceries home delivery service of their own, utilizing all their scale advantages to battle Picnic’s rise. For now, they seem to succeed, Jumbo has an online revenue of €140 million and Albert Heijn €400 million (this includes the online revenue of their sister companies Etos and Gall & Gall).

Looking at Europe’s leader and pioneer in home-delivered groceries the United Kingdom, the future looks bright for Picnic. In the UK 5% of the total groceries purchases are home delivered, in the Netherlands this is still only 1,6% so there is still a lot of room to grow (Staalduine, 2016). And growing is exactly what Picnic will keep on doing, at the moment it’s growing even faster than its supply chain can keep up with, in Utrecht for example they have a waiting list of over 1.500 people. Moreover, Picnic is all about thinking big, they recently announced their first international expansion towards Germany, starting operations in the Ruhr valley coming year. Picnic has proven to offer a unique value for its customers, and therefore I believe we will be seeing a lot more of it in the coming years

References:

Garstenveld P. (2017, 21 september). AH Online naar €400 miljoen omzet. Geraadpleegd op 17 september 2018, van https://privacy.vakmedianet.nl/distrifood/?ref=https://www.distrifood.nl/branche-bedrijf/nieuws/2017/09/ah-en-jumbo-in-top-20-twinkle-100-2-101112000

Garstenveld, P. (2018, 4 januari). Muller: ‘Picnic in 2018 naar €300 miljoen’. Geraadpleegd op 17 september 2018, van https://www.distrifood.nl/formules/nieuws/2018/01/muller-picnic-2018-naar-e300-miljoen-101114824?vakmedianet-approve-cookies=1

RetailNews. (2012, 24 januari). ‘Forse veranderingen in retaillandschap’. Geraadpleegd op 17 september 2018, van https://retailtrends.nl/news/28537/forse-veranderingen-in-retaillandschap+

Staalduine, J. O. S. E. P. H. I. N. E. (2016, 30 augustus). Een hoog wagentje als handelsmerk. NRC. Geraadpleegd van https://www.nrc.nl/nieuws/2016/08/30/een-hoog-wagentje-als-handelsmerk-4060425-a1518656

Vermijs, R. (2018, 1 mei). Investigating Dutch grocery trends over the past decade. Geraadpleegd op 17 september 2018, van https://blog.picnic.nl/investigating-dutch-grocery-trends-over-the-past-decade-1d2c63dc3ab9?gi=5151d13590b0

 

Please rate this

Amazon Go: a new way of shopping

11

September

2018

5/5 (4)

 

What would shopping look like if you just grab what you want and walk out? Six years ago Amazon started the development of a new kind of technology: just walk out. After development, Amazon implemented this technology in the first real-life Amazon Go shop. Customers download the Amazon Go app and use the app to enter the store. After check-in customers can start shopping. Every product you put up will be transferred to your virtual cart. If you change your mind about a product you can put it back, it will automatically be erased from your online account. Normally, if you are done shopping, you have to wait in line to pay your goods, but with this new technology you just walk out1, 2.

 

What kinds of technologies are used?

Amazon combined technologies that are used to develop self-driving cars: computer vision, sensor fusion and artificial intelligence1.Therefor Amazon can collect data, which tracks your movement in the Amazon Go shop.  Weight sensors in the shelves detect which product a customer took and which product they put back. If the customer leaves the shop, the online account will be charged3.

 

What is the downside of Amazon Go?

In December 2016 the first prototype of the Amazon Go shop opened in Seattle. After a few months several technical problems appeared. One of the problems with the just walk out technology was that it breaks down if there are more than 20 people in the Amazon Go shop.  The system has difficulties following more than 20 individuals and tracking all the products in the bags or shelves4.

 

It is my opinion that (if all problems are solved) this technology has great potential. Especially, the part that it saves you time because you don’t have to be in line at the cash register. Another advantage is that you don’t need your wallet anymore, just your mobile phone. Other supermarket chains should invest in Amazon’s technology.

 

 

 

Sources:

  1. https://www.amazon.com/b?ie=UTF8&node=16008589011
  2. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NrmMk1Myrxc
  3. https://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/amazon-go-grocery-store-1.4497862
  4. https://www.theverge.com/2017/3/27/15073468/amazon-go-shopper-tracking-store-opening-delay

 

 

 

 

Please rate this