Opinion: Can reusables save the modern supermarket?

Retail, as we know it, is facing a watershed moment. One of the longer-lasting effects of COVID is destined to be our continued fondness for online shopping. We have discovered, en-masse, the convenience of having our food delivered right to our door. Why ever leave the house? That presents a new challenge for modern supermarkets. How will they continue to harness the power of the browser? The impulse shopper. How do you introduce new products to online shoppers who have strong search filters in action?

As part of their cross-channel sales strategy, supermarkets will need to give customers new impulse to return to brick and mortar shops. This is where attractive, entertaining refill stations can allow stores to perform a new primary role: providing a product discovery and taste-making experience for customers. Providing much needed ‘retailtainment’ while simultaneously lowering their environmental impact.

The plastic problem

The world is realising that recycling alone will not save us from plastic pollution. It is incumbent upon all of us to revolutionise our plastic use. We must stop thinking of it as disposable. Currently, it is impossible to avoid plastic when grocery shopping. It’s everywhere! However, research shows that customers are ready for a change.  GlobalData’s 2019 Q3 survey revealed that 69% of APAC consumers look for sustainability aspects in product packaging while 71% look for reusable and refillable product packaging. Increased public outrage is inspiring a growing zero-waste movement, moving beyond the fringe to the average customer. With consumers actively seeking out companies prioritising environmental issues, could reusable packaging systems be the answer?

The Zero-waste movement

Zero-waste stores are popping up in city centres across the world, lovely little shops filled with nibbly bits like unsalted macadamias and hemp oil on tap. Fun as these shops are, they cater mainly towards an organic, unprocessed, dare I say it 'plant-based' stereotype. A growing yet still niche market. While spreading the applaudable message of a refillable future, they are not reaching the target audience. The eco-consumer is already on board. We need to attract the everyday shopper, where price and convenience trump sentiment. Mainstream consumers need mainstream solutions.

as Asda and Morrisons aim to deliver everyday staples such as pasta, rice and coffee using gravity dispensers and bottle refill machines. These fun, interactive delivery systems allow the customer to buy exactly the amount they need, reducing food waste while eliminating single-use plastic packaging. Consumers are showing their overwhelming willingness to change their shopping habits. Hopefully, other retailers will be inspired to follow suit.

Business Benefits

Switching to reusable systems will be a challenge for modern supermarkets, but it can offer significant business benefits. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that if just one-fifth of existing plastic packaging were replaced by reusable or refillable alternatives, it could open a $10-billion (€8.5bn) business opportunity. Profits talk, sustainability will only succeed if it stimulates the bottom line. Willemijn Peeters, CEO of Searious Business - a circular plastics social enterprise, recognises this. Their messaging promotes the economic and social advantages of reusable systems as well as the obvious environmental benefits. Working with supermarket chains Carrefour and Marjane in Morocco, they are demonstrating that reusable solutions can offer multiple business benefits to the modern supermarket including:

• Reducing packaging costs long-term
• Enhancing customer pleasure
• Guaranteeing customer retention
• Strengthening the brand-customer relationship

The time is now

The UK and Europe have already initiated plastic pacts to ensure all plastic packaging is reusable or recyclable by 2025. This month, France has announced its intention to introduce new green legislation forcing supermarkets to devote a fifth of their shelves to refill stations, encouraging customers to fill their own containers with goods such as pasta and shampoo. France is among the first countries to legislate on the issue, but others surely will follow.

‘This shift is going to happen, and the more retailers resist, the more they will find themselves behind the curve” says Steve Hynd, policy manager at campaign group City to Sea.

Now is the time for forward-thinking supermarket brands to get ahead of the legislation, demonstrate their environmental objectives, and capitalise on the reusable movement. We need strong collaborations across the supply chain and a complete re-engineering of how products are dispensed, delivered and returned for it to work.

The modern supermarket will need to step up if they want to compete with e-commerce. Let your packaging become an asset to your business and not just instant trash.