Commercial power is increasingly shifting to those companies that own the consumer relationship and have the capability to access, analyze and act on the rich streams of data that this provides. This puts e-commerce giants (led by Amazon) in the driver’s seat since manufacturers and their retailers are largely ignorant about who is buying their product and why.
As new versions of convenience are created (like digital order food-service delivery), old categories and channels will need to respond or they will become obsolete.
Food companies, for example, are under pressure to partner with emerging data analytics providers to exploit their data effectively. If they don’t then someone else will.
As home-cooking increasingly gives way to ordering ready-made meals, consumers are seeking better quality food both for home delivery and in restaurants. This demand for quality and digital delivery convenience is growing rapidly. Direct consumer data sharing is increasing and category shifting is accelerating.
All of this is compelling restaurants to accelerate their partnerships with aggregators, especially those with their own delivery capabilities or partnerships. Foodservice delivery aggregators like UberEats, GrubHub and DoorDash are vying to become one of the few dominant delivery systems but they can’t do it without the right allies in the foodservice sector. The increasing scale and potential consolidation of these delivery networks could create a virtuous cycle of reduced cost and increasing market share.
The Agility Imperative: Up close
The future will be determined by those who are willing to reinvest, adapt and turn future threats into opportunities.