Snackification is on the rise and everyone is busy in their fast-moving lives.
According to a report by Mondelez International’s “State of Snacking”, snacking is preferred to eating meals for 59% of adults worldwide and it is on the rise because of the convenience it provides. Certain key aspects of snacks such as easy storage, convenience, low sugar, and low-fat quantities pull people towards Snacking.
There are various other factors that have led to the rise of snacking. In the past half-decade. Snacks have started becoming nutritional. Manufacturers are experimenting with superfoods in snacks. Consumers are also open to adopting nutritional supplements as snacks. The rise of binge-watching and streaming shows online also led to the trends of snacking at home. The global pandemic also changed shopping behavior and led to an increase in safe online shopping. It got a lot more convenient to have snacks when many snack brands started delivering snacks at home via their own online stores.
Shopping for snacks online is now embedded into consumer behavior. Many customers are so used to ordering snacks online that they don’t want to return to traditional shopping anymore.
If you’re a business that hasn’t opened an eCommerce store yet, you’re already behind the curve. Snacking is firmly embedded in consumer food habits, with about 60% of consumers in the United States purchasing snacks as part of their weekly grocery shopping.
Revenue of the snack food market worldwide by country in 2020 ?
This image shows the Global market size percentage of the snack market in the year 2020 which clearly shows that North America and Russia including the European countries are the most dominant ones. ?
Popularity of snack food business in the last 5 years
Now we will go through the trend of the snack food industry by looking at the number of searches done in the past 5 years across the web whether for information or shopping purposes:
Google trends code for “snack food” trend worldwide:
Region-wise:
Google trends code for “snack food online” trend worldwide
Region-wise:
Now let’s understand the basics of eCommerce and how Shopify can help you be successful.
What is an Ecommerce store?
Ecommerce is the short form of electronic commerce. It is the process of buying and selling products or services through an electronic system like your computer or smartphone over the internet. It was first carried out in 1994, and since then, it has been growing at an unprecedented pace.
Traditional stores are suitable for a particular geographical local area. Still, there are a vast number of your consumers from all around the world who could have been your potential customers and who have an interest in your products; you are missing out by not going online. There is a limited number of people that could come to your physical store. Having a store online quickly solves this massive problem.
Benefits of Ecommerce
Ecommerce has many benefits, but I want to discuss what it holds in the bucket for snacks companies in this blog.
1️⃣ Faster buying process
Customers can visit your online store at any point in time, select snacks they like, add them to the shopping cart, fill in the shipping details, and finally, make the payment using the favorite mode of payment or some providers allow the COD (Cash on Delivery) option as well. Generally, every customer creates an account first in your app. The customer already filled in such vital details as shipping details and card details, making the buying process extremely fast.
2️⃣ Store and product list creation
You have your store, and then you create a product listing for your offerings using photos, videos, descriptions, shipping times, and other details. This is the list that appears to your customers while doing a search. It gives you the freedom to provide your snacks’ elements easily accessible to your customer. You don’t need to repeat it to your customer as it happens in the offline store.
3️⃣ Cost reduction
It is directly related to the online vs offline debate. An online store costs way less than owning and running a physical store. Renovation, inventory maintenance, rent, workforce, and other charges involved in a physical store get way less automatically in the case of an eCommerce store.
4️⃣ Affordable advertising and marketing
First of all, you’re already marketing your products (snacks) by creating a listing. You can use Shopify’s inbuilt options to create customized deals, coupons content, and sponsored ads at a significantly cheaper rate. Use an analytics tool to measure the success of your ads and the marketing campaign Keep making adjustments until you find your desired result.
5️⃣ Flexibility for customers
Online stores give the convenience to your customers to sit in their comfortable home and make the purchase, even from a variety of product options that are not even available in their local area. Buying literally takes a few taps on the mobile screens, and the product gets delivered to their homes. This level of convenience is unmatched and addictive. Then there comes express delivery, discounts, coupons, free shipping, and subscription advantages. There are reviews and user-made videos to decide if the product is worth buying or not, even before buying it.
6️⃣ No limitations on the reach
Online stores are not limited to a location or region. You can reach any customer in any part of the world you like. Ecommerce websites like Shopify have their own delivery partners who take care of all the logistics work, and your product reaches the customer’s address safely.
7️⃣ Product and price comparison
Product and price comparison is something that every customer does, whether it’s offline or online. Still, an online store makes comparison way easier as every bit of detail is already there. You don’t need to visit any other shop to compare it with other similar products.
8️⃣ Faster response to buyer/market demands
Suppose there is a demand for any specific product that you currently have. In that case, you can act quickly to cater to this growing demand and even run ads to gain more visibility. Suppose there is something out of stock and your customer clicks on the ‘Notify Me’ button. In that case, this will notify the customer when you replenish that product, as well as it also informs you that there is a need for that product, and you can act quickly.
9️⃣ Several payment modes
There are several payment modes available to offer to your customers so that they can choose their preferred payment options such as UPI, EMI, Debit or Credit Card payments, Netbanking, or even COD. This really helps across many types of customers with different banks. Suppose someone reaches the payment page but backs out in online payment. In that case, you can notify them to fulfill their shopping via email or text message.
? Subscriptions
Subscriptions allow you to create a recurring stream of income from your customers. The customers who were looking for one-time shopping get converted to customers for a lifetime. This regular revenue stream permits you to create a business cycle that you can rely on and make plans for its expansion. Provide your customers with extra discounts to sign up for subscriptions, delight them with offers and they will keep buying from you again and again.
Why companies are going for D2C business/stores
D2C business stands for Direct to Customer business It basically means you are selling your products directly to your customers without involving a seller or intermediaries in between to reach your customers.
Let’s look at the possible reasons why companies are considering going D2C and why you should too:
Increasing Revenue
When you are dependent on any intermediaries or third-party eCommerce platform for your business, then there is a part of your revenue that goes to that platform for managing your sales. Still, suppose your product is famous enough that potential customers are looking for your product and reaching your website to buy it. In that case, you can cut your ties with your 3rd party sellers for that specific product and sell it online on your website. This move alone can save you a fortune.
Prioritizing Customer Experience and Direct Connection
Every company’s goal should be to deliver the best customer experience to its customers. That can be done efficiently by directly catering to your customers. When the retailer or wholesaler sells your product, you are not interacting with your customers but the wholesaler and selling your product which doesn’t deliver the story behind your product and consumer brand. But when the customer gets any product or service from you directly, the experience is on another level. They tend to trust the product more. A customer generally pays for the experience; otherwise, thousands of brands have the same products, but people pick few.
Better Data Collection And Understanding About Customers
Customers don’t really expect much from a brand except excellent and reliable products and after-sales service. These expectations can quickly be taken care of when you are delivering your services directly to your customers. Being in direct contact with your customers lets you collect their shopping data and what they like and don’t. This data helps in many ways, such as modifying your marketing and aftersales to provide a personalized experience and satisfy the customers’ expectations. The world is being dominated by the one who has the most data, and their customer experiences are top-notch. The relation is evident between the two terms, which are Data and Customer Experience.
Shopify Features you could take advantage of for early success
- Storefront: It creates web pages, uploads blog posts, and sells products
- Payment processor: It captures payments of your orders.
- Secure checkout: A secure checkout optimized for speed, conversion, and great customer experience.
- Shipping platform: It is used to customize the shipping rates for your specific products and locations, run pickup and delivery, and even buy discounted shipping labels with Shopify shipping.
- POS Lite: A point-of-sale app to sell your products in person, including brick-and-mortar stores, markets, and pop-up shops.
- Marketing platform: You can use the built-in blog, SEO tools and create marketing campaigns with Facebook and Google Shopping.
- Back office: It includes a Shopify mobile app, analytics and reports, an app store with tons of free apps, and of course, our 24/7 support.
- Shopify help center: Visit help.shopify.com for helpful articles about building a store to managing one.
- Community section: There is a community section, using community.shopify.com.. where you can connect to other entrepreneurs like yourself to chat and interact with.
- Chat tools: It lets customers use chat tools and give direct access to you and your business.
- Subscription: Provide subscription services to let customers make subscriptions for the products they need regularly. This adds to the ease of shopping and in being a trustable shopping partner for your consumers.
Several other features you could take advantage of:
On Shopify, you can add all kinds of media like photos, videos, and 3D models with special effects to your store. Storytelling through photography and video increases your customer conversion rate, loyalty, and how they really relate to your brand.
- Shopify Inbox lets you chat with your customers and vice versa. It’s integrated with other messaging platforms, receiving messages from FB messenger and apple business chat. Chatting and interacting with customers help in converting 70% of your visitors to paying customers.
- Use Shopify email to let customers know about your new products and services. Set up an email campaign about upcoming sales events and discounts.
- Provide personalized discounts to existing customers to reward them, gain loyalty and repeat purchases, and include the discount in Shopify email.
- Keep track of various events and festivals and change your store’s theme using burst.shopify.com to find some free holiday-themed photos for your store. OR, you can change your theme by using a theme customizer.
- The online selling store speed report gives your analytics to check and adjust to fast up your store loading time. It also shows data about your competitor’s store and also compares the two.
Conclusion
Everything discussed above is valid and relevant for any eCommerce business, whether it’s snacks, shoes, or electronic gadgets. Today’s customers are always online and educated. They know they have other options available to them from any part of the world, and they don’t compromise. Indeed it has disrupted the traditional market but has opened many unknown doors to almost anything. Ecommerce has paved the way for even small snack companies to sell their snacks to customers from other parts of the world, resulting in expanding their reach. Differentiate themselves by providing exceptional CX, and Moreover, it’s way cheaper than traditional retailers and businesses too.
Having your store online is not a privilege but a necessity now. People are getting less attached to well-known brands but are actively looking for new innovations and flavors to try. Having your snacks closer to your consumers all the time using a mobile app will expand your business manyfold. An Ecommerce store is the best way to reach out to your potential customers and offer them a wide range of choices.
Ecommerce has also become more than just an online shop for selling products; it’s now about building brand image, loyalty & much more. Building an eCommerce store using Shopify and integrating their useful features helps you efficiently run your online business. If you want to upgrade your branding and build a Shopify eCommerce store for your business then you can count on us to take care of every little detail. Talk to our eCommerce consultants now.
