Dive Brief:
- The Hershey Lab has imagined a new way of grocery shopping that would banish the carts, dim the aisles and tear down pretty much all notions of what people think of from a retail store, according to the Hershey Company. The concept is called Medley.
- Hershey’s Global Customer Innovation Center, which is located in Hershey, PA, has the interactive, multi-tech Medley on display, allowing visiting retailers the chance to interact with the futuristic concepts and consider the ways their own store might work better.
- There are four Medley chain concepts.
Dive Insight:
While the Hershey Lab’s new experimental grocery store might seem cool in theory, some of its ideas seem straight out of "The Jetsons" and probably aren’t coming to consumers in the next few years. Many consumers are comfortable with the brick and mortar stores of today and while they do want technical advancements to help, they don't necessarily want to feel like they are shopping on Mars.
However, ideas like personalization, meal exploration and virtual reality will probably be a hit.
The Medley resembles a coffee hangout more than a grocery store, and it’s designed to provide a more communicative experience for the shopper. However, many people prefer to just get in and out and buy what they need. That’s why concepts like Amazon Go are starting to become popular. They want convenience; they’re not looking to spend more time in the store.
The futurists at Hershey envision a place where consumers will choose meals over ingredients, click and collect will continue to rise and conversational commerce will help meet consumers’ demands.