Hepatitis & Kids, Walmart+, Millennial Metaverse

Today we look at what Lidl is doing, your kids and Hepatitis A, Walmart+, A questionable shopper survey, Kroger Digital, Tamagotchi's are making a comeback, learnings from our Exploring the Metaverse webinar, On the Lempert Report an NFT Restaurant, Millennials in the metaverse, and our Bullseye addresses the front end of our supermarkets.

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Phil 0:12

Welcome to the Lempert Report LIVE. Today, we're gonna look at Lidls new strategy. We're gonna look at Hepatitis A, a questionable shopper survey. Kroger's latest digital play, a scary metaverse concept. A new NFT restaurant is about to open in San Francisco, but first let's give a shout out to Danone. Sally.

Sally 0:37

Hi, Phil of , at , we all know about this recent baby formula shortage and how that is affecting so many American families. Danone is now going to help out with the situation and they are going to fly in a half a million cans of their specialized medical formula that is designed for babies that have an allergy to cows milk. Now that's gonna be the equivalent of about 5 million, eight ounce bottles of infant formula . And, and just so you know, there's, this allergy effects between two and 5% of the babies in America .

Phil 1:15

I didn't realize it was that high. And also the good news is what we heard over the weekend that the Abbot factory is back up , but it's gonna take a couple weeks until they can fill those supermarket shelves. So, you know, for those parents who have had a really rough time over the past couple months , the end is in sight . So let's get started. A couple years ago the industry was about ready to write off Lidl. Well, they're opening up more stores and might have just hit on a new strategy. That's gonna secure the change position here in the US, Sally,

Sally 1:52

This is great. Phil they're really making an effort to help consumers with inflation. And so they they're running a campaign for the summer starting June 8th . Then it's gonna go till August where they're gonna drop prices on more than a hundred items in their stores that are all located in the east coast. The discounts range from 12.8% for the lowest price item and up and 10.6% for the highest price item on the list, which is a black Angus top sirloin steak. So they're saying that customers can save about $50 on these basket items throughout the summer campaign.

Phil 2:32

Yeah , and I think it's really smart because while Aldi has done a bang up job and they just keep on opening, Lidl has sort of gotten lost. They only have 170 stores open here in the US. When you look at their outpost in Germany, you know, their neck and neck with Aldi and they , they just haven't been able to hit, they've gone through, I wanna say like four or five different US presidents so far. So I think this is really smart. I agree with you, because this is gonna get people to get into the stores, even if it's just for this promotion and then like what they see, because to be honest with you, there's a lot of little products, especially their prepared foods that are excellent that most consumers just haven't found. So what's the story about what's going on with hepatitis? We have 27 cases of hepatitis a , um, that is potentially linked to organic strawberries that have been sold in, in change from Walmart to trader Joe's to HEB . Um, how, how serious is this problem with hepatitis and our kids?

Sally 3:46

Well, there are two things that we've been seeing in the news Phil. And so just to clear them up for everyone, there are, you know, we know that there are there's hepatitis A, B, C, D, and E, and hepatitis A and B, we actually have a vaccine for. So , it is very important to get this vaccine. A lot of children have this vaccine to protect them. Um, yes, there has been an outbreak in strawberries. We have seen cases on the rise and they have, they have warned people about these strawberries that were bought during this particular time at certain retailers. Now, those would've gone bad by now, but some people put strawberries in their freezer and save them. And so they can still contract the virus that way. And it is highly contagious. Now on the other hand , we've seen reports from the CDC in a concern about hepatitis C that is showing up mysteriously in children in the United States and actually globally. This is a different form of hepatitis. It does not have a vaccine and it's generally transmitted transmitted through blood. But it is much more serious and can cause liver problems. In fact , there are several children in the United States that have had to have liver transplants, but this is not the same thing as what you're getting in the strawberries.

Phil 5:09

So the reality is that we should be looking both for kids and adults, very carefully at what's going on with hepatitis and for everybody to get the vaccines that they can .

Sally 5:23

That is correct . That is the best thing we can do.

Phil 5:27

So Walmart+, you know, Walmart+ started back in September, 2020 obviously didn't get the kind of attention that it should have because of the pandemic. But a new story in Consumer Reports really points out that if you're a Walmart shopper or close to a Walmart, you might want to think about joining Walmart+ instead of Amazon Prime because you could really save a lot more. Now, one of the things when you and I were talking about that I wasn't aware of, you know, yes, you get the free shipping, you can get same-day delivery on some waters, gas discounts and a scan and go app feature for store shoppers. So it really sounds like for those Walmart shoppers, this is a great deal.

Sally 6:19

It does sound like a great deal. If you like shopping at Walmart you now you aren't gonna get with Amazon prime, you get the books and you get to stream movies. And so you're not gonna get that, but they are offering up a six free months of Spotify access with their membership. So if you sign up, you do get that benefit. And there are some other benefits as well. They have raised the the gas rewards to 10 cents per gallon instead of 5 cents. What it is would be for these members and the scan and go feature is pretty interesting to me. So basically you can shop in the store and scan your items as you shop and keep a running total, which I love that idea. And then you just go to the front of the store and you scan a QR code to check out and you're done .

Phil 7:09

Yeah, it's a great program. And it's a shame that more people haven't really been aware of it. So hopefully we can help on that. There's a new study that has come out by Tango. And you know, they're saying some things in here, Sally, that I would disagree with. You know, there's some 94% of shoppers are satisfied with the options they have for in-store shopping for pickup and delivery. Compared to 87% a year ago , 94% of shoppers enjoy having the ability to buy online. You know, that stuff is pretty commonplace. What I don't agree with is that nine in 10, over nine in 10, US adults say that big box retailers and supermarkets have adapted well to the changes during the pandemic. I don't see that. I still see empty shelves. I still see, you know, the plastic barrier barriers. What do you , what do you think?

Sally 8:17

Yes. I find find that to be a very, very high number. I don't know that that many people would be satisfied about something to begin with, you know , with their feedback would be, but yes, with out of stocks and the frustration that you experience we do like our online shopping, but we do experience frustration with the shoppers having to make replacements because so many things are out of stocks and then getting, getting what you don't want. So, I find that, yes, I find that number to be really high. And another one that was really interesting to me, Phil, that I'd love to get your feedback on is that three a nd five 62% consumers say environmental concerns now influence whether they shop in s tore online. Now here's the interesting part. Men are more likely than women to say environmental concerns, impact whether they shop in s tore o r online. I thought that was an interesting one.

Phil 9:13

I think it's interesting also because they don't define what the environmental inputs are. I mean, are people not going to the store because they want to save gas? Going into the atmosphere or I , you know, yeah, the survey i s not one that, you know, we point to and say, wow, better listen to this. I love what Kroger's doing with their new digital farmer's market. They've partnered with Market Wagon that now it's just a test and it's just in Atlanta, but what they're bringing is they're bringing over 1,100 local food products to shoppers in this farmer's market. I think it's really smart. You can either get it delivered on Tuesday or Friday, not every day. But you know, just by bringing all these local products to the people in Atlanta, I think this is phenomenal. I'm really pointing to Kroger as leading so much in technology. You know, we spoke with , Wesley Rhodes from Kroger last week on our metaverse webcast and I really think that we're gonna see a lot of new technologies coming o ut of Kroger.

Sally 10:34

Yes, I, I love what they're doing here and I really wish they had this available for us in Nashville. Maybe they will because you know, we're Kroger shoppers here, but yes, I mean, you can order these products within a 60 mile radius of Atlanta and these are products that are not in the Kroger stores. You can only get them in this digital f armer's market format. And they're just really helping out a lot of local farmers and local food m akers, getting their products out there. It's s a part of being sustainably conscious as well, I believe. And I love how they say that they're transforming the farm to table concept into a farm t o front door reality.

Phil 11:19

Yeah. It's, it's great. It's something that we're gonna watch very carefully . Um , I'm scared. <laugh> I am very, very scared , about this author , Catriona Campbell. She is one of England's leading authorities on artificial intelligence. She wrote a new book AI by design a plan for living with artificial intelligence. And what she says is that within 50 years, technology will have advanced to such an extent that babies which exist in the metaverse are indistinct from those in the real world. So you can have a baby in the metaverse , which is sort of like scary to me. And also, you know it's not gonna look like, you know, the virtual world now, the kids can look just like you, you can play with them, you can cuddle with them . You can keep them at a certain age, so they never become teenagers or never even grow up. You can keep your kid a t, you know, six years old or whatever the right age is. But the creepiest thing that s he talks about is what happens when you get bored with your kids. If they're on a monthly subscription, they just cancel t he subscription and the kids are gone. So being a mom, what do you think?

Sally 12:51

I'm with you, Phil? I find it a little strange and really hard to imagine that a lot of adults would embrace having a virtual child. However, I do see some interesting opportunities here. The Tamagotchi pets that were really popular were a huge, huge thing. People really liked being able to take care of them and seeing where they went wrong, where they went right with keeping their little pet alive and well. So with this, I see opportunities for, t he first thing that comes to mind is, you know, how about health insurance companies when people are expecting children. You know, offering training through these types of this virtual platform on parenting and feeding and taking care of a baby. I think this is a great opportunity for kids to learn about nutrition and taking care of their own bodies. What happens if you eat these foods and you, and you eat these foods and mix in your exercise, you know, what does your health look like? So there could be some really cool opportunities. I just don't know if we are going to stop having kids and start just embracing virtual kids.

Phil 14:11

Yeah, I hope not. I do agree with you. I think from a training standpoint, you know, when I was growing up, my father always used to say, y ou know, that he wished that when I p opped out, I would've come with a manual.

Sally 14:26

Yes <laugh> .

Phil 14:26

So, so that my parents could have some idea what to do with me. But you know, from a training standpoint, an education standpoint, I think it's cool. Right before we went live, I got a new , press release and I am very jealous about this. McDonald's has introduced a new menu for the summer in England. So they're going with the taste of Italy, Spain and Cypress. So the taste of Italy menu, which is available from June 8th to July 26th is the Italian stack, the crispy chicken Italiano , the mozzarella dippers, and a tiramisu McFlurry. And then Spain and Cyprus. These menu items are available from July 27th to September 6th, a spicy Spanish stack, chicken Fiesta , fries, and punch. And I've gotta tell you something, I'm jealous. How come they're doing this in the UK? And not here McDonald's is always struggling for what they're , what you know, to get more people in there that people are saying, there's nothing exciting there. This is exciting. Give it to us.

Sally 15:48

Yeah. So it would be nice for them to change up the menu. I feel like this is something that happens quite often. We see them introducing all of these cool products in other countries, but we don't get them here .

Phil 15:59

You don't. And now it’s time for The Lempert Report. Eater reports that San Francisco is getting an NFT Restaurant. The project comes from SHŌ Group, which describes itself as “a global experiential hospitality platform,” and will take up rooftop real estate atop Salesforce Transit Center. Here is what they are planning: a membership-based SHŌ Club, a high-end Japanese restaurant with a sunken-pit grill, where the chef plans to cook over charcoal and offer “rustic farmhouse cuisine.” and a “Japanese food retail concept” that will sell grab-and-go items like bento boxes, salads, and sake. The SHŌ Club will offer three membership tiers – get this: Earth, Wind, and Fire, seriously? Earth is the lowest tier and they say little more on their website but its “the foundation of the club” – Water is the core membership for those who seek the ultimate in convenience and cultural experiences, both, according to their press release offers access to a special menu at the club’s restaurant, which will be open to the public; admittance into a private lounge; concierge and car services; and dinners with “celebrity guests.” Fire gets you. “ownership like benefits,” like “a once-in-a-lifetime highly curated trip to Japan”. The website also says that the full list of membership benefits and pricing will be available later this month. To give you some framework – New York’s NFT restaurant – coming soon – The Flyfish Club has memberships starting at $13,000 – but of course its tied to cryptocurrency so we will just have to see what the exchange rates are when you decide to purchase your membership. Sally, there's been lots of discussion about the great resignation, but it seems like there's one group that's working harder than ever at their jobs. Who are they? And what's it all about?

Sally 18:07

Yes, Phil, and you know, whether you see the glass half full or half empty , you know, we call it the great resignation or the great migration. So we're looking at it both ways, but a new study by UiPath has revealed that 83% of global respondents have had to take up to six new tasks on outside of their regular job description. And this is because so many of their coworkers are resigning. Now, as of this year, most millennials are at the peak of their careers. They're in leadership roles, they're in management roles and they are shouldering much of the responsibility of their organizations. And that means this great resignation is taking a real toll on them. Emotionally, the study also says that 60% of millennials are filling workplace burnout. So the bottom line is in order to retain employees, companies need to work on offering a healthy and productive work environment. Now, some companies are testing four-day work weeks . They're allowing permanent work from home opportunities. They're expanding benefits, especially like mental health service, which a lot of gen Z employees are now pushing for apparently. And in addition, they're adding robot software to take on mundane tasks so that they can ensure that their team can focus on creative and strategic work.

Phil 19:27

I met Melissa, JINS the chief operating officer of in context in the metaverse to find out more about their latest consumer survey. Here's what she told me. When you look back over the past 10 years of research, when you look into your crystal ball, when you survey all these consumers, what are you seeing today?

Melissa 19:49

One of the first question that we asked ourselves is, are shoppers ready for a more immersive 3d type of shopping experience. And so when we first started our research, that was really the initial question to answer is, are shoppers ready? Because if they are, then we've got a lot to explore. And we found that it was a resounding yes, shoppers liked it. They found it fun. They found it easy. And I think most importantly, we found that 70% of shoppers wanna do it again. And that 50% of shoppers are more likely to return to a retailer who had some sort of a 3d or immersive experience

Phil 20:28

To watch the complete interview, just log on to SupermarketGuru.com and click on Exploring the Retail Metaverse. On today's bullseye. Let's talk about the front end of our supermarkets. According to IRI shoppers in the us spent $6 billion in the checkout area last year. Now that's lot of gum magazines, candy and soda. According to CNN business, they put small cheap items for quick consumption, nearest the register because they're easier for customers to toss into their carts instead of an eight pack of paper towels, bad example, but here's what is a good move? The center for science and the public interest CSPI has been pushing soup market since 2015 to have their stores change . What they sell near the register top grocery change in the United Kingdom have eliminated candy from checkout altogether here in the us , Berkeley, California passed a healthy checkout law back in 2020 regulating which products can be sold near the register. What's out junk food, candy and soda what's in fresh or dried fruits, nuts, yogurt, and sugar free gum. The regulation. The first in the us requires stores to sell at least 25 square foot of healthy items within a close radius of the register. Berkeley's historic action will build momentum for future efforts to improve the food retail environment at the state and local level says CSPI, good job. Now let's keep expanding the concept to the rest of our supermarkets and the rest of our cities and all of our shoppers. Sally , what comments do we have today?

Sally 22:14

Well, we heard from Mary Miller today, and this is good news from Mary. She says her Jif peanut butter update . h er replacement coupons have come in. So, you know, we all know that there was the recall because of the contamination. So rry. An d s o kudos to t h e c o mpany f or taking care of customers an d s e nding t hose coupons ou t.

Phil 22:36

Absolutely . And especially these days where nobody wants to waste any money on anything yet alone, have a food safety nightmare. So thanks for joining us today. Don't forget, go SupermarketGuru .com and sign up for our newsletters and make sure that you are in the know when it comes to consumers, brands and retailers.