Who Do You Trust?

If they were standing at your door, who would you let over the door step (without a search warrant…). The answer isn’t easy, dependent on past experiences, belief, face expression, wording, speech, appearance, your own mood, and so on, the list goes on and on.

The issue with trust is of increasing importance as more companies are reaching for your doorknob in a strive to sell and service you to a greater extent. The catalyst for this is the growth of e-commerce. Data show that we love this way of shopping, because it reduces mentally taxing chores like running in long aisles searching for products whilst the kids are screaming for candy and toys.

Companies building trustworthy services gets a potential mandate to knock on the door. Building high level of trust may even lead to that you let some services over your door step; dog watcher, window cleaners, maybe even food delivery, all the way to your fridge.

Let’s focus on food delivery. Because it is quite complex. It is done several times per week, it is connected with a lot of decisions, quality assurance is of essence and a supply chain that needs to be temperature controlled and monitored.

On top of that food is a big deal for all households. It is the third largest category of spending. So where and how you buy groceries is important in terms of budget, and preferences based on dietary needs.

There has always been a friction of getting food into your home. Delivery is minimizing the friction. But as consumers are ready to trust tech for assisting in everyday life, companies with new ideas will flourish. We already see that tech in the kitchen will be a major thing. Of the voice speakers in the home, 42% is placed in the kitchen. For even the simplest tasks consumers are using voice to control technology around them.

So, it seems we trust tech for assisting in everyday life. Would you trust, and would even better choices be made for you, if tech was assisting in creating a meal plan based of recipes you like and delivering the groceries to your fridge, at times when you are (preferably) not home?

As 69 percent of working moms say their household responsibilities create a mental load, and a full 52 percent say they are burning out from the weight of it, this is a likely scenario of the future.

As a matter of fact, 49 percent of shoppers would not object to having their buying behavior tracked if it would result in relevant offers.

These facts point to that convenience will power grocery retail in all its forms. Households will turn to tech in order to assist in everyday chores. From inspiration what to eat, to buy the relevant groceries needed and to be a helping hand cooking in the kitchen.

Projections indicate that grocery shopping will be a category for major disruption. The disruption will mean that we spend more money online than offline. Online penetration in the US will reach 70% by 2024.

As the bond between consumers and tech grows stronger, building trust will be key for consumer companies. Only companies that is truly trusted, will be given the power to answer for what preferences that should power our future purchases, based on past and current data. From that taking the step to trust that same company to actually bring the groceries to your fridge when you are not home is not far away.

These companies will have moral authority over others. Both in terms of direct competitors and cross industry potential.

Companies with moral authority will understand your habits, wants, needs, desires and connect it with the appliances in your home to minimize work the load from all aspects of the home cooked meal.

Moral authority will not be taken, but will be earned by the ones that create the best user experience, focusing on ease and inspiration. The next generation engagement between company and consumer is about non-monetary rewards, presenting solutions like catered menus and recipes that fit budget, dietary needs and taste preferences.

Companies with moral authority will create faster, easier and more inspirational grocery shopping that start at recipes and meals, this will open up for more time where it really matters, together with friends and family around the table enjoying more meals together.