#Topshelftalks: CEOs insights unveiled

Industry pioneers are embracing a comprehensive strategy that integrates consumer insights, digital innovation and talent management to excel in the dynamic business environment of today. This session at the recently concluded Food Business Forum 2024 explores how CEOs are steering their organisations through this ever-changing terrain. Discover the methods they employ to adapt to rapidly shifting consumer preferences and online behaviours. Delve into the strategies they’re implementing to retain top talent in the face of a challenging 20% annual attrition rate. Join us to uncover the secrets of their success.

The grocery sector across the region is dynamic, ever evolving and rapidly adapting to rising consumer expectations. But the question to note here is about the ‘balancing act’, observed Muhammad Adeel Anjum, Chief Executive Officer, Circle K Arabia. How are grocery retailers across varied formats such as hypermarkets, supermarkets, specialty retail and much more working towards balancing the workforce with technology? How are they using artificial intelligence (AI) to make informed business decisions and undertake the right data-driven approaches to growth?

“In the grocery industry, our experience or assortment can be diverse and varied as compared to one another, but what remains steadfast is our approach to customers. It is extremely important and vital for us to understand our customer base very pointedly and at present businesses need to adapt to the new customers that recently got inducted into the workforce and started to bring forth their purchasing power. This is the new customer base that we all need to pay attention to talk to and approach in a very different way, as they are from a different generation,” shared Mohamed Al Hashemi, Chief Executive Officer, Union Coop.

Customers in KSA are generally very budget-conscious and they look for offers and discounts when shopping, Frederic Levy-Perrault, Chief Executive Officer, Al Raya Supermarkets pointed out. “Keeping up with this trend is important to keep the customer hooked to your brand. Moreover, the customer today uses their phones to shop far more than they actually use the shelves to choose their pick. So, making them excited about their shopping decisions both online and offline is equally important. That is why we handpick offers for our customer base with care, keeping their needs at the centre of every decision.”

Consumer insights and data to interpret the customer behaviour is essential to understand the market,” emphasized Lito German, CEO, Sari Sari. But the vital aspect here is to assess if the data brings to the front actionable insights or not. “We may get umpteen insights and data from our customer base about their shopping behaviour but whether that data is useful to us on a daily basis is the bigger understanding. Especially because we cater to specialised customers and their specialised needs. So, understanding the viability of data is important and helps in decoding this customer base more precisely.”

“Technology has always been there to help with the decision-making process, earlier it was a simple Excel and now we have big data, AI and much more,” added Bejoy Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, Safeer Market. “Tech today makes the process of decision-making more streamlined, precise and easy to manage. When you think of opening a store today, you do not only narrow down on the demographics, or the location based on common sense or regular trends, but you actually analyse insights across parameters to understand your customer needs more precisely in order to make a scientific and well-rounded decision.”

Customer loyalty plans play a crucial role in helping a brand understand the involvement of the customer with them, opined Manish Sabnis, Chief Executive Officer, Grandiose. Mining customer data to derive insights from loyalty allows the brand to understand the depth of the customer journey. “From when you acquire the customer to how their shopping basket size evolves over the months to how their preferences get dictated by the location or assortment of the store they choose, there can be multiple ways to interpret customer loyalty by studying the loyalty programs more closely, across the region and demography.”