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Albertsons CEO Ponders the Future of Cooking at Home

Specialty Food Association

Digital engagement among shoppers and remote work are two pandemic-era trends that will continue into the years ahead, said Vivek Sankaran, CEO and president of Albertsons Cos., reports Supermarket News.

“One of the things that I don’t think will reverse is more digital engagement from customers, and I don’t mean just when they shop. They’re all engaged much more with their phones, whether it’s for entertainment or for shopping. So they’re just more digitally engaged, and that makes a huge difference,” he said. “The second thing is e-commerce. I don’t think that reverses. The desire to shop and the convenience of having something delivered to your home or put in the trunk of your car is incredible. And consumers never give convenience back, right? So that trend will only continue. In both of these cases, you’re going to see that technology will make a difference, and we’re going to make a difference to make [engagement and e-commerce] even easier for customers.”

In addition, Sankaran believes that grocery sales will continue to benefit from remote work.

“One more day at home, two more days at home. That’s a meaningful difference in the food and beverage business,” he explained. “That’s a massive difference actually, when you look at the total dollars involved. When people stay at home, whether it’s a breakfast or lunch at home, I think that sticks because for many people it’s more convenient and the technology gets better and better.”

However, he wondered if cooking at home will remain popular among consumers or if restaurants will find new ways to get people in the door.

“A lot of people are cooking more at home. Will that stick? I would imagine restaurants will find creative ways to bring people back. It’s happened in the past. It happened slowly, but it’s likely to happen over time — over the next two, three, four years. That’s something we’ll just have to see.” Full Story

Related: Walmart US CEO Speaks on 'New Normal'H-E-B President Speaks on Labor Challenges.

Image: Albertsons