Last updated on August 5th, 2016 at 01:49 pm
A Walmart store in Rogers, Arkansas, is among the first of the company’s remodeled locations to unveil the retail giant’s “Fresh Angle” approach, which places fresh, unpackaged vegetables front and center.
Travis Moore, that store’s manager, has shared the feedback he has received about the change.
“When you walk into our store today, you’re intentionally greeted with a farmer’s market vibe,” he writes on the Walmart website. “We’ve lowered the profile of our fixtures so customers can see across the entire department. We’ve captured the field-to-store experience, and in a way that’s easier and more enjoyable for customers to navigate. But—while the positive feedback on the visual aspect of the program represents a victory in itself—that barely scratches the surface of what Fresh Angle is all about.
“The fact is, ‘looking’ fresh only goes so far. The key is making sure the fresh produce our customers buy in our stores continues to look and taste the same when they pull it out of the fridge three days later. That’s the real driving force behind this new approach, which has been rolled out at 180 stores to date and more than 3,000 by the end of the year.”
In addition to improving the sight lines across the produce department, Walmart No. 1 in Rogers has reconfigured its fixtures to look fuller while holding fewer products. At the same time, it has maintained a broad assortment, according to Moore.
Why fewer products?
As Moore points out, “pressure and time go a long way in determining the freshness of an item.”
“By reducing the depth of our produce fixtures, our avocados are no longer stacked four or five deep,” he says. “Same goes for tomatoes and so many other popular fresh items. By reducing the depth of our fixtures, we’ve reduced the volume of product we’re holding on the sales floor at any given time. And, given the clock on freshness begins ticking the moment fresh fruit and vegetables are picked, we’re essentially passing increased freshness on to our customers—and working even harder to reduce food waste.”
Moore reveals that it has been eye-opening as to how a department can look so abundant with less.
“It’s helping us reduce throwaways and operate more efficiently across the board,” he adds. “We’ve also received positive customer feedback at (other) stores where Fresh Angle has been implemented.”
At least WalMart is trying. However, their produce is expensive compared to other stores and the flavor of the produce is subpar. Peaches, for example, have no flavor. I go to other stores for vegetables and fruit.