Wholesalers missing out on foodservice business

More than a third of foodservice operators that use delivered wholesale are turning to supermarkets, discounters or online retailers

The UK Wholesale Market Report 2019 from HIM revealed that 38% of foodservice operators that use delivered wholesale as their main route to market visit a supermarket or discounter to restock products, as well as through wholesale, and 20% use online retailers, such as Amazon. In comparison, just 3% of grocery retailers stock up using supermarkets or discounters and 8% use online retailers, such as Amazon.

Grocery retailers are much more likely to order online through their delivered wholesale, with 96% using online rather than phone versus just 53% of foodservice operators. The biggest frustration preventing foodservice operators from using online is ease of use, with 55% of those that order by phone stating that wholesaler websites are not easy to use.

“Foodservice operators account for 74% of all delivered wholesale customers, highlighting the size of the missed opportunity from operators visiting other routes to market,” said Blonnie Walsh, Senior Insights Manager at HIM & MCA Insight says. “There will, of course, be an element of distress top-up, however, how much are wholesalers missing out on by not having a website that is easy to navigate for foodservice operators?”

“Reliability and ease of ordering are the most critical factors for wholesalers to get right and are two of the potential reasons why foodservice operators are turning to other channels to satisfy their needs. However, there are many other factors where importance outweighs satisfaction, so wholesalers cannot afford to take their eye away from these too.”

Amazon delivered wholesale discounters Foodservice HIM MCA Insight online research supermarkets trends wholesale