In-store attractions online

In April, we reported on how retailers are turning to the online world in the U.S. Already here, Jungle jim’s of Ohio excelled with the unique jungle-like store design and with the interactive Facebook events.

Professional core operation is an experience

Jungle Jim’s International Market operates two locations, more than 400,000 square feet combined, hundreds of thousands of products, and over 70 countries represented. They were always keen on excellent and memorable shopper experience including themed culinary festivals; store tours; beer, wine and cider tastings; live music; and karaoke. Jungle Jim’s also operated movie theaters at both of its stores, but the most famous was the cooking school.  They have had to close down all of these  because of the pandemic.  They may not open the activities this year as Ohio reached nearly 68,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, with a third of them coming in the last three weeks.

Jungle Jim’s says closing its famous in-store experiences hasn’t taken a toll on store traffic, and that the retailer has actually gained many new customers during the pandemic as Jungle Jim’s was able to keep the shelves of its over 200,000-square-foot stores stocked thanks to its large back-of-house storage capacity. Shoppers are used to visiting the grocers’ stores, and may feel comforted by their large size and rigorous safety protocols. Not offering e-commerce may have also helped Jungle Jim’s keep shelves stocked, since stores were fulfilling one demand stream instead of two.

More than an other online cooking course

American retailers offer several online contents from kidsfit to camp, from DIY tips to video classes but Jungle Jim’s cooking school is unique with its two choices. Shoppers can purchase a course and watch a demonstration. Or, for a higher price, they can also get the course recipe and a corresponding ingredients kit that includes everything pre-measured and chopped. Costs vary by class and range from $25 to $95. There are currently four courses available, including a baking course, an Italian cooking class, a date night meal and a Jack Daniel’s whiskey tasting. The programs will be hosted on the Zoom videoconferencing platform.