It would be a mistake to miss out on the opportunities offered by a presence on social networks. This was demonstrated by a webinar organized by Gourmet Selection at the end of May entitled “Social networks & convenience stores: why you can't afford to miss out”. The conclusion was that social media are the future of the profession.
Published on Jul 16,2025 at 7:12 AM | Updated on Oct 20,2025 at 5:30 PM

On May 26, Gourmet Selection, in partnership with the Fédération des Epiciers de France, inaugurated a series of webinars dedicated to industry professionals. While Gourmet Selection's mission is first and foremost to bring together a rich and varied sector - producers, manufacturers, distributors, retailers and fine food retailers - to offer the largest showcase of gourmets products, it also aims to help address the issues affecting the sector.

This first webinar analysed how social networks are helping to raise the profile of local businesses - and of delicatessens in particular. According to Ana Meneses Villanueva, Education and Training Manager, the power of social networks is colossal: 93.8% of the French population are Internet users. That's nearly 61 million people who spend an average of 1h48 a day on the Net. 32.1% of Internet users aged between 16 and 64 use social networks as their primary source of information about brands (figures collected by Ana Meneses Villanueva for the 05/26/25 webinar).

 

Also, according to Ana Meneses Villanueva, almost one in two people buy a product or service online every week, while 17.7 million French people now do their food shopping online. “This represents an increase of 8% compared to 2023,” she added.

Dedicating time is essential

“Faced with the growth of e-commerce, local retailers need to embrace digitalization to remain competitive”, continued the educational manager. This increases visibility and widens the audience, strengthens the link with the local community, highlights certain products, and helps with brand image management and direct sales opportunities.

One point raised by Ana Meneses Villanueva, however, is the time that needs to be devoted to the messages, images and promotions to be posted on social networks. "It does take time, but it's a step you can manage through habit. You can take it one step at a time, depending on how much time and money you have," she says. The Internet is in fact a first point of entry for consumers, who come to discover the grocery store's offer. Then, they can go and visit the store themselves.

This is what Ana Meneses Villanueva calls “social selling”, a strategy adopted by salespeople to get in touch and develop relationships with prospects via social networks.

By building trust and becoming a reference point through their presence on carefully thought-out social networks - Facebook will appeal to a more mature clientele, for example, while TikTok will appeal to the younger generation - the grocer will multiply sales opportunities and consolidate his or her advisory role.

Social networks accessible to all

Two examples were discussed during the webinar, showing that any grocery store can indeed succeed on social networks.

Dominique Ferrero, L'F Epicerie Fine, stressed that we can no longer do without social networks. "It's time-consuming, but it can be managed. If I put a photo on Facebook and Instagram, the product is usually sold within the hour, proving that customers are well connected. Today, my grocery store is more isolated. Although the immediacy is less, word-of-mouth still works. So, I've created an e-shop with cooking workshops that are doing very well and appearing on Instagram."

For Christelle Record, L'Epicerie d'ici, "You quickly realise that you have to be active on social networks. I started with a community manager who helped set up the account and create the first storytelling. But then it's up to us to take over, because we're the ambassadors of our business. The use of social networks had a decisive impact on my sales, thanks to daily communication for 4 months. As a result, our follower base has grown to over 5,000.”

Watch the replay of the webinar “Social networks and local businesses: why you can't afford to miss out!” held on May 26!