Trader Joe's: Is Omnichannel Transformation a Necessity?

Since its founding in 1967, Trader Joe's grocery chain maintained a long tradition of small-footprint stores, friendly and outgoing staff, and a robust, eclectic variety of heavily discounted white-label products. It also had firmly resisted the digital transformation that other grocery chains had undergone, refusing to use loyalty cards, online ordering, curbside pickup, delivery, or Instacart. This appealed to some customers, who liked to think of Trader Joe's as their neighborhood corner store, but pushed away those who were primarily seeking convenience and speed when shopping for groceries. In an increasingly omnichannel world, could Trader Joe's remain competitive while holding to this bricks-and-mortar-only policy?