Grocery Shoppers Are Expecting Three Things. Are You Delivering Them?
Price, convenience, and speed are key trademarks when it comes to current customer expectations. However, positive customer experiences have also become a driving factor in securing customer loyalty and profitability. Studies show that shoppers can spend up to 140%1 more after engaging in a positive shopping experience. On the flipside, negative experiences are more likely to be shared between current and prospective shoppers, impacting brand identity and decreasing sales. While expectations can vary from brand to brand, today’s customers generally anticipate…
- Omnichannel options – Online shopping is most certainly here to stay. It is expected that as much as 70%2 of shoppers in the US will be purchasing groceries online since it serves as both a convenient and safe way to shop.
- Contactless pickup – Similar to online shopping, BOPIS and curbside pickup have also grown in popularity due to their convenience and safety.
- Personalized experiences – Studies show that 43%3 of customers expect some sort of personalized service from stores in response to their loyalty.
What would seamless hassle-free grocery shopping look like?
To surpass these three common expectations, Barcodes, Inc. recommends targeting the following areas within the supply chain.
- Faster shelf replenishment – Simply put, if products aren’t visible on shelves, customers can’t buy them. That’s why quick cycle counting and fast replenishment are crucial to avoid out-of-stocks. Mobile technologies such as Zebra’s touch computers and hands-free scanners can enable real-time inventory updates as associates scan products immediately during stock counts.
- Intelligent point-of-sale – The longer customers wait in line, the less likely they are to return. Faster data capture through devices like Zebra’s enterprise scanners and MP7000 scanner can help accelerate checkout while empowering self-checkout lanes and loyalty scanning.
- Quicker order picking – As associates adapt to accommodate BOPIS transactions, they must move faster and more efficiently to assemble orders within stipulated time frames. Real-time inventory locationing can help reduce pick paths, accelerating order assembly.
Download our solutions brief for more areas of optimization.
While these are optimum areas to start enhancing the grocery storefronts, there are many other ways to deliver seamless shopping experiences. Leverage Barcodes, Inc.’s expertise in developing a smoother shopping experience, equipped with user-friendly technologies that put the customer experience first. Contact us today for a free consultation.
1 The true value of customer experiences. Deloitte. 2018.
2 Djordjevic, Milos. 20 Incredible Online Grocery Shopping Statistics for 2021. Save My Cent. Feb 6, 2021
3 Wollan, Robert et. al. Put Your Trust in Hyper-Relevance. Accenture Strategy. 2017.
Zebra’s Customer Self-Service Solutions
For today’s highly connected retail shopper, having access to the same range of information they experience online is more and more expected even during the brick and mortar shopping experience. Smartphones may provide simple product lookups and pricing but more store functions can be easily expanded on with the right in-store technology. Just as they find in an online experience, being able to search product data and previous purchase history is another way to further empower customer satisfaction.
Whether it’s pulling up more detailed product information, stock levels and locations, or being able to access a gift registry and coupons/promotional items, customers desire to have access to your retail store both physically and electronically.
Expanding the customer experience really comes down to providing the right tools to your customers. Zebra’s line of Interactive Kiosks and robust Wireless LAN are the perfect additions to any retail environment to provide customers the ability get product information or find an associate at the exact moment they want one.
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Interactive Kiosk Solutions with Zebra’s CC5000
From the self-checkout lane at the grocery store to being able to order anything from the convenience of your smartphone, more and more customers embrace and even expect kiosk-based self-service options in retail environments. The added speed and convenience kiosks provide is beneficial to customers and businesses alike while strengthening customer relationships and improving customer satisfaction.
While the grocery store self-checkout is the most visible kiosk solution today, kiosks are just as beneficial to other retail applications such as couponing, gift registry, and product/stock inquires. Beyond retail, kiosks have become commonplace in hospitality spheres for self-serve concierges, hotel check-in/check-out, loyalty programs, and event management/scheduling. Regardless of the environment, kiosk solutions are an efficient means to improve the customer experience while reducing the cost of operations.
