The store technology experience for customers

Posted on Thursday, December 15th, 2011

Grocers are being challenged by an experiential fault line that divides their customer base – and this is particularly true with regard to their use of technology. The younger grocery shopper segment is eager for new technologies to support their shopping experiences and their comfort level with technology makes them open to advances in this area. But while younger shoppers may demand engagement and new experiences, those that have been loyal for years often resist change. So how can grocery retailers evolve and stay relevant during the transition and build loyalty and value amongst the younger segment of shoppers without isolating their older, loyal customer base?

Empathica’s Grocery Consumer Insights Panel focused on addressing these issues. The study was conducted amongst 16,000 North American grocery shoppers of various age groups and identified the key elements of the shopping experience for each grocer’s most important customers – their loyal shoppers. The study drilled down into the key areas that impact the customer experience the most, including Merchandising, Promotions, Store Operations, Technology, and People. This article specifically deals with the customers’ Store Technology experience.

The grocery technologies reviewed for this study included some of the core technologies such as:

• The store website
• Wireless access in-store
• Information kiosks
• Electronic offers via email/text
• Self checkouts

So where is the key difference in delivering the store technology experience? Where does the fault line lie? Here are some of the key findings…

Technology provides a better store experience, especially to younger customers

• Not surprisingly, younger consumers place a greater emphasis on the in-store technology experience. 56% of those 18-24 stated technology improved their store experience versus only 48% of those aged 65 years and older
• For consumers between 18-24 years old, the website was seen as key to the overall experience, specifically around ease of use where 1/3 stated this was very important. This gradually declined by all age groups reaching a low of 11%, clearly reflecting lower usage of the website amongst older customers
• Wireless access in stores has yet to catch on and become part of the standard offering, but it’s starting to increase in importance. While close to 1/5 of customers 18-24 years of age felt it was very important, this declined to 4% amongst those 65 years of age and older

Grocers will need to reflect the relevance of wireless technology amongst core customer segments in their customer strategies. The “constantly connected” younger customers will increasingly expect wireless connectivity and applications within the store. For retailers, this represents an opportunity to engage their customers online and create a personal experience within the four walls of the store. As more smart phones develop advanced retail applications, such as the ability to scan and compare products, prices, consumer reviews, loyalty scheme management, and credit card use, wireless access will become an increasing part of a retail value proposition to its customers and ultimately evolve into customer experience table stakes.

In-store kiosks can play an increasingly important role in the delivery of the customer experience

• Close to 1/4 of those 18-24 years of age feel kiosks are very important
• However, regardless of age group, grocers are not meeting their customers’ expectations, in fact expectations are only being met 9-18% of the time

Kiosks can play an important role as a way of engaging and communicating with customers in stores. The ability to offer product information, recipes, and coupons through kiosks enables retailers to message, communicate and better understand their customers. This is of particular value when loyalty cards are used and the ability to scan loyalty cards into kiosks provides numerous customer insights and retail opportunities that enable the delivery of a highly customized interaction.

The “out of store” experience retailers can bring to their customers through the electronic transmission of offers via mobile phone or email is important

• Close to 1/4 of consumers 18-24 years of age felt that receiving offers via mobile phone or email is very important, declining gradually across each age group to 12% amongst those 65 years of age and older
• However, less than 17% across each age group feel their expectations are being met

This will undoubtedly increase over time as technology takes hold within grocery stores and GPS capability enables real-time offers to be delivered in stores and at the moment of truth. Consumers are suggesting it’s time to recognize the delivery of messages via email and mobile phones as an important way of communicating and are increasingly willing to accept offers through these channels. But the offers must be customer relevant for them to engage and contribute to the delivery of an optimal experience.

Self check-outs rank the highest amongst technology offerings by grocers

• More than 1/2 of consumers 18-24 years of age felt this was very important, declining gradually across each age group through to those 65 years of age and older where only 16% found it very important
• However, less than 50% of those across all age groups are finding that self check-outs meet their expectations

Self check-outs are key. But they are not delivering, and therefore creating a sub-optimal experience for customers. Technology improvements in this area, making them more user friendly, more intuitive, and therefore more efficient, will go a long way in delivering an improved customer experience.

Store technology is an important variable that helps the retailer deliver a great customer experience. However, retailers are lagging behind customer expectations, which present itself as a retailer opportunity. Customer trust and engagement are key, and retailers have access to multiple technologies that can help optimize the customer experience. The store of the future will encompass technology to create an experience that is convenient, relevant, and engaging. Measuring the impact of the experience across key customer segments will continue to be an important part of the development and execution of a differentiated customer experience to drive loyalty across customer segments.

To learn more about additional grocery customer trends in merchandising, store operations and promotional tactics, read the complete Empathica Consumer Insights Panel Report on Grocery.

Download Report

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