Technology Innovation
P2P Toolkit
A roundup of technology-driven tools that drive consumer understanding, engagement and conversion on every step of the path to purchase. Last month, an April Fool’s prank – a husband startled to find his front yard filled with 41 Amazon delivery boxes – became a viral video with a million-plus views in four days. The boxes were empty, but the folks at Jersey City, New Jersey-based Olive Technologies think that’s a problem, nonetheless. Led by Nate Faust, one of the founders of Jet.com, Olive is a fashion-site shopping and delivery coordination service that consolidates an individual’s various purchases into one cardboard/corrugate-free delivery. A user can shop from hundreds of fashion retailers using Olive’s mobile app or browser extension. The various shipments are centrally received, unboxed and placed into a sustainable shipper at Olive’s Northern New Jersey and Southern California facilities, and then held for delivery on a once-weekly schedule. Returns can be picked up using the two-way pictured here, which is made with recycled materials (plastic water bottles, pallets, cups and polyester) and has an anti-microbial finish. The company says this system significantly reduces last-mile emissions and ensures that all the original boxes are recycled most efficiently. Currently the service is available in about one-third of the U.S.
In March, Durham, North Carolina-based QuickCollect Solutions announced a distribution and service partnership with Florence Corp., a manufacturer of smart indoor/outdoor lockers, that is designed to help U.S. retailers expand their contactless curbside and in-store pickup points. QuickCollect Solutions helps retailers determine site-specific system configurations and software user experiences. It has a portfolio of automated pickup solutions including temperaturecontrolled grocery lockers, drive-up stations and kiosks that automate the prescription-pickup process. Late last year, Albertsons began piloting its contactless lockers in select Chicago-area Jewel-Osco and San Francisco Bay-area Safeway stores.
Bill Schober is Editor Emeritus of Path to Purchase IQ. He’s been associated with the Institute since 1994, covering all aspects of consumer marketing with a special emphasis on the shopping experience. He welcomes any questions, comments, requests or pitches about P2P Toolkit, and can be reached at bschober@ensembleiq.com.
May 2021
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In early March, Bluedot, a San Francisco-based location-technology specialist, introduced Hello Screens, an efficiency system that enables shoppers to save time when they enter the drive-thru, pull into a curbside space or arrive at a service desk for pickup orders. The system features an in-store dashboard that sends audio alerts to a participating retailer’s staff when the customer is en route, estimates a time of arrival and then alerts to the arrival itself. The system’s Wave feature lets customers tap on their phones to notify stores that they’ve arrived. Hello Screens is said to be a turnkey solution and simple to implement, working alongside a store’s POS system, according to Bluedot.
Late last year, Truckee, California-based Conscious Container launched a pilot program in partnership with Anheuser-Busch called “Refill My Beer.” The pilot is designed to collect 16,000 specially labeled bottles of Michelob and other brands in Sonoma and Marin counties. The goal is to demonstrate how the bottles can be sanitized, inspected and approved to be refilled with product and recirculated an additional time. Shoppers who purchase the participating brands can later return the empties to specially marked bins, located in various stores. They can also sign into an app from Globelet, scan the QR codes on the bins’ signage, fill out a survey to provide feedback on refillable packaging, and learn how much trash they are preventing from entering landfills and oceans. Anheuser-Busch is partnering through its 100+ Sustainability Accelerator program.
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