52|Retail News|February 2021|www.retailnews.ie
Customer Experience
What’s next for the in-store experience? Martyn Jones, Director, VoCoVo, explores the customer experience trends grocers should be adapting to and ditching in 2021. RETAIL sales in Ireland were surprisingly healthy in 2020 despite challenging trading conditions. In October, retail sales rose 8.1% year-on-year, despite all non-essential shops being told to close. Yet declining footfall and the rise of online shopping means grocers must take a fresh look at the instore experience to address this new balance. So, what is next for the in-store experience, and what positive steps can grocers take? With footfall declining but sales figures showing strength, grocers need to adopt a multi-channel approach to continue being of value to shoppers. Becoming a multi-channel store means blending the online and the offline channels and bringing the benefits of online shopping in-store. This can include instant assistance when you need it, easy access to product information and faster service. Building the multi-channel grocery store Typical elements in a multi-channel store include online ordering in-store, mobile payments and interactive kiosks. But grocers shouldn’t solely focus on the customer-facing technologies. Successful connected retailers should also consider how connected their staff
are with the store itself and with each other. The new blend of online and instore shopping calls for a connected ecosystem of shoppers, staff and systems. This includes connecting staff to make smarter decisions, integrating CCTV with alerts to warn of an influx of customers, and connecting smart shelves so staff can restock efficiently. All of this can be enabled with voice communication technology that connects systems across the store, including staff communication, customer services, workforce management, inventory, and security systems. Staff wearing lightweight headsets can liaise with each other to get instant answers to customer queries. Colleagues can also receive security alerts from smart security devices or from each other, and stock that needs replenishing or products that have been requested by a customer can be brought out from the stock room in an instant without the customer being kept waiting. Mastering click-and-collect Click-and-collect is a growing trend, with PwC reporting last year that 17% of shoppers in Ireland had used click-andcollect services and 44% of millennial shoppers were expected to buy this way.
These figures are likely to have grown during the pandemic as responsible shoppers strive to get in and out of stores quickly. The trend could also grow more throughout 2021 if those who have switched to click-and-collect during the pandemic have been impressed by the speed and convenience of a service
Martyn Jones, Director, VoCoVo.
