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Artem Bielozorov, PhD student at the School of Business at Maynooth University, identifies five practices that he believes will become the new normal in the retail grocery sector
by Retail News
Are you ready for the ‘new normal’?
Artem Bielozorov, PhD student at the School of Business at Maynooth University, identifies five practices that he believes will become the new normal in the retail grocery sector.
MANY grocery retailers have experienced severe challenges in recent months, coping with a surge of traffic at both physical and online stores as customers stockpiled and panic bought at the beginning of the Covid-19 crisis. Scaling up operations quickly to serve that demand proved particularly difficult for some. The potential threat of transmitting or contracting the virus at each interaction with other people has transformed the customer journey in physical stores. Retailers of all types, but grocery stores in particular, must be prepared to act quickly to respond to these changes, while also learning from the experience of their counterparts in other countries. Even if retail managers have come up with plans to overcome short-term disruptions, they need to begin mediumand long-term planning to help their business recover and adapt to the new, post-Covid-19 retail landscape. Here are five practices which will heavily impact the grocery retail sector after the Covid-19 pandemic has passed. accelerate this dramatically. According to a recent survey by CivicScience in the US, 47% of customers said they were shopping for online groceries during the week of March 22, 2020, compared to 11% just three weeks before. A separate survey in the United States found 41% of those who ordered food online during the previous week were first-time online grocery customers (Source: Source: Gordon Haskett Research Advisors Survey, March 13, 2020). Among the major challenges with e-grocery for customers is getting used to selecting and ordering a large number of various items, which many previously found to be too much of an effort, sticking to traditional in-store shopping. The forced quarantine, however, has significantly accelerated that process and the convenience inherent in ordering online for either home delivery may be too much for some consumers to ignore after the pandemic is over.
2. BOPIS (buy online pick up in-store) / Click & Collect
Conventional definitions of “store” have begun to change. The current crisis has demonstrated that the most important job retailers do is simply helping the customers acquire products without them having to step foot inside the premises. Similar to e-grocery, buy online pick-up in-store (BOPIS) has seen a sharp increase. In the US, Kroger announced its first pickup-only store for click-and-collect orders, Starbucks announced plans to make all of its stores to-go only for the foreseeable future, and Walgreens announced that it too would convert its 7,300 pharmacy drive-thru windows for grocery pick-up. For retailers, this comes with both pros and cons. In-store foot traffic drives planned and impulse purchases and helps
them utilise the square footage they are already paying for, which increases profitability. On the other hand, retailers will save on labour and shipping costs. Furthermore, pick-up services drive sales from time- and convenienceminded customers who want to acquire products not just when they want them but where they most want them and with the peace of mind that human interaction is no longer the only available option.
3. Checkout-free retail as a new norm
Today, everyone is aware that keeping social distancing and staying out of potentially contaminated areas is of utmost importance and grocery retailers are putting huge effort into preventing the coronavirus from spreading in stores through active use of technologies. Checkout-free retail has already been in place in many shapes and sizes. It can come by way of mobile scan-andgo setups, like what one finds in Zippin, or it can come by way of an Amazon Go-like experience, where people scan a barcode to get into a store and then just take everything they want off the shelves and walk out. Both options have their pros and cons in different situations, but both settings mean consumers don’t have to interact with human beings at all. Amazon is planning to open 3,000 cashierless stores by 2021 and it is not saving this technology for itself. Since March, a Just Walk Out technology used in Amazon Go stores and accompanying software has been offered to other retailers, enabling them to provide the same fast and convenient self-checkout experience to their own customers.
4. Contactless payments as a must
The trend towards contactless payments is at full speed these days. Health experts say the bacterium density on notes and coins is similar to that on grab bars in public transport and door handles in public toilets. So paying without touching any surface seems more reasonable than ever due to the coronavirus’ ability to survive on coins and notes passed between people and store staff. Walmart has already announced that, along with its new practice for customers to pay in-store and pick up their order deliveries contact-free, people can now simply use Walmart Pay on the Walmart app to initiate payment by way of a barcode scan as opposed to touching screens or anything else. Although this practice doesn’t seem brand new, Walmart’s announcement means the idea has now gone mainstream and that it will likely grow across the entire retail industry. Even in cash-loving Germany, the amount of contactless bank card transactions has increased from 35% to 50% since the start of the year, the Association of German Banks says. After the Covid-19 crisis is over, it makes no sense that consumers will return to the old cash-based payments when better, safer, and more convenient contactless options, whether they be retailers’ own apps or inventions like Apple Pay or Google Pay, are available. Retailers need to think hard of what a ARTEM Bielozorov is a PhD student at the School of Business at Maynooth University, Ireland, and Lero, the SFI Research Centre for Software. He is also a part of the Marie Sklodowska-Curie Training Network ‘PERFORM’ funded by the EU Horizon 2020 Programme. Artem has a Master’s Degree in International Management and Leadership from Lauder Business School, Vienna, Austria. Artem investigates organisational capabilities and key success factors required for implementation and re-use of cross-channel delivery processes in the digital retail context.
point-of-sale terminal will look like in the long run.
5. Growing automation
The Brookings Institute recently published its view that a recession is likely to bring about a sharp increase in labour-replacing automation, with employers cutting down on less-skilled workers. They argue that automation grows fast during recessions and could bring fundamental changes to the labour force in the near future. Today, warehouse, grocery, and delivery workers are the positions increasingly subject to automation. In parallel, AI solutions to improve automation in retail continue to advance, making a completely automated retail supply chain from warehouse to grocery or restaurant to home increasingly likely. However, it is not only blue-collar work that will be affected by new automation practices. Gartner predicts that technologies such as virtual personal assistants and chatbots will replace up to 70% of managerial duties. While there are many uncertainties, one thing is for sure, consumer shopping habits are changing and retailers need to find reliable ways to embrace these changes while remaining financially viable.
Hygiene
When health = wealth
Effective hygiene practices can play a huge part in the successful reopening of our economy.
THERE was a time when in-store hygiene primarily meant checking best before dates on stock, ensuring fridges were maintained at the right temperature and that staff wore gloves while working on the deli counter. I’m being a little facetious but there is no denying that our concept of the whole area of hygiene has changed utterly in recent months. We are all far more aware of the need for effective and regular hand washing; we’re learning about the different grades of face masks available; we’re also becoming more germ aware than ever before. Did you ever believe you’d be checking bottles of hand sanitiser to check which had the highest alcohol levels? Initial Hygiene, a leading expert in commercial hygiene, has issued advice to businesses that will be reopening as the Covid-19 restrictions are relaxed in the coming months in response to the Government’s phased approach. While most grocery stores have remained open the entire time, as an essential service, it makes interesting reading nonetheless. First and foremost, the company advises all organisations to continue to adhere to all relevant guidance from the Government and the HSE with regards to health and safety. Additionally, Initial’s hygiene tips for businesses include: Disinfect your premises, in particular the most commonly contaminated ‘touch-point’ areas. These include lift buttons, desks, computers, and door handles; Ensure that the hygiene facilities in your washrooms are operational and up to a high standard; Encourage employees to employ proper handwashing and hand hygiene practices. This includes washing their hands with warm water and soap for at least 20 seconds; Ensure there is adequate signage in your office to promote proper hand washing practises; Ensure there is adequate signage and floor markings to note the 2 metre distance; For businesses that utilise fleet vehicles, ensure to sanitise common touch-points such as vehicle door handles, steering wheels, dashboards, and gear sticks; Personal equipment such as hand-held phone devices should not be put on any surface in a common area.
Adopting robust hygiene protocols
The company is advising that washrooms in particular are the most high risk area for spreading pathogens. Initial Hygiene recommends that companies’ washrooms should be regularly cleaned and maintained, and that they are outfitted with the necessary equipment to ensure top hygiene standards. Dr Colm Moore, Area Technical Manager for Initial Hygiene, said: “As companies begin reopening around the country in the coming months, it is vitally important that they adapt to our new reality by introducing robust hygiene protocols. This will help to ensure the health and safety of employees and customers. While proper hygiene measures have always been important, now more than ever it is something which businesses need to be mindful of.” Initial Hygiene recently launched a ‘Back To Work Hygiene Kit’ for companies to issue to their employees, with each kit containing hand sanitiser, hygienic wipes, and a face mask. The company has also prepared a free guide for businesses, to help them to reopen in a safe manner, which contains free, downloadable posters and literature regarding proper hand hygiene practices, as well as a list of ‘hygiene hotspots’ for different types of businesses. For more information, see initial.ie.
Training for the new normal
Meanwhile a Kildare company which specialises in health and safety training advises that every employer must ensure they select a Lead Worker Representative and that their teams are trained in Covid-19 awareness according to the Returning to Work Safely Protocol. Orlagh Deegan, owner of www.choicetraining.ie, was first to market with Covid-19 Compliance Officer training courses for the construction industry and was delivering training for the hospitality and retail industries well before the launch of the Return to Work Safely Protocol. Orlagh and her team can assist companies with Covid-19 specific risk assessments, policies and procedure documentation. Orlagh’s experience in food safety and infection control has been of great benefit to her and enabled her to develop a suite of Covid-19 specific training courses.
Hygiene
Technology plays its part
New technology too will play a part in combating the virus and ensuring that the phased reopening remains on-track. Tesco Ireland is rolling out a technology-based customer number and queue management system across its stores nationwide; the monitor-based 3D imaging system counts customer numbers entering and exiting stores, to ensure an accurate steady flow of people throughout the day.
Tesco Ireland’s monitor-based 3D imaging system counts customer numbers entering and exiting stores, to ensure an accurate steady flow of people throughout the day.
As well as selling reusable face masks from June 4, Aldi Ireland has installed a traffic light system at store entrances in order to further help with social distancing. The new technology was successfully trialled at Aldi’s Naas store and is being rolled out to all 142 Aldi stores nationwide by the end of June. The system works by continuously counting the number of customers entering and exiting the store, showing a green light for capacity and a red light when capacity has been reached. Once the light goes red, the doors to enter the store automatically close and will only re-open again when the next customer leaves the store. Davis Virtual Events Agency recently announced a nationwide deal with An Post for HanSan, a simple mobile hand cleansing unit that effectively delivers hand sanitiser
Aisling Rowe is pictured demonstrating the HanSan with Conor Nott, Project Lead, An Post, and Paul Davis, CEO, Davis Events, in the GPO.
without the need to touch anything with your hands. With no requirement for water, power or waste, HanSan simply operates by foot pump. The unit is mobile, independent, robust, easy and safe to install anywhere, indoors and outdoors, such as retail spaces, public buildings, in parks, on streets and
Hygiene
inside venues. The unit comes in a range of sizes to suit all needs and the messages on the units can be fully branded or altered over time as new information becomes available. English design and manufacturing business, Regency Design, has launched an automatic hand sanitiser dispensing station with a built-in AI Infrared Face Recognition Thermometer, available in Ireland through Clenz (clenzireland.com). The new station is equipped with a fast, non-contact body temperature reading camera with
AI face recognition that can measure temperatures within 100 milliseconds and at a distance of one metre, while someone sanitises their hands. The infrared temperature sensor provides alerts when a person has a high temperature. The system is calculated with an algorithm for object heat and fast detection temperature accuracy, with a temperature sensing range of 30 degrees Celsius to 45 degrees Celsius and an accuracy of plus or minus 0.3 degrees Celsius.
Regency Design has launched a new hand sanitising unit with built-in temperature monitorings to help retail stores re-open. Dettol donates 40,000 products to support HSE in Covid battle
DETTOL, Ireland’s leading disinfectant brand (Source: Nielsen MAT value, February 2020, Total Disinfectants), has pledged its support to the HSE in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic in Ireland with a donation of 40,000 Dettol antibacterial products. The Dettol antibacterial products will be distributed to hospitals and health service facilities and sites around the country with the aim of helping to keep these environments hygienically clean. “We are grateful to Reckitt Benckiser and Dettol for their significant donation to the HSE and the Irish public,” noted Paul Reid, CEO, HSE. “The HSE has had massive support from business, communities, social groups and individuals since the start of this crisis and for this we are hugely thankful.” William O’Brien, Country Manager Ireland at RB, said; “We want to extend our warmest and heartfelt thanks to all of those who have been working extremely hard, for exceptionally long hours, under extremely challenging circumstances to protect the nation against this virus and save lives. We are delighted to provide extra support to the HSE at this time and hope that this will help the HSE in fighting the pandemic in Ireland. I know everyone at RB feels privileged and indeed proud to work for a company that is playing its part, however small, in this fight.”
New trolley and basket sanitiser from AIR
ANGLO Irish Refrigeration (AIR) has just launched a new automated sanitiser for trolleys and baskets. When trolleys or baskets are pushed through the machine, it sprays them with a disinfectant sanitiser for four seconds. The trolley/basket is covered with a small coating of sanitiser after it is pushed through the machine, which also has an automatic hand sanitiser, so it can cater for the needs of all customers/ staff entering the store. The 25-litre sanitiser drum attached to the machine ensures that it will clean approximately 1,750 trolleys.
Multiple benefits
The benefits include: • No building works required; • No labour costs for cleaning and sanitising trolleys and baskets; • It’s suitable for both internal and external use; • Environmentally friendly; • Controlled use of sanitiser (less waste); • No blue roll/paper required.
“This machine is environmentally friendly and will eliminate the need for staff to be sanitising trolleys/baskets,” explains Niall Jones, Director, Anglo Irish Refrigeration. “It can be installed internally within a shop entrance area or externally beside a trolley bay, for example. The labour savings, along with not having to use blue roll/paper, mean that the sanitisation station will pay for itself in a few weeks.” For more information, contact Niall Jones on 087 1653801, email sales@anglo-Irish.com or visit www.anglo-irish.com.
Sanitisation Station
Trolley / Basket / Hand Sanitiser Full automated sanitisation station all in one unit
Automated hand sanitiser
Sensor action spray system
