In a fast-paced consumer industry like grocery, both the shopping and operating experience are constantly evolving for consumers and owners alike. Whether it’s tools to help facilitate the shopping experience for customers, or new ways for operators to stay on top of their business and be able to better manage and communicate with their teams in-store - supermarket technology is becoming a key driver to this evolving industry.
In this blog, we’ll look at some of the best supermarket technology used to improve customer experience and help owners easily drive operational standards across their locations.
Tesco Virtual Grocery Store
In 2011, Tesco launched its first virtual grocery store in a subway station in Seol, South Korea; the goal being to make grocery shopping easier and faster for the rushed, working class who are often too busy to go grocery shopping. The virtual store does not have any food, and instead has interactive walls with photos of food and other grocery staples. Much like a real grocery store, the posters in the virtual store are made to look like real aisles in a grocery store. Using an app on their smartphones, shoppers can scan QR codes to purchase the items they want. Customers simply pay for their items online and can schedule them to be delivered to their door at a time that’s convenient for them.
Tesco assessed its customers' needs, and made changes to its operations based on customer painpoints. By making these changes, it's clear that the brand understands the needs and wants of their consumers - which benefits the customer and helps increase grocery sales.
Mobile Form Software
Mobile form software like IntouchCheck is great for owners, operators, management and their teams to track and follow daily processes in store. IntouchCheck lets you create checklists for all your day-to-day procedures and automatically notify team members when checklists should begin, are overdue, or incomplete. Mobile form software saves time by eliminating data entry from paper checklists and improves team reaction time to issues with real-time submissions and auto-notifications.
With the software, you can always ensure that items are stocked for customers, that stores are clean and presentable, or ensure that merchandising standards are being adhered to. You can require teams to attach photos to any item(s) on a checklist for added proof that checks are being completed properly. Management and operators will have better insight into what’s getting done in store and an easier platform to communicate with each other, and keep teams in the loop should any issues arise.
Aisle441
Aisle 441 is a mobile app that makes it easier for shoppers to find exactly what they’re looking for inside a variety of different retail and grocery stores. With the app, you can locate the product you’re searching for and retrieve its exact location in the store right from your smartphone, making the shopping experience that much more efficient and customer friendly.
This app is an example of how to appeal to consumers by using supermarket technology to make shopping faster and more convenient.
Conclusion
With supermarket technology constantly growing and enhancing, there are new and creative tools being used to improve the grocery shopping experience. No matter your role in a grocery store, there are a variety of ways to use technology to improve customer convenience and in-store operations.