For the grocery industry, there’s never been a time of more upheaval — or opportunity. A year and a half into a worldwide pandemic, many grocery businesses have taken steps to adapt to a changing world and evolving consumer preferences. But there’s still much work to do. The new report, ‘Tackling the business innovation challenges of 2021,’ by Verizon and Retail Dive, looks at the critical issues businesses must take to remain competitive in the years ahead. Take a look at some of the highlights:
Elevate the customer experience.
The customer experience has never been more important. In fact, it’s absolutely critical to have a great customer journey and high satisfaction and loyalty among your existing customers. But does your business provide a seamless omnichannel experience that unifies the customer experience across all channels and uses data to personalize messaging? Are you keeping up with changing consumer preferences? Simply put, are you delivering what your customers what, how and when they want it? If you haven’t done a deep dive into your customer base to find out what they want in a grocery store over the long term and made adjustments to your strategy, it’s time.
Customer preferences aren’t static, of course. Shopper behavior changes over time — and sometimes quickly. That’s why it’s so important to know who your customers are, how they shop and what type of support they need from you during the shopping process at all times. How often do you check in with your customers, map out the customer journey and take steps to make your customers’ experience with your store at least as good as and preferably better than your competitors?
Improve pick up and delivery.
Whether they pick up their groceries or get them delivered, the experience needs to be top-notch, with no missteps and clunkiness. Many consumers tried grocery pickup/delivery during the pandemic and are sticking with it over the long term for at least some of their shopping visits for convenience. You need to have a plan in place to provide the very best online grocery process for your customers, one that’s easy-to-use and personalized and one that helps to keep your costs under control.
Make critical changes to your store offerings.
According to the report, retailers that offered self-checkout options saw sales increases that were 18% higher than average for 2020, according to the 2021 IHL Group ‘Store Matters’ report. Those that added contactless payment options saw significant increases in customer satisfaction higher than stores that did not add to their payment options as a result of the pandemic and changing consumer preferences.
In addition, those who added contactless payment options saw significant increases in customer satisfaction higher than stores that did not add to their payment options due to the pandemic and changing consumer preferences.
Boost employee efficiency, effectiveness and retention.
Are your hiring processes effective and do your employees have the tools to do their jobs in the best way possible?
Evaluate existing tools and work with strategic partners.
The report underscores the importance of analyzing your grocery business and working with strategic partners to make the changes necessary to thrive. Another important message in the report: If your store hasn’t made changes to remain competitive, there’s still time. But you need to act fast to evaluate your existing tools and put a plan in place to provide the experience that today’s customers demand.
UNFI Professional Services is a strategic partner with a massive toolbox of solutions to help your store in all critical areas. E-mail us at [email protected] to learn more and get started on a brighter future for your store.
