In the blog we discuss how to mobilise POS tech to help shoppers tackle grocery inflation as things are tough for consumers right now. As we head into another winter with energy prices sky-high, shoppers are continuing to feel the squeeze from all angles, including stubbornly high food inflation.
The cost of the average supermarket basket was reported to be 12% higher in September compared to the previous year. And there are few signs of things easing.
Understandably, rising costs are driving changes in consumer behaviour. As far as grocery shopping goes, loyalty to specific brands and outlets is loosening as people shop around for the best deals. While the bulk of grocery shopping still happens in store, people are turning to online channels more and more, not just to get their weekly shop delivered directly to them at home, but to compare prices and look for promotions.
According to tech giant Oracle, 75% of consumers now say they compare online and in-store prices for groceries. Around a quarter of UK shoppers use at least one grocery app.
Rather than treat online shopping options as distinct or even rival channels to their bricks and mortar operations, grocery retailers can lean into the popularity of ecommerce to help their customers cope with rising costs. Here’s how it can work.
Information Hub
One of the main reasons digital retail has become so significant is because consumers love the access to information and control they get. If you’re shopping on a budget, you no longer have to rely on adding up prices as you walk around a supermarket. You can look up prices in advance, and do your weekly shop armed with information about how you can make your money stretch as far as possible.
Retailers can bring this kind of empowerment into the store, and in doing so improve the quality of the experience they give to their customers. Yes, grocery is one retail category where ‘physical’ shopping still dominates. But that doesn’t mean bricks-and-mortar grocery retail can’t be digitised. And modern grocery retailers already have the technology they need to do it.
It all starts with your POS. POS has evolved so it is no longer just the computer system that runs your checkouts, but serves instead as a digital hub that integrates all operational systems, from product data and inventory to ERP and CRM. And, of course, your POS offers a natural means to integrate in-store operations with your ecommerce channels.
Treating POS as a data hub for your entire operations opens the door to providing customers with targeted assistance on how to get the best value from their weekly shop. It could be something as simple as deploying more digital signage around your stores and on shelves to advertise promotions and discounts. Digitising shelves also opens the door to more flexible pricing, with the option to run ‘flash’ promotions without having to worry about the work involved in changing on-shelf labelling.
Scan and Go
But with the agility technology brings, the possibilities are vast. The ‘scan and go’ options now available in many supermarkets are popular because they mean shoppers can avoid queues at checkout. But the fact that they add up the cost as items are scanned can be harnessed as a budgeting tool, perhaps with an option for customers to input their maximum spend at the start, and with recommendations about items to choose that fit with their budget as they shop.
Mobile Apps
A similar effect can be achieved by integrating store systems with mobile apps. Customers could again input their budget, and perhaps a shopping list with it, and the app could give them an interactive map of the store showing them where they can get what they need at the best possible prices. Bluetooth Beacon technology could be used to personalise promotions so customers see the deals most relevant to them as they walk around, based on the information on their app.
Emerging Technologies
With emerging technologies like AI and Augmented Reality (AR) primed to further digitise the grocery experience, the options available to retailers to provide assistance to customers are only going to expand. And at a time when the prioritisation of value is eroding brand loyalty, using tech to give shoppers all the help they need to reduce their grocery bills is an important strategy for winning some of that loyalty back.