Customers' buying behavior is becoming more fragmented. According to studies by the Gesellschaft für Konsumforschung (GFK), a representative German household buys its groceries in an average of eight different stores each year. Due to the fragmentation of purchases, the average receipts per customer become smaller. With margins in food retailing already low, the leeway for companies is becoming much narrower. Companies must therefore maximize individual customer value. Digitization provides retailers with various ways to do this.
The Product Escape
A representative household in Germany buys at an average of eight different stores each year. This fluctuation leads to efforts to increase the individual customer value per purchase. However, many lack innovative approaches to successfully address this issue. Observations of customers in the store show that although various items make it into the shopping cart, some are also put back. Customers have decided against the product and in favor of a cheaper variant during the course of the purchase. The purchase value is reduced.
A Cause
Some time ago, the EHI Retail Institute published a study on the top shopping killers in retail. According to the study, more than 50% of consumers surveyed felt a very high level of customer pain due to untraceable customer service representatives and unfriendly or unmotivated employees. These are positions 1 and 3 on a ranking of 18 shopping killers.
In the PwC study "Experience is everything: Here's how to get it right" 84% of respondents said that, human dialog is an absolutely important factor for the shopping experience. However, only 46% of those same respondents said they felt understood by the employees they spoke with while buying.
A Solution
One way to prevent such "product escape" is to improve consulting performance - among other things, by adapting to customers' real-time behavior. This can even be a driver for increasing customer value. Products are not put back on the shelf, but can even be enhanced through accurate advice.
Due to the overwork of personnel, this is a difficult approach to implement and requires a restructuring of the tasks of customer service representatives. If the old-established cashier job is eliminated, the Snabble Supervisor can be used to focus on the customer approach. The app can be used to identify customers who are struggling with a purchase decision and need advice. In addition, customers can create a shopping list at home, which your team in the respective store is directly informed about. This means that the advisors know which shelves need to be restocked even before the customers enter the store.
The result is an appreciative customer service that sets you apart from the competition - noticeably for the customer from day one. Our customers tell us that the average shopping cart value can be increased by up to 25%.
Commentary
Real-time analytics enable more sales in food retail!
Issues at the point of sale have always been employee motivation and providing proactive, customer-focused advice. The understanding that every employee is also a service provider for the customer plays an important role here.
A customer advisor should always think entrepreneurially and strive to increase sales. This is the turnover that the company or the branch makes, precisely because a customer advisor has become active and is not idly running along. Does that roughly correspond to your understanding of good customer advice?
Image credit: Markus Winkler on Unsplash
