Change and innovation are two words that we use in modern America interchangeably, but each has a completely different connotation. Change evokes fear, uncertainty, anxiety and stress; whereas innovation is synonymous with technology, wealth, success and efficiencies. It’s very common for companies and brands to champion innovation, while at the same time, avoiding or denying shifts in their core business model. Some merely use these partial shifts for nothing more than marketing propaganda. Think of McDonalds’ slow but inevitable transition to healthier menu items and less processed ingredients. This for the sole purpose of getting foot traffic back to the store, just to order the tried and true Big Mac and golden french fries. Cheap tricks playing off users’ behavior instead of helping to shape the industry by providing better goods/services to the end user.

That was the old way of marketing. In a social world it has never been more important to provide excellent customer experiences. No, not just customer service, but end to end experiences. With the e-commerce boom and the reverberation of massive digital entities moving back into brick and mortar retail/fulfillment centers, the change happening within convenience and grocery stores is undeniable. High performers will innovate, while staying true to their underlying value. The rest will resist change and be left with the consequences. Think Blockbuster vs. Netflix.

(Source: https://channellife.co.nz/story/big-retailers-changing-channel-tactics-combat-e-commerce-globaldata/)

Omnichannel. To survive, retailers have to not only acknowledge and understand this concept, but evangelize, implement and constantly improve their omnichannel experience. Consumers have countless ways to buy products, and love to jump in and out of purchase habits. I myself only buy new T-Shirts by tagging my sister on Facebook ads of T’s that interest me making her purchase them for me. Who does that?!?! Well… a lot of people.

“The stats show that one-third (33%) of 18- to 24-year-olds say they would like to purchase items directly from Facebook, 27% want to shop on Instagram and 20% on Twitter, followed by Pinterest (17%) and Snapchat (15%).”

(Source:https://www.marketingweek.com/2016/03/23/social-commerce-how-willing-are-consumers-to-buy-through-social-media/)

So, if shoppers are already accustomed to buying online via e-commerce sites like Amazon, Walmart, eBay, or specialty websites, what is the most logical next step for physical retailers? Curbside? Delivery? Eventually there will be large increases to total transactions, but as it sits today only 2% of online shopping is attributed to food ordering. That 2% of transactions is what companies like Instacart, Peapod, Postmates and the Target backed Shipt are all clamoring over. Just because overall online transactions is only at 2% doesn’t mean it’s not being adopted. Nearly half of Generation Z consumers and 23% of consumers overall order food for delivery at least once a week, according to Technomic’s 2017 Consumer Direct Study. It makes one wonder, when home delivery does become more prevalent, is that really good for the individual retailer? Or, would it simply remove the end user further from the source, training them to not care about where the goods came from, as long as it came on time and at cost? It completely removes the entire local feel and customer service experience that these retailers communicate in marketing and rely on for their business sustainability. Furthermore, the world will never stop needing physical stores for smaller basket size orders, and impromptu needs of consumers. But if those consumers turn to e-commerce delivery for 99% of their purchases, how awkward will it be trying to provide a customer experience for the small fraction of touch points remaining in-store?

(Sources: https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-company-beating-amazon-in-grocery-delivery-1529659801

https://www.cspdailynews.com/category-news/foodservice/articles/why-c-stores-must-craft-new-customer-experience)

Retailers need to maintain and flourish in the realm of customer experience. Just like Apple did with their stores in the malls all over North America. The same stores that customers are accustomed to wait 3+ hours if they do a walk-in visit for hardware questions, but hardly ever complain about it. The same stores that literally every other tech manufacturer has tried to mimic, including Microsoft and Verizon. Currently the state of the industry is not addressing the elephant in the room, using whatever internal data or inputs they have on hand, it doesn’t match the actual users’ perception of their own experience in-store. In a 2018 International Loyalty Study, researchers found that 12% of Americans have switched their main grocery store during the past year. That is on par with Americans switching their ISPs, one of the most hated industries when it comes to customer service, which shows 38% of people switch within 3 years, with price being the primary contributor to those decisions.

“A 2018 International Loyalty Study found 12% of Americans have switched their main grocery store during the past year. It also found nearly 40% of all consumers said it would not matter to them if their main grocery store closed — they would simply shop somewhere else.”

Using price and promotion lead marketing as the only levers to drive consumer action leaves the retail industry wide open for someone to create an exciting and engaging shopping experience that is free of friction and pain points. What is most alarming is that the front runner seems to be Amazon, the 800 pound gorilla, by way of their Whole Foods network. This, coupled with the survey response of 40% of shoppers saying it would not matter to them if their main grocery store closed — they would simply shop somewhere else — exposes a threat to retail physical locations lacking in customer service technology and efficiencies (i.e. a true customer experience).

Will there be a retailer brave enough and capable to hold the line against Amazon and focus on providing a new innovative retail experience? Think of a retail experience that transports its guests to a new dimension, almost like Meow Wolf’s art installation in Santa Fe (https://meowwolf.com/) has done by creating “…multimedia experiences that transport audiences … into fantastic realms of storytelling.”

(Source: https://www.fooddive.com/news/grocery--nearly-half-of-consumers-wouldnt-mind-if-their-supermarket-closed/525278/)

The customer is ready, they have a strong appetite for these new contextual commerce opportunities. Contextual Commerce being the concept, on the verge of reality, that retailers can offer transaction opportunities into everyday activities, enabling people to buy anything, anytime, anywhere, with the click of the button…or even voice. When it comes to the behavior behind this concept, in an in-store experience, it is already been proven in a study by SOTI that 79% of shoppers would be comfortable in a completely automated check out scenario. Furthermore, IBM predicts that by 2020, 85% of all customer interactions will be handled without a human agent. At the end of the day the formula for retail success remains the same it has always been; give the customer what they want, when they want it, how they want it, even if you have to educate them on why they want it that way at that time. True Customer Experience.

(Source: https://www.virgin.com/entrepreneur/how-automated-customer-service-changing-human-behaviour?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_content=automated-customer-service-behaviour&utm_campaign=harnessing-hyperconnectivity-2018)

What are the tools brick and mortar retailers have today to pioneer these types of experiences? :

Augmented Reality — Deadpool 2 and 7-Eleven Collaboration:

Exclusive: Deadpool is invading 7-Eleven in its first AR experience

Robotic Assistance —Pepper the sales robot:

Digital Signage — 3D Holograms:

Mobile Self Checkout — Skip, consumer facing mobile cloud POS:

Skip - Checkout On Your Phone

Skip’s Point of View:

With the understanding of everything mentioned above, Skip’s vision for our Cloud Point of Sale technology is one that focuses on retail shifts pertaining to the Convenience Store environment. We have identified C-Stores, as the ideal market for Skip’s industry-leading progression in experience & customer value with minimal impact to retailers’ operations and technical systems In addition, it provides an ideal footprint to reach critical mass quickly and organically.

Written by Marshall Mann, Marketing Lead at Skip.

P.S. Every shopping experience should feel something like this :)