Dilemma of shopping by a working man
As a working man, I have to plan all my activities. Nowadays, I have to schedule an appointment when I want to go to the supermarket. When I am shopping for clothes and I see a supermarket, I have to choose if I want to continue shopping for clothes or do the necessary grocery shopping. And to be honest, I am a busy man and don’t have time to do both. If I choose both, I end up with the scenario that I have either to many bags to carry or the ice-cream will melt in the car before I get home.
Working man in Japan
In Japan, this would not happen to me. A few months ago I read an article about innovation in the retail branch in Japan. They have made grocery shopping a lot easier and faster for customers. A supermarket has foreseen this dilemma, and changed its supermarket formula. Just like I like to shop for clothes, I will do my groceries. I can walk around the store and scan the groceries which I like. I can pay with my mobile phone and continue shopping for clothes.
By the time I have finished my shopping I return home to rest and enjoy the shopping I have done.
While resting and enjoying, the doorbell will ring and my groceries, which I have picked up before are delivered at my house. It would be no surprise to you that the ice-cream still looks like an ice-cream and I have managed to do both groceries and shopping at the same time.
The working man in America: Shopbox
In America, a new concept of shopping has been introduced, the SHOPBOX. This is a concept of a container with products you can see behind a window. If you like the product, you send a message from you mobile phone and make the purchase. The item will then be delivered to your home address.
(source: http://www.inc.com/articles/201109/shopbox-retail-experience-of-the-future.html?).
Shopbox allows customers to explore and shop without any shop employees. Of course this would save money for the company, but would this really work? Is the customer that self-service aware that they don’t need any human interaction?
Is shopbox what the customers want?
No, Shopbox is a great concept but it would not work with the mass consumer. A few reasons why it would not work in the current set-up:
- Customers do not have enough faith in paying by sending an SMS, especially when the payment concern a substantial amount
- Customers need extra information to help them choose the product that best suits their necessities
- Marketing departments would lose control over what the customers have to buy
- Not omnichannel or even cross-channel supported: There is no link to other channels of the company
The ideal shopping experience
In my opinion the future retail store should look as follows: I go to a shop, I can try whatever I like and see if it suits my needs. I want to be able to touch the product and get a feeling about it. I want to have a direct access to the online reviews about the product. Once I scan the product with my mobile phone, I will be able to see a list of reviews and, if necessary, I could request from experts more detailed information about the product. While scanning the product, the product is already added to my list of favorites. . I can purchase it whenever I like when I browse through my favorite list. I can also send it to my wife to ask for her opinion. The company can also analyze my behavior and my questions about the product and inform me about other options or newer versions of my choice (marketing dream). The purchased product then will be delivered to my house on my request or I can pick it up at my desired store. Online, I can see my receipts and my previous purchases and give feedback about them. This is how I see customers being enabled in the upcoming Omnichannel world.
So what’s next
Of course this might sound futuristic, but is much closer than most people might think. Corporations have implemented parts of this scenario but no one (as far as I have seen) has combined all the features to provide the ultimate Omnichannel customer experience.
Until the next post, I want to ask two questions:
- What is the ultimate shopping experience for you?
- Which examples do you have about Omnichannel in the retail branch?
In my next post, I will describe the do’s and don’ts in Omnichannel in the retail branch.
To be continued….
Wat is het verschil tussen de service ervaring van de shoppende working man in Japan en die van een nederlander die bijvoorbeeld gebruik maakt van Albert (die boodschappen service van Albert Heijn?). Dat vind ik nl. wel een leuk cross-channel voorbeeld. Of in combinatie van Appie? Netto resultaat is dat ik met beiden minder tijd kwijt ben met boodschappen, en dus meer tijd over houd om dingen te doen die ik wel leuk vind…