Obstacles Become Opportunities with Retail Technology
PG: What’s the solution? Can traditional brick-and-mortar grocers with limited staff and tight budgets really compete with e-commerce giants like Amazon?
ST: Yes, the retail giants have a broad reach. But retailers of every size can capture market share. There are four key steps to a successful digital transformation, and they’re easier — and more cost effective — to implement than you’d think.
■ Give shoppers a user-friendly, savings-rich mobile app. Most shoppers actively use their smartphone in-store, so offering a mobile app that reaches them along every step of their shopping journey is, what I would argue, the most important step.
■ Create a loyalty program. Shoppers are looking for the best deals and they depend on retailers to help them find them. Over half of respondents in our survey rely on loyalty programs and rewards to help offset increasing grocery prices.1 And 15% of shoppers say they spend more when they join a loyalty program.3
■ Establish a retail media program. Retail media is now 11% of total ad spend.4 With $100B in margin-rich revenue on the table, there’s never been a better time for retailers to establish their own retail media program.
■ Find an insights-driven partner who offers real-time, first-party data and analytics measurement. The days of relying on third parties to manage customer relationships and handing over valuable first-party data are over. When retailers own their digital properties, they have a deep understanding of individual customer behavior, spending habits, and lifetime value that lays the groundwork for omnichannel success.
PG: Any final thoughts you’d like to share?
ST: Customers will never abandon their phones, competitors will vie for their loyalty, and brands will continue increasing their advertising investments. The only way brick-and-mortar retailers will continue to grow and succeed is understanding trends, embracing new technologies, and adjusting their digital transformation strategy accordingly. 2023 is just around the corner. So, I’ll end by asking grocery retailers: “What steps are you taking to upgrade your technology in ways that will help you succeed in the new year?”
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1 Swiftly Consumer Survey data; survey conducted Nov 2022 via Gutcheck
2 ChaseDesign Online Shopper Survey
3 Coresight Research4; WPP’s GroupM