The Retail Revolution Is Redefining Convenience
By Steven O’Toole, NCR
Convenience stores are suddenly becoming much more convenient and Amazon’s announcement of its plans to open as many as 3,000 self-serve, cashierless stores is sure to accelerate the trend.
Competition from e-Commerce, technological innovations and new consumer expectations have triggered a revolution in retail that is redefining the shopping experience. Retailers know that consumers have more options, more expectations and less patience than ever before, and they will abandon stores that fail to meet their demands.
From high-end luxury boutiques to big-box discount outlets, retailers are looking for new ways to attract and retain customers. Convenience stores are also responding. Their entire value proposition depends on their ability to deliver on the promise of their name, especially in an era when customers can shop from the comfort of their couch.
If there is one thing consumers hate above all else, it’s standing in line. Consumer research shows that nearly three-quarters of shoppers consider checkout the biggest pain point in stores. More than half say they will leave a store if the lines are too long.
By definition, shoppers in convenience stores are particularly impatient. Whether they are buying gas, grabbing a snack or picking up a loaf of bread, technology can get them on their way quickly.
Consider this scenario: A customer rushing to complete errands stops at a convenience store for gas at a pump equipped with a cloud-connected optical screen. She swipes her loyalty card for an automatic discount, then uses the screen to order a specialty coffee while pumping gas.
Inside the store, a digital sign provides the status of her order, as well as a special pizza promotion. She uses a kiosk to select her toppings while sipping her coffee, grabs a few more items, completes her transaction at a self-checkout and gets back on the road.
This scenario is part of an unstoppable movement toward frictionless shopping that blurs the line between digital and offline commerce.
Click-and-collect innovations that let customers shop online and retrieve their items at the store are driving sales at both ends of the transaction. Omnichannel solutions give in-store customers access to all their shopping tools. If they can’t find the item they want on the shelf, they can buy it on their mobile phones or at online order stations within the store.
Frictionless shopping eliminates the large and small inconveniences that detract from the shopping experience. It also gives retailers invaluable information to help forge closer relationships with their customers, improve inventory control, optimize staffing levels and increase profits.
There are many other opportunities that convenience retailers can explore to help reduce friction at the checkout, including self-checkout, customer self-scanning from their mobile phone and mobile tablet POS for fast checkout anywhere in the store. Each of these innovations can help reduce or eliminate queues at checkout, enhance the interaction between customers and associates. They may provide other operational advantages, such as faster parking lot turns to increase sales, and the ability to reallocate labor from operating a POS to higher-value activities within the store.
The technology that drives frictionless shopping is advancing quickly. As with any emerging technology, frictionless innovations have to be applied wisely — and they do not replace the need for people. Retailers have to carefully consider their brand value and the preferences of their customers in deciding how technology can enhance the shopping experience.
Without a doubt, technology is changing the shopping experience, but one thing hasn’t changed. Successful retailers never lose sight of the fact that the customer always come first.
Steven O’Toole is General Manager of Convenience and Fuel Retail Solutions at NCR. He joined NCR in 2017, leading overall strategy and priorities to drive a best-of-breed solution portfolio that helps convenience and fuel retailers achieve their unique business objectives. O’Toole brings more than 25 years of experience with many top convenience and fuel brands, such as Puma Energy, Conoco Philips and BP.