Lessons Learned From Amazon Go
By Robert Howie, C Space
Amazon Go is just a small, experimental store. But it represents a massive potential disruption to the retail market. That’s why retailers of all sizes and industries — particularly grocery — are paying attention.
We’ve all experienced this: you trek to your favorite grocery or retail store, only to find that they are out of stock of your favorite products. Amazon Go eliminates this problem for consumers. The company’s latest grocery store model solves two of the biggest shopper complaints: failure to find products on shelves and slow checkout lines. If retailers want their brick-and-mortar stores to stay relevant, it’s time to learn a few lessons from Amazon Go.
Deliver On Customer Needs (Before They Know They Need It)
It’s no longer adequate for retailers to wait for consumers to tell them what they want or express a complaint. Retailers need to anticipate a consumer’s needs and preferences and then create a great experience that delivers above expectations. This isn’t a simple feat as today’s consumers are demanding: they don’t want to wait in lines, they want omnichannel options, they expect a uniquely curated shopping experience, and most of all, they expect efficiency.
In the case of Amazon Go, their success has been, in part, a result of thinking a step ahead of their customers, addressing those aspects of the shopping journey before consumers even realize there’s a need. For brick-and-mortar retailers, understanding these expectations and making an effort to deliver on them is one of the best ways to keep customers coming back.
Get Customer Inspired, Fast
Amazon’s success is not a direct result of their technology advancements (in fact, they’re still working through technology challenges when a certain number of shoppers is exceeded). Their success is based on their customer inspired approach. They’re putting the consumer at the center of the entire experience, addressing the largest pain points shoppers have when they enter a grocery store. Amazon Go is pioneering an engaging, unique shopping experience unmatched by other retailers. No lines? No checkout? No brainer.
Retailers that truly embody a customer-oriented mindset complete with engaging experiences, emotional rewards and a focus on customer satisfaction will be able to compete in Amazon Go’s user-friendly world. As Amazon continues to grow, these expectations become requirements.
Take Customer Intuition To The Next Level
Grocery stores in particular have some of the highest customer intuition rates, perhaps not surprising given the intimate nature of products we consume, and the prevalence of those products being “local”. But they share the same need with other brick-and-mortar retailers to more intuitively meet consumer needs. Our research suggests that customers value companies that make us feel they really “get” us, respect us, and tailor their offerings to our needs and preferences.
This has always been true, but with industry disruptors like Amazon Go posing real threats to traditional retailers, the opportunity to take the shopper journey to the next level is huge. Though the bar is set high, the products and services retailers offer and the customer experience they create are becoming bigger and bigger differentiators, and can set retailers up to effectively compete with the Amazon Go’s of the world.
Customer intuition is in Amazon’s DNA. They create frictionless experiences that delight, deliver products that solve jobs to be done and make shoppers feel smart and proud to be their customer. Are brick-and-mortar stores going to disappear? Not likely. But it’s time for traditional retailers to get on board with a more customer-driven approach.
Robert Howie is a managing director at C Space where he leads the Retail Team. He was previously the chief commercialization officer for C Space’s Customer Quotient framework, IP that measures brand behaviors that consumers value. Howie also served as CMO of ICON, a contract research organization. He began his career in publishing and market research, co-founding two strategy execution consulting firms based on the balanced scorecard concept, including Palladium. His consulting clients have included Best Buy, Tesco, Wendy’s, the National Retail Federation and retailers in the Middle East and Far East.