Supermarkets ramp up online services to keep shoppers interested

Friday, 27 October 2017

Countdown head of online Sally Copland says data is key to knowing what shopper want.

New Zealand's supermarket chains are preparing for Amazon's entry to Australia through focusing on their customers' data.

Countdown head of online Sally Copland said Amazon were unlikely to enter the grocery market in New Zealand, but Countdown needed to ensure it focused on its digital service.

Foodstuffs chief executive Chris Quin says customers want convenience, lower prices and healthier, ethically sourced food.

'Technology is impacting every facet of our lives so with that comes an expectation around greater personalisation to know me, understand me, make my life easier,' she said.

'The better we understand your shopping behaviour, the better we are able to segment our store and provide a locally relevant highly targeted range. The more we generate that source of data, the more we can tailor content and information for customers.'

Louise Grimmer says shoppers prefer click and collect because they don't always want to pay delivery fees.

Click and collect bridges the divide between the immediate gratification of shopping in store and waiting for online shopping, Grimmer says.

* Virtual reality supermarket to tests shopper behaviour**

Countdown's Onecard loyalty programme allowed Copland's team to track shopping habits and market research looked for information and trends in the grocery sector.

She said customers were empowered and more concerned than ever about the food they feed their families.

'Yesterday I watched two customers turn over the product and look at the nutritional information. Even in my family we have someone who's a coeliac, someone who's chosen to be sugar free, my father in-law can't have any salt.

'So the whole shopping process takes so much longer and when you get confidence in products, you tend to be fairly sticky to them.'

In order to offer a more on-demand service, Countdown is introducing an app for its click and collect service, so a customer's shopping is ready when they arrive at the store.

The app uses GPS to create a geo-fence with a 400 meter radius around a Countdown store. When a customer breaks the fence, the in-store team is alerted.

Copland said the app was introduced off the back of its parent company Woolworths introducing it in Australia.

'We want it to be fast and highly personalised and seamless for customers. We realised our pick up customers wanted to get their groceries and get on their way really quickly.'

Countdown have also dropped the price of its online delivery fee and click and collect services to 'future proof' it for more competition.

University of Tasmania marketing lecturer Louise Grimmer has researched why shoppers have taken a liking to click and collect services.

'Delivery is still popular, but click and collect is becoming the preferred option because there are costs and risks associated with delivery,' she said.

'Many people find their deliveries are returned to the Post Office or the depot if they're not at home and this just complicates the shopping process and is inconvenient.'

Grimmer said many supermarkets now offer collection lockers near carparks for people to pick up their own groceries on their lunch break or after work.

'The benefit of click and collect for retailers is around half of shoppers coming into the store to collect their purchases end up making an additional impulse purchase,' she said.

Foodstuffs, the owner of New World and Pak 'n Save, was also concerned about Amazon and chief executive Chris Quin has said it would continue to build and renovate brick and mortar supermarkets, and put more unprocessed food and ready-made meals on shelves.

Foodstuffs North Island launched its 'I shop' New World app for Mt Roskill, Eastridge, Thorndon and Levin customers to shop online. It is yet to launch a web version.

Quin said grocery sales outside of supermarkets were growing twice as fast as supermarket sales and competition was 'intense,' with 22 per cent of shoppers already buying food from stores other than the supermarket.

Health food stores and delivery services such as My Food Bag were big contenders.

Foodstuffs introduced its own Just Cook It meal kits in May but Countdown is yet to start a meal service, although Copland said it was focusing on its meal planning recipes online.

'You can chose a recipe online and then add those ingredients to your cart so we can help with that meal planning process but we have no subscription based model planned,' she said.