Consumers are now conditioned to get everything fast, and waiting is no longer an option. That paradigm has even made its way to online grocery shopping, where speed of order fulfillment has become a top consideration of shoppers discovering the convenience of click & collect.
“These days the buying choice often comes down to which retail source can deliver the product the quickest and at the lowest delivery cost,” said Joe Crum, Director of Marketing and eCommerce for Retail Space Solutions. “We’re seeing that retail mindset now transferring over into online grocery shopping, where consumers expect to click and have things ready quickly, on their schedule. And, it has them virtually shopping around.”
FMI – the Food Industry Association – reports that 86% of grocers now offer online sales. Of those utilizing click & collect, 95% are experiencing online sales increases. While increasing business is good, it does stress grocers and their staff.
“Quality, variety and price are still important, but more and more it’s all coming down to speed,” Crum said. “That’s putting a burden on the picking staff, who are being asked to work faster while trying to keep up with the surging demand.”
According to the Time Use Institute, the average grocery shopping trip takes between 40 to 45 minutes. Today’s pickers need to do the same level of shopping – passing the same average of 39,500 items – in a fraction of the time it takes the average consumer to shop. It has to be faster because consumers have them on the clock.
“Through the growing dependance on internet shopping, consumers have become less loyal to the retailer and are more willing to look around for the most favorable delivery options,” Crum said.
Consumers are looking for timely fulfillment of their orders, but they also want them to be accurate. Few things upset the online grocery shopper more than finding incorrect items in their bags when they return home.
“Accuracy is nearly as important as speed,” Crum said. “Consumers expect that their orders will be filled precisely, with the products they ordered making it into the bag.”
Understanding that shelf organization is essential to both speed and accuracy, many grocery retailers are installing pusher display systems to their shelves to help streamline product picking.
Pusher display systems, like those offered by Retail Space Solutions, automatically front-face and condition shelves, holding products securely in clear view of pickers and regular shoppers. That helps with the speed of picking and because package labels are front and center, also increases accuracy.
“Think about the frozen food section and consider just vegetables,” Crum said. “One freezer could have as many as two dozen different vegetables options – everything from frozen carrots to cauliflower rice – and the packages are all very similar. Now think about that stressed person charged with searching through the freezer.
Pusher displays simply make it faster and easier to make sure customers and employees find the right product in the right spot, saving food, like your frozen peas, from spoilage and false out of stocks. Help save the peas!
Retail Space Solutions offers a full line of pusher displays, with systems designed for everything from fresh to frozen. Visit retailspacesolutions.com or call 800-279-5291 to see how pusher display systems can help speed and improve the accuracy of order completion.