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The supermarket chain Carrefour innovates. A personal shopper chooses your products, a scooter delivers them at home within 90 minutes. "Retailers need to differentiate themselves at the service level, this is just the beginning," says Jorg Snoek, founder of RetailDetail.
First Knokke, then Brussels
The new service is called ShipTo and badigns a personal shopper to the customers. This compiles the order and suggests alternative products if, for example, an item is out of stock or there are cheaper alternatives, including via promotional actions. The service costs five euros, an amount that is entirely donated to the personal shopper.
When the order is complete, it will be delivered to the customer's home within 90 minutes. The home must be within a four kilometer radius of the participating stores. For now, only the city of Knokke is participating in the project, but the service area will soon be extended to Brussels (starting with Watermael-Boitsfort and Uccle) and elsewhere if the results are positive. The goal of the channel is to serve at least eighteen stores by the end of the year.
Carrefour says it wants to bet on people who want to devote their time to something other than shopping and who are looking for more comfort for themselves. In addition, the ShipTo app will also provide a service to people who, for whatever reason, are not able to do their shopping themselves.
A market place and additional services
The ambition does not stop there. If the channel is able to find enough partners, it also wants to give access to other stores via ShipTo and turn its app into a real marketplace. These stores must then be in the same radius around the delivery address. In addition, the app will become a market place for couriers since 'ordinary' customers will be able to register to become a courier.
The service does not provide additional direct revenue to Carrefour, but according to Snoeck, the channel has no choice but to exploit the service element. As said this other retail guru, Rodney Fitch, during a RetailDetail study day: "There can only be one channel that is the least expensive, all the others must be distinguished by their experience and their service.
We've known the phenomenon of blurring for some time now (just see Jumbo and its food markets), but the 'personal shopper service' is a relatively new idea for supermarkets. This additional service is nevertheless already in place in other countries: the shops Spar for example, which in the Netherlands go to the cities to pick up linen, especially that of older customers. [19659004]
Chains and brands must follow
Chains are looking for the Holy Grail of service delivery in other sectors as well. Last year, Ikea took over a platform allowing customers to find equipment, but also to book a handyman to bademble new furniture at home. Hubo is doing the same thing in Belgium today. "Even the webshops follow the movement. Take Coolblue, which not only delivers devices, but also installs them, and if necessary, even takes over the old copy, "says Snoeck.
Even brands are moving in this direction. Think of the platform Helpling a market place for housekeepers … who, (not) by chance, use all the products Unilever . The competitor Henkel does not remain inactive either. The Germans set up a Dobbi digital linen delivery service which promises you never have to wash, iron or fold your clothes yourself again.
The future comes from the United States
And this is just the beginning, says the retail expert. The next step has been taken in the United States in particular. The customer must not even order himself. There are smart cookbooks that use a camera to check what's left in your fridge and list all the other products on a nice page. By pressing the button, you reserve everything you need from your usual supplier (example Peapod or Amazon ).
The latter goes a step further. When delivering certain orders, Amazon drops a second bag in front of the door. This bag contains products that the customer has not ordered at all, but the giant e-tail knows with 90% certainty that these items will please the customer. In the rare cases where it is not what a customer wants, the return is of course free …
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