Technology can speed supermarket experience
Foodstuffs is exploring new technologies which it hopes to implement to increase convenience and improve the shopping experience for consumers.
For three months it has been trialling drive-through shopping at Pak’nSave Albany, whereby a customer can order online and have groceries loaded into the car.
Lindsay Rowles, Foodstuffs’ North Island general manager of retail membership and property, says the company is investigating whether it can be implemented and introduced nationwide to its stores.
He says Foodstuffs looks to retailers in overseas markets for inspiration on what technology to trial or implement here. At present, it is watching Walmart’s use of robots that scan shelves and identify stock levels.
A number of the innovations Foodstuffs was looking to implement would be beneficial behind the scenes, says Rowles.
Data and the way in which it can use the information it collects from customers to improve the overall shopping experience is a big focus at present. “There’s a number of solutions on that around the world at the moment that we’re watching very closely.” The way stores are laid out is now also being driven by data, says Rowles.
Amazon Go-type image recognition in shopping baskets, and widespread implementation of electronic shelf labelling are also on its radar.
Rowles says Foodstuffs has started to look at geo-tagging, which can be connected to smartphones, which has the potential to get shoppers through a store in the shortest amount of time. It is also looking into developments with electronic shelf labelling, which can now carry a location tracker that can be linked to an app and flash to highlight a product on a shelf.
Foodstuffs South Island has introduced scanning systems on trolleys at some stores.
The plastic-bag ban was felt throughout the Foodstuffs network, as it was for all other retailers. It was an 18-month exit, says Rowles.
Foodstuffs tried to start charging for bags in its supermarkets 10 years ago but rival Woolworths NZ, formerly Progressive Enterprises, did not follow, so it scrapped its efforts.
An unexpected result of the plasticbag ban which came in this month was the number of shopping baskets that were going missing. Rowles says it isn’t causing a loss of sleep”, though.
“Versus the media I saw occurring in Australia, I think Kiwis got on with it,” he says.
“Overall I think Kiwis did pretty well. They were ready for it.”