SAINSBURY’S TRIALS SCAN & GO
Sainsbury’s has joined a growing list of supermarkets trialling scan and go technology to remove the checkout from the shopping journey.
Using the Sainsbury’s SmartShop app, shoppers at Sainsbury’s Clapham North Station store in South London can now scan the goods they want and leave, paying for what they have scanned via Apple Pay in the app.
Customers can already use SmartShop in 68 Sainsbury’s supermarkets, but the ‘scan, pay & go’ trial in Clapham takes this technology to the next level, says the retailer. Instead of paying for your shopping at a designated till point, Clapham customers can pay for their basket even faster and from anywhere in the store.
SmartShop is growing in popularity with Sainsbury’s customers – there are over 100,000 SmartShop transactions and between 3,000 and 4,000 new customer registrations every week. The move sees Sainsbury’s join Tesco, Co-op, Budgens, Walmart and, of course Amazon – to name just a few – in offering scan and go technology as part of the move to revamp stores and the store experience.
Sainsbury’s Group Chief Digital Officer, Clodagh Moriarty, explains why it has followed suit: “Technology and changing customer shopping habits have transformed the way people buy their groceries. Our teams are constantly working hard to bring new convenient shopping experiences to customers and we’re delighted to be the first grocery retailer in the UK to offer customers the ability to shop checkout-free. The latest version of SmartShop, with its new payment feature, will make it super quick for customers to get in and out of the store for those that want to scan, pay and go.”
However, the jury is still out as to whether all shoppers really want to use this sort of technology. As part of its trial, Tesco has been looking at what shoppers think of the tech, with Tesco Chief Executive, Dave Lewis commenting: “If the margin is 2-3%, you don’t need to lose very much to make it unprofitable.”
MOBILISING EE
Network operator EE has launched an exclusive superfast smartphone delivery and set up service in partnership with tech experts Enjoy. The move forms part of EE’s ambition to provide the UK’s best and most personal, local service for customers.
Available initially in greater London, the new service gives new and upgrading EE pay monthly mobile customers the ability to order their new smartphone and receive it as quickly as two-hours later the same day, with a personalised set up experience so they can get the most out of it straight away.
Available on a select range of the latest flagship smartphones when ordered through the EE online shop, customers just need to select the free ‘superfast delivery with expert set-up’ option at the online checkout. Customers can then simply choose the most convenient appointment date and time that suits them and add a delivery address anywhere in greater London.
For customers who require help setting up a new device, and even connecting it to their car or smart home products, EE’s delivery experts will then also be on hand to get them set up quickly.
Marc Allera, CEO at EE, explains: “Although we’re a nation of gadget lovers, many people just don’t have the time to learn about or set up the latest features on their new smartphone. With our new superfast, super-flexible and personal delivery service, complete with on-the-spot expert set-up with our partners Enjoy, our customers will get the best smartphone delivery experience in the UK. We want to make getting set up on your new phone just that little bit easier.”
Ron Johnson, Co-Founder and CEO, Enjoy, adds: “We understand how important it is to get up and running with your smartphone, and as quickly as possible, so we are thrilled to partner with EE and extend our superfast personal delivery to EE customers in the UK”.
APPS FUELLING STRESS
More than a half (65%) of UK shoppers say that unhelpful product recommendation on mobile apps make them feel stressed, according to research conducted by Clicktale.
The new study found that 15% of the surveyed UK shoppers say that they have “lost their temper” when shopping via a smartphone, with 75% feeling “agitated” when a mobile app freezes. Some 80% say that slow loading times is a significant contributor to their negative mobile experiences.
The research also suggests that customers’ stress levels rise as they navigate through a site, reaching a tipping point during the checkout process. In reporting the most nerve-wracking digital experiences, 85% of the polled shoppers feel “stressed” when a voucher code fails at a checkout. At the same time, 12% report feeling stressed and 10% experience “high levels” of stress when merely shopping online.
When it comes to unpleasant in-store experiences, 83% feel “annoyed” by shop assistants and 79% are “stressed out” by them making recommendations for products they would never buy.
Geoff Galat, CMO of Clicktale says: “Now, we are seeing evidence that ecommerce sites and apps are actually making consumers more, rather than less, stressed. To fix this, retailers and brands need to work much harder to pick up on and address the ‘micro-stressors’ throughout their sites and apps – ensuring that consumers have a stress-free shopping experience and are kept in a positive buying mindset. It’s long been assumed that, because consumers are able to shop from the comfort of their homes, the stressful elements of the shopping experience have been removed. Clearly, this isn’t the case.”
He concludes: “Even seemingly insignificant stimuli can have a strong impact on customer emotions, especially when it comes to irritation over poor page layouts and slow search speeds.
