A shopping app has been launched by Ubamarket, which allows customers to check the stock of their local store, helping to reduce unnecessary trips to the shop and time spent in-store amidst Covid-19 concerns.
Despite the trend of stockpiling and panic buying no longer blighting shops across Britain, there have been widespread reports of many shoppers are still heading to their local store to discover that many essential, basic products are out of stock.
Anti-bac handwash and cleaning material, yeast, eggs and flour have been named among the products in short supply, with 43% of people reporting that they are still unable to access every-day essentials in their shop as recently as last week as the country moves nears two months of time spent in lockdown, according to Which?
The introduction of Ubamarket’s Scan, Pay, Go! app enables shoppers to remotely check the stock of their local store, allowing them to see what products are available with one tap. The app can be synced with all of the store’s existing systems, meaning that it is updated in real-time. Once shoppers have built their shopping lists ahead of their journey, the app dramatically reduces the amount of time spent in-store by guiding customers around the store to scan their products using an aisle sat-nav, before allowing them to pay in-app and bypass the tills.
Ubamarket has already rolled out across SPAR, EUROSPAR, Budgens and Londis stores across the UK and Ireland, with more retailers set to launch in the coming weeks.
Will Broome, Founder of Ubamarket, explains: “The outbreak of COVID-19 has highlighted a number of areas in which Britain’s grocers can make the shopping experience far more hygienic and convenient for customers, not only for the current circumstances, but moving forward. The widespread effects of stockpiling have thankfully dissipated, but the latest research still suggests that almost half of the UK’s shoppers are heading to their local stores, only to find that a number of their every-day essentials are out of stock. Unfortunately, it’s very difficult for supermarkets to communicate directly with their customers, to inform them of what the conditions are like in-store.”
He adds: “With the Scan, Pay, Go! app, customers can avoid any unnecessary trips to the shop and cut down the time they spend in store by checking stock in advance and building their shopping lists, so they can be guided around the store in the most efficient way possible. We are also working towards helping stores across the UK introduce truly contactless shopping – with the app, shoppers can scan their products as they move around the store, before paying in-app and doing away with the need for time-consuming queues and unhygienic checkouts.”
