03
When it comes to shopping in the supermarket, there are many things to look into especially throughout the entire process of going through the grocer. Every customer who steps into the supermarket would have to go through the process during the entry, during the purchasing, during the transaction and exit.
During this pandemic, there are even more aspects to look out for especially to avoid contact and being exposed to any possible infection from the people around. Hence, I would like to point out and rectify the existing problems being faced during grocery shopping along with the solution on how to improve and assist customer shopping experience.
Firstly, during the entry of the supermarket, customers would find the difficulty to find out where to go to fulfill their grocery list especially if they are the elderly or a single parent with a child who are required to do their shopping in a short time to avoid getting the risk. Other than that, there would also be a hassle during the queuing up and having to maintain SOP which would contribute to a longer time being outside. So, the best solution for that is for the grocers, especially the one with big names to provide an app to ease up their customers’ shopping experience. Through this interactive application, customers could easily opt for a pickup or takeaways in case they could not spend much time in the supermarket instead of having to walk in around themselves or wait for a long time if they wish to have it delivered to their house. This application also has the potential to be able to provide their customers regarding the queuing time and crowd control based on the number of check-ins. Not only that, customers should be able to use the application to access through their products details and information to give a quicker shopping access. This could highly advantage those customers who like or prefer to PLAN for their shopping.
Even during the shopping process, customers would face problems such as they either want to stay longer and take their time when choosing products or prefer immediate and quick purchase. That is when there would be a problem when it comes to the situation of the crowds which would create higher risk of infection and disturbing people who are more paranoid and aware regarding the current ongoing pandemic. There are also disadvantages to the customers if there are no directory to assist them to look for products in the supermarket. Other than that, the sanitary issue surely is another problem to look out for. Those problems could be solved with an upgrade of the shopping carts or the baskets by implying technology features. By equipping the carts and baskets with an interactive screen with a map or a directory, it could give guidance to them along with a quick way of checking the crowd all around the supermarket if there are trackers being installed on each of them. It will also be a great way to overcome the sanitary issue if all fresh food are pre-packed and scaled to avoid contamination and making it easier for the customers.
During the transaction itself along with the exit, it could take up a lot of the customers’ time. Hence, it is best to take the benefit of having upgraded shopping carts and adding in the built-in scanner feature for even a faster check out. Customers could scan their items right away the minute they put it in the carts or baskets and would cut their waiting time almost to none. This method is the best to help all customers finish up their entire purchasing process even faster and could minimize their time in the supermarket. This on-the-spot self check-out method could also benefit them especially during the pandemic as they could avoid contact with any other human.
DESIGN WORKSHOP
Comments