Digital technologies are changing the way we shop! It may be a bit difficult to spot changes happening with consumer-packaged goods, quick-serve restaurants, and grocery purchases, but the impact and ongoing shifts in consumer behavior are no less significant.
Consider how these technologies are already affecting the way we shop in these environments:
Grocery iQ (click)
As we all know - individuals have used paper grocery lists FOREVER. But it should be easier than that, shouldn't it? Every week, gourmet chefs browse cooking magazines and books on the hunt for new flavors and/or new combinations of old favorites. To build a week-long menu means comparing the ingredient list of your desired recipes against your household inventory, and then creating a list based on those careful calculations.
Grocery iQ will not solve everything, but it's a step forward - and is only one example of what's out there now. On the surface, it seems like a simple shopping list application. Dig deeper though, and you will see how it allows multiple users to contribute to the same list. When your significant other adds something to the list on his or her iPhone, you will get an alert on your phone! WOW! You can also organize your list based on the aisle layout of your favorite store, optimizing your list for the fastest possible trip through the store. How convenient!
Today = grocery lists written on a scrap of paper, old newspaper, or napkin.
Tomorrow = a fully integrated and mobile-enabled "smart list"
Modiv Media (click)
Simple - walk into the store, grab a cart, and pick up your personal shopper device. Part PDA, part UPC-scanner, this is a friendly machine that promises to simplify the check-out process while revolutionizing how you shop. It connects directly to the store's loyalty program, learning your preferences and predicting your desires. You scan as you go, adding items both to your cart and to your check-out tab. No need to stand in line to pay at check-out anymore. And, as you shop, the device knows what you've bought on past trips, what you've got in your cart currently, and yes, it knows what aisle you're standing in. YIKES! All of that information turns the device into a ridiculously smart personal shopping assistant.
For marketers, it's a targeting dream. Buying chips? How about a coupon for dip? Entering the frozen food aisle? Here's a deal on ice cream!
TableTop Media (click)
TableTop Media promises to change the dining experience at quick-serve restaurants. It's a small, wirelessly-connected touch-screen device that sits on your table and provides an interactive dining menu along with games, Web-based content from MSNBC, weather forecasts, movies, and more. It makes payment easier as well with an integrated credit card reader and receipt printer. It'll keep the kids entertained while waiting, takes some pressure off the wait staff, and helps the restaurant deliver a more satisfied customer overall.
Hmmmmmm, I am not sure about this one. I definitely see the advantages - however, if I go out to dinner with my husband or friend, the last thing I would want them to do is sit and play with this little device! (although, I think it would be fabulous to run my credit card through this device, so I wouldn't have to wait for the waitor/waitress. I wonder how safe/secure that would be?)
These are just a few simple examples from ClickZ - of how technology is changing the ways we shop. It will be interesting to see "where we are at" in the next 10 years!
This Modiv Shopper device could actually make grocery shopping something a person wants to do instead of something a person has to do. No more lengthy check out lines and no need to wait for a bagger. This device would turn the check out line into a payment line and the baggers would probably be sent to the unemployment line! The Modiv website reports 88% of shoppers would use coupons if they were personally relevant and available in-store. This device would allow brand marketers to be involved with the in-store experience. Discount offers could be made to customers based on shopping and coupon redemption history, as well as recently purchased items. This really would change the way that we shop, and definitely for the better.
ReplyDeleteThis whole thing is so crazy to me. We are witnessing so many changes and now we might see a change to the way we shop for groceries. Here is a question I have: Where does the elderly fit into this? My mother (who isn't elderly) won't even use the self-checkout because it is so unfamiliar to her. Will this hurt the people who isn't up on technology or fear it?
ReplyDeleteGood post Amy! I always enjoy reading your posts.