For decades, grocery stores have followed a standard basic layout: shelf-stable items on long aisles in the middle, fresh produce and dairy items around the outside and attention-grabbing items on end caps. The stores were designed to keep customers inside to spend more money.
But with the Covid pandemic and the huge growth of grocery pickup and delivery, what customers are looking for in a grocery experience has changed. And the store design must change to go with it.
Apps like Instacart and Shipt are gaining popularity and taking away customers who used to shop in stores. To gain those customers back, stores are updating their layouts to create more convenient experiences.
Here’s what you need to know to create a more convenient and enticing in-store grocery trip to get a leg up on delivery apps and maximize the customer experience.
1 . Streamline Product Layout For Faster Shopping
While customers used to enjoy wandering the aisles to find what they need, today many customers are trying to get in and out of the grocery store as quickly as possible. What started as a desire to limit germ exposure with shorter trips is now expanding to an overall desire for convenience and speed. Instead of having to walk through the entire store to the back to pick up a gallon of milk, customers want to be able to quickly pick it up towards the front of the store. Stores are responding to the need by putting common items towards the front or accessible places.
A streamlined design is a win for stores and customers: it creates faster shopping trips that save time, while also potentially increasing the number of shoppers who visit the store. More people spending less time in the store to get the same number of items could be big for grocers.
Walmart recently unveiled a streamlined redesign that will be in 1,000 stores by the end of 2021. The adjustments are small but designed to point customers in the right direction and get them to the items they need without wandering. Walmart is consolidating the toy, baby and electronics sections into dedicated areas instead of spreading items throughout the store. Stores will also have much more signage to point shoppers in the right direction, as well as clearly marked aisles with numbers and letters to find an item’s exact location.
2 . Integrate Digital Shopping Tools To Blur Online And In-Person Shopping
Just like many other industries, grocery is beginning to blur the line between online and in-person shopping. In redesigned grocery stores, each customer’s phone is an important part of the streamlined experience.
Target’s app shows the exact location of each item and gives customers options of how to purchase their items—either in store, delivery or curbside pickup. The Whole Foods app sends alerts when customers are near a store to showcase items that the customer may like. Albertsons is integrating AI into its app for predictive grocery list-making.
Walmart’s streamlined app shows where products are located and then helps them follow a map to their exact location in the store. The Walmart redesign was inspired by airports—another place that people don’t want to spend more time than needed and that depends on great signage and layout to get people where they need to be.
Kroger recently unveiled its KroGO digital shopping carts that automatically ring up purchases as shoppers put items in the cart. Aside from integrating the digital experience, the carts also direct customers to related items, such as pointing customers to salsa after they put tortilla chips in their cart. When they are done, customers simply take their groceries and walk out without waiting in a checkout line.
3 . Group Related Items For Convenience
The way items are grouped within grocery stores is also changing to create a more connected experience and to follow the model of grocery delivery apps like Instacart. When customers shop through grocery delivery apps, they see recommendations of items related to what’s already in their cart and can quickly add new things. The same concept applies to in-store groupings to put related items together.
In the old model, a customer shopping for ingredients to make tacos likely has to traverse the store to get each ingredient. But a new approach to grouping ingredients puts things together like salsa and tortilla chips or croutons and salad dressing. Many Target locations now stock ice cream toppings on an end cap in the freezer aisle and put bagels and cream cheese near each other for a faster shopping experience.
4 . Improve Pickup Area Visibility And Flow
Once pushed to the back corner of the parking lot by the loading docks, pickup areas are getting a much-needed upgrade as more customers switch to grocery pickup. Many stores, including Walmart, are building out pickup areas with better signage and traffic flow in easy-to-reach areas of the parking lot.
Other stores could head in the direction of drive-thru pickup areas, similar to fast food restaurants, or automated pickup towers for customers to retrieve orders on their own. Wegmans, a chain beloved by customers for its hot and cold food bars, recently added additional pickup lanes at some stores—one for grocery pickup and another for food service.
5 . Add Unique Experiences And Gathering Spaces
Aside from creating fast and convenient experiences, many grocery stores are also differentiating themselves by focusing on experiences. This was a major focus for the industry before it was derailed by Covid, but the opportunity to offer a place to gather, learn and experience can provide grocery stores a competitive advantage and bring customers in the store instead of just shopping online.
In Texas, H-E-B opened a food hall that features six local restaurants. Albertson’s opened its largest store ever in Idaho that aims to imitate a market street with stations selling popcorn, customized pizza straight from the oven and a wine cellar with a sommelier. Winn-Dixie recently renovated 32 stores with taprooms, fresh seafood stations and grab-and-go meals to reflect local communities. Whole Foods took some of its experiential features online with virtual cooking classes to showcase products from afar. From made-to-order sushi bars to dine-in eating areas and rooftop bars, grocery stores are becoming community hubs to offer more than just quick grocery service.
Covid changed the face of grocery forever. With an increased push for pickup and delivery, grocery chains are updating their physical stores to provide convenient, customer-first experiences.
Blake Morgan is a customer experience futurist, keynote speaker and the author of the bestselling book The Customer Of The Future. Sign up for her weekly newsletter here.
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