Customer experience in the shopping process is becoming richer and demand is becoming more demanding of traders. Guidelines for improvement and facilitation are now mandatory, not just recommended. COVID-19 has had a significant impact, but consumers will never go back to their old habits. That’s why so many innovations in the industry are being noticed at the moment.
The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the way customers shop
Conditions over the last two years have completely changed the way people live, think and shop. Social distance, although with many negative consequences for our psyche, was the best solution to control the situation.
Many areas have completely transformed the way they shop and the way they receive their purchases. These trends have prompted almost all retailers to strive to improve the customer experience, no matter how hard they try. They realized that the only way to continue their business was to offer easy, fast and consumer-friendly shopping.
Why is it so important to offer a good experience?
The success of any trade – whether retail or wholesale, requires ensuring a positive impact on the customer. This is a guarantee of success in the short and long term. Contactless relationships are those that cover the whole world at the moment and are in the first place preferred by every user. Statistics show that almost 90% are looking for contactless payment options. This is becoming a sought-after practice in the future, whether or not we deal with the Pandemic forever.
Retailers strive to maintain three important things – a rational, contactless and safe way to shop, both online and in physical stores. This encourages the customer to remain loyal to his brand because he gets what he expects.
In view of the predictions, retailers have two good options – automated parcel lockers or curb shopping. The methods are making great progress, with many clients saying that these opportunities will be used after the epidemic.
Comparison of the advantages of curbs and automated lockers
The most optimal options in a Pandemic, and not only, are two main – taking from the curb and receiving shipments from automated smart lockers. To determine which would be most convenient for you, we will make an extensive comparison of the impact of the customer experience.
Let us now proceed to consideration of the main advantages of the curb and automated lockers for parcels:
Take shipment from the curb
- ➤ Easy, convenient and safe making online orders from customers by not offering the option of returning the goods in the same way
- ➤ Time of arrival the client to the point and its service takes about 8-12 minutes.
- ➤ One of the largest retailers says they are seeing growth in their online sales due to the opportunity offered by curb pickups.
- ➤ The increase in lifting from the curb in stores is about 52% this year compared to the previous year. This methodology is gaining more and more popularity among the clients.
Automated parcel lockers
- ➤ Easy, convenient and safe collection and return of online orders and goods by consumers. Here the advantages are in both delivery and return.
- ➤ All customer service takes about two minutes – from arrival at the store to pick up the parcels. Fast service brings additional benefits for the business – customers report that they do not work hard and tend to shop again from the same retailer, just for that reason.
- ➤ Automated lockers fully meet the desires of users to take their orders and return them.
- ➤ Customers often leave with additional purchases after taking their order online from the closet, because they shop impulsively. There is not only growth in online shopping, but also in physical retail networks.
- ➤ Retailers who use smart lockers in their business improve their customer experience by up to 70%.
- ➤ Lockers save a lot of money in terms of staff and transport of products from the store to the curb. They are a very profitable investment.
- ➤ Retailers who have been using parcel terminals for some time say they notice better service efficiency.
- ➤ The parcel terminals also achieve better staff efficiency – streamlining inventory audits and reducing distractions.
- ➤ Automatic lockers allow the practice of more marketing activities, such as incentives for customers (coupons and discounts on next order).
In conclusion of the stated facts about the two types of deliveries, we can say that each practice has its advantages, due to which it is worth practicing and making customers happy. In both cases, retailers make money by making more money from sales, and the consumer defines shopping as a truly exciting and hassle-free experience. One idea is that the smart lockers, which work on service because of the options for receiving and returning goods, have bigger positives. The investment in them is not small, but their personality, scalability and streamlining of the service process is worth many times.
Lockers allow customers to control their experience
They do not have to interact with anyone to pick up or return the ordered goods online. It all depends on their free time.
Automatic lockers, in general, do not require much maintenance and labor costs. With curbs, however, things are a little different – traders have no idea when exactly a customer will arrive to prepare his order for collection. Accordingly, the service time also increases. On the other hand, it affects operating costs and especially the customer experience.
The end result for the trader is very complex. To achieve the expected profits and dividends, you need a skillful move, quick reactions and investment in the right direction. Undoubtedly, the installation of smart lockers will help meet the expectations of retailers.
A reasonable trader can meet the needs of his customers, develop and earn according to the prepared business plan! Be smart and invest correctly – smart lockers are the best solution!
Conclusion
The commercial industry, as well as several other major sectors, have been severely affected by the measures imposed by the COVID-19 Pandemic. The latest data point to a very good reorientation of traders, which made them “emerge” from the many losses. The bottom line is that what keeps customers interested in shopping is when they get real satisfaction. Achieving it is necessary if possible for trouble-free receipt and return of goods through all channels. The excitement of emerging innovations is extremely exciting, but there are probably more new advantages in the shopping process in the future.
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