For Ilya Shtrom, general director of Russian supermarket chain LAND, getting personal with customers has now taken on a new meaning.
Assisted by Synqera, a global technology startup that brings personalized online shopping experiences to physical retail storefronts, LAND launched a grocery retail pilot program. Synqera installed paired consumer-interacting, content delivery technologies in LAND that haven’t been seen in traditional grocery business models: Synqera Loyalty Generators, which are compact printing devices with interactive touch-screens at the entrance of each of the chosen piloting store locations; as well as Simplate devices at check-out, which provide targeted content relevant to new and returning customers ahead of the busy holiday season while increasing customer service.
Shtrom told Loyalty 360 that the competition in retail is getting tougher each year and has inevitably become a constant search for the newer and better customer service solutions.
“Being a premium goods retailer raises the bar high,” he said. “We have to stay on the highest edge in order to meet the demands of our customers and keep them loyal. At LAND, we always have been open to innovations and invested in the best contemporary solutions for retail -- from modern trade equipment and mobile apps to self-service checkout. Synqera’s immersive technology allows us to build dialogue with our customers, set up personalized approaches to each of them, and provide additional services making their shopping process more comfortable. At the same time, collection of customer feedback will allow us to get customer insights and help exceed -- if not preempt -- customer expectations in service as well as eliminate possible decreases.”
Shtrom said LAND customers are “hard to impress,” but he believes the new services and constant innovations will increase customer loyalty and exposure to new brands they haven’t yet tried.
The pilot program will initially run for three months in three of LAND’s 10 stores in St. Petersburg.
“For the future, we plan to constantly evaluate the efficiency of Synqera solution, optimize current services, and add new features to the Loyalty Generator and Simplate devices,” Shtrom explained. “We plan to scale the Synqera solution throughout as many LAND stores as possible.”
Shtrom believes personalization is something LAND customers will appreciate.
“Synqera technology combines multiple features that impact the contemporary retail industry and drive it into the future,” he said.
Here’s how the paired technologies function will work:
Loyalty Generator
Activated with a loyalty card, Loyalty Generators at LAND provide benefits to both the grocer and the consumer. The interactive kiosks at the front of the store print out personalized product recommendations relevant to individual shopping needs, especially for those who repeat-purchase at LAND. The technology will help shoppers find and discover products that they need as well as incentivizing loyalty program members to purchase based on special offers and promotions. This increases overall basket size for grocers, while also providing an easy yet comprehensive marketing tool for recommended brand switching, product promotions, and upselling specific products. For example, by analyzing regular shopping basket of the customer the system may suggest him to switch to the grocery private label instead of more expensive branded analogue.
Here are some features of Loyalty Generator specific to this integration:
Personalized, on-demand shopping lists based on predictive analytics (customer profile analysis, individual shopping history, time of the day, and day of the week)
Themed shopping lists
Includes recommended products by LAND
Provides real-time information on range of products within the store, prices and special offers.
Personalized recommendations of new products, special offers for this particular customer.
Recipes (categorical and themed)
Country-specific themed recipes carefully chosen by LAND include the grocer’s recommended brand and ingredients.
Simplate
At the checkout desk or cashier, LAND will activate Simplate, which is an interactive customer display with near field communication (NFC) technology via proprietary Synqera tablet devices that have powerful multimedia capabilities created to attract and monetize customer attention. Initially for LAND, Simplate will collect and analyze real-time customer feedback via an interactive survey on customer satisfaction. Planned for the near future, Simple will interactively recommend relevant products for shoppers to add to their basket, also providing in-store coupons and targeted offers prior to finalizing their purchases.
Ekaterina Savchenko, Head of Marketing for Synqera, told Loyalty 360 that Synqera is developing technologies for personalization of communications with retail customers.
“The top goal is to create individual experience for the each customer and offer only relevant products and services through big data analysis and collection of customer insights,” she said. “Going this way, the customers get an opportunity to save their time while shopping, avoid irrelevant information buzz and get more convenient shopping through additional services – such as personalized shopping lists, coupons and product recommendations.”
LAND will be integrating Synqera personalization and data analytics technology throughout locations within the stores to address key market concerns impacting the grocery category, including increasing competition and customer demand for deeper individualized experiences while physically at the store.
“The solution leverages data collection and analysis for real-time prediction of customer preferences and relevant product recommendations, creating highly personalized consumer experiences that no other retail-focused technology has brought to market before,” Savchenko said. “This is fully aligned with LAND’s approach to the customer services, which consist of personal touch and ultimate level of services, including those provided with innovative technologies.”
Savchenko said both in-store devices create a highly personalized in-store customer experience, similar to how personalized deals are offered in online stores based on an analysis of the shopper at that specific moment.
“Loyalty Generators will help shoppers find and discover products that they need,” she added. “This increases overall basket size for grocers, while also providing an easy marketing tool for brand swathing and immediate analytics into purchasing behavior for future product stocking. Simplate also helps reduce show-rooming by giving consumers an incentive to checkout at the store instead of on their mobile phones.”