Making “Adaptive Retail” Work for Retailers of All Sizes

As the shopping journey evolves, “adaptive retail” is the latest term to take over marketers’ lexicon. But what exactly does this term mean?

In short, “adaptive retail,” or adaptive retail strategies, refers to tailored shopping experiences that aim to give shoppers exactly what they want through convenience, personalization, and to seamless shopping experiences.

A quick Google search reveals that Walmart attempted to claim the term early, first using the phrase at the Consumer Electronics Show in January to announce a broad initiative to improve the customer experience with innovative new technology .

Even though Walmart, the largest grocery seller in the United States, has the technology resources and marketing budget to establish its reputation for “adaptive retail” at scale, that doesn’t mean smaller retailers can’t not leverage technology to create personalized products. adaptive experiences as well.

With the right approach, grocers of all sizes can become leaders in “adaptive retail.” Here’s how to do it:

1. Start with a data-driven foundation.

The biggest players in the retail industry have a huge amount of data at their fingertips. This access helps big brands like Walmart generate exciting innovations at scale. However, food retailers large and small also have valuable data at their fingertips. Many regional or smaller food retailers have been collecting data on their customers for decades, through transaction data and loyalty programs, which amounts to a metaphorical gold mine if properly leveraged.

Rapid advances in data collection, price optimization and artificial intelligence have enabled grocers of all sizes to leverage their unique data to create true shopper personalization, one of the tenets of retailing adaptive.

Today’s grocers can use shopper analytics to ingest this customer data and create unique shopper profiles that take into account product and taste preferences, and even price sensitivities. This approach goes beyond traditional customer segmentation, meaning grocers can use a data-driven approach to unlock a true individual level of understanding for each shopper who enters a retailer’s store.

2. Realize the benefits of hyperpersonalization.

With these advanced and unique shopper profiles developed, grocers can then focus on providing their customers with significant savings on the precise items they wish to purchase. There’s nothing more convenient than offering savings on items a shopper purchases most frequently or hasn’t yet discovered they love. So why not use an approach that adapts to the wishes of each client?

Grocers can go further by opening discounts to the entire store catalog rather than limiting coupons to discounts funded by consumer goods and suppliers. By creating sophisticated customer profiles and offering discounts across their entire storefront, grocers can ensure shoppers receive targeted coupons and savings on the items they want most.

3. Create seamless and adaptive retail experiences across all touchpoints.

The final step to mastering adaptive retail is taking this approach to hyperpersonalization and applying it across all touchpoints. If a grocer uses email campaigns; in-store loyalty programs; or fully omnichannel brand loyalty apps, the possibilities for adaptive customer engagement become limitless.

Implementing hyper-personalization means shoppers can benefit from significant savings that are applied automatically at checkout, regardless of how the customer purchases. If a customer prefers to order curbside pickup, their offers can be automatically redeemed when they check out through their mobile app. If another customer makes a quick stop on the way home from work, remembering they have a coupon for their favorite snack, those savings can be automatically applied at the point of sale.

While Walmart tries to make “adaptive retail” seem like an unattainable reality for all but the largest retailers, it boils down to a simple, data-driven approach to engaging with retail shoppers. way that matters most to them. So it’s time for grocers of all sizes to embrace adaptive retailing.

Shekar Raman is CEO and co-founder of Birdzian AI solutions company for grocery retail.