In my last blog I referred to the illusion of saving time. I would say that the best and most recent example of this illusion is eCommerce.
Let’s talk through an example:
So it’s time to buy a camera…
In the brick and mortar version, you will likely travel to 3 or so stores within your travel area. You will try to talk to an subject matter expert at each store. You will narrow the field down to about 3 cameras and will go home, call friends and neighbors and then sleep on it. You will make a decision based on all the data you have collected, the feel of each camera that you looked at. Once the decision is made you will go to the store with the best price or the best subject matter expert (you will talk to this expert either way to learn how to quickly start using the camera correctly). Then you buy the camera and go home and start taking pictures, boom 2 days.
In the digital version, you will google “the 10 best cameras this year.” You will get a couple million articles from different sources that rank cameras from every point of view known to man. You will take the time to read a few of these articles and look for the common denominators. Now its time to get down to business and look at your top 3 picks and start looking at the customer rankings for each. More than likely the overall ratings will be within 0.1 of each other so now you are digging in to determine the why this one is imagined to be 0.1 better than that one, and so on. Along the way you may also have to investigate the meaning of Purple Fringing with a quick stop off at the music site to listen to Purple Rain one more time (been here done this). Now here is the tricky part, are you one of those people that has to hold a camera to make sure it feels right in your hands. If you are then off to the local store you go just to pick it up and huh, that feels pretty good. Now it’s time to go home and order it…really, I just had it in my hands. One last look to validate your data points and you order it from the cheapest site you can find and saved hopefully 10% and some free shipping. Now assuming you were dedicated enough and focused enough to do all of the above in 1 day you enter your order and best case scenario it arrives at your doorstep 2 days later. Wait for it, if I do the math…(scratch, scratch, carry the 1) that equals 3 days. WHAT!
I’m sure I was going faster it feels like it didn’t take as long. Heck I was in my pajamas for what 90% of the time it had to be faster. Oh and now I have to watch a YouTube video to make sure I’m using it right.
So how do eRetailers create the illusion of or the actual saving of time?
First make the digital experience better:
- Let AI do its job. We have told it what we like and how we shop so it can filter down to the final 3 right after you say “Hey {insert your favorite here} let’s buy a camera.
- Separate replenishment from shopping. Replenishment should be like breathing, it just happens. I don’t ever want to think about paper towels again, they should just show up when I need them.
- Shopping is a group event in most cases so make digital shopping a group event, kind of like a Disney+ watch party. Make it a {insert your favorite retailer here} shop party. This is also the next big thing coming West, Live eCommerce.
Second, shorten the delivery time. This is the only place location may matter, but technology does matter. Strategies like:
- Micro Fulfillment Centers
- Nighttime delivery eMilkboxes (better be temperature controlled)
- The real crazy one – deliver to where I am. This is for people like me that leave work late to coach the little league team and do not have time to stop for Gatorade. “Can you please just bring it to me at the park…Thank You!”
Granted, I have given you a lot to unpack over the last two blogs. So, if you want to hear more on a portion of the last two blogs let me know and I will be happy to expand on one.
Stay Safe and Stay Healthy, that light you see at the end of the tunnel is not a train it is the Roadrunner with a headlamp on…Looney Tunes, google it.