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Will in-store mobile shopping reshape the Amazon / Walmart war?

Not willing to yield easily to Amazon, Walmart expanded recently the roll out of its Scan & Go technology, which lets customers scan products’ barcodes through a smartphone app and add items to their carts, and skip the checkout lines.

Walmart's Scan & Go looks somewhat like Amazon Go, but there are 2 main differences compared to Amazon Go – the need to scan barcodes and “to still 'checkout' with the store greeter by showing him your digital receipt", which is not necessarily a downside as it allows customers to have full control over their shopping experience and enables the store to make sure that the customer is being charged correctly.

This is a smart move from Walmart as Amazon Go is still only available to its employees and is still dealing with some technology hurdles, whereas Walmart's solution is already available to the public.

According to Matt Sargent, senior VP of retail at Magid, Walmart is “already ahead, as Amazon is very small in grocery today, but this will allow Walmart a better chance of holding onto its leadership position.“

Grocers are looking for ways to compete with Amazon and although Amazon might become a significant tier one player in grocery, only 22% of shoppers are inclined to buy groceries from Whole Foods online via Amazon, a Simon-Kucher study revealed.

To stay in the game, grocers need to be smarter than Amazon and embrace the digitization of the in-store shopping – providing new ways to help, personalize, interact and communicate with the shopper while he’s in store –  leveraging all the data acquired of mobile-first shoppers to better know them and serve them.

What do shoppers want?

In this ever-evolving-mobile-first-always-connected-tech-driven society, shoppers still want to see, touch, and smell fresh produce. The in-store provides very powerful sensory experiences that are impossible to replicate online (at least, for now). Recent studies found that 70% of Millennials and 60% of Gen Z shoppers still prefer brick-and-mortar retail stores.

Although Millennials and Gen Z prefer brick-and-mortar and are the future of retail, they expect more from mobile in-store. For 80% of the general population, apps that support in-store shopping improve the in-store shopping experience and according to a recent Acosta survey, 76% of millennials are interested in scan & go. The study also found that 97% of all CPG dollars are still being spent in brick-and-mortar retail stores.

An in-store personalized experience

Customer experience and personalization are big retail buzzwords these days. Consumers expect personalized experiences and services in exchange for their data, which they are willing to share if they are rewarded for it (81% Europeans, 63% US).

When done right, personalization enhances customers’ lives and increases engagement and loyalty, and this is beneficial for companies. According to a BCG research, brands creating personalized experiences have a revenue increase by 6% to 10% ��two to three times faster than those that don’t. Even though it drives growth, only 15% of retailers have a fully implemented personalization strategy.

More than a new self-checkout option, “Mobile Scan & Go is the new in-store experience

To compete effectively with Amazon, the use of technology in-store must fulfill the purpose of best serving the customer who wants speed, simplicity, and a personalized service. Most of the time grocers are trying “Scan & Go” solutions, but none as significant traction or is leveraging the true potential of a mobile shopping solution, especially when it comes to personalization.

Customers don’t want many different Scan & Go experience. They want the best experience everywhere, they want a solution that is seamlessly integrated with all the stores they visit no matter when and where. Scan & Go will soon be the norm and if retailers don’t want to be left behind they must focus on the operational side of this in-store revolution, instead of focusing in tech.

How many retailers will be able to provide their Shoppers with a truly differentiated in-store scan and go experience? How many apps will a regular customer need to use so they can simply scan and go? How will retailers implement the operational changes needed to provide a quicker shopping experience, without increasing theft levels?

YouBeep is a unique solution that can be seamlessly connected with every grocers’ app and POS. YouBeep removes all the integration complexity in a secure environment, allowing grocers to keep or implement digital services, like digital coupons, loyalty mechanics or mobile payment while gathering new meaningful shopping data and providing a truly differentiated experience.

YouBeep can be publicly available within a month and due to its SaaS model, at a fraction of the cost of other solutions.

With YouBeep retailers have access to:

A real-time store’s performance

A one-to-one in-store privileged communication channel with their customers

An innovative mobile checkout solution that reduces checkout time by 70%

Reduced operational costs

Customer insights to improve the shopping experience.

An increased loyalty card adoption

A lower coupon issuance costs

Digital payment (even with legacy systems)

A solution with proven results

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Will you lead or be left behind?

In 2017 who will lead the in-store mobile checkout revolution?

After the incredible buzz of Amazon GO , and now that NRF17 is over, 2017 looks like the year grocers and supermarkets are finally realizing the best way to give their customers a smarter and better in-store shopping experience with a viable R.O.I, is by embracing in-store mobile shopping & checkout solutions.

Top retailers in Europe and the US are piloting mobile checkout solutions for some years, but without really believing the future of grocery shopping will be through the smartphone of their clients. Can they afford to ignore the Amazon buzz and its implications, now that shopping with no checkout look so close to reality in customer’s mind?

We all know that mobile is a key element of today’s life and that shopping at your local supermarket without passing through a checkout isn’t for tomorrow, but since all retailers accepted that mobile payments, mobile coupons and mobile loyalty will be the norm, why are they so slow in rolling out in-store mobile checkout solutions that are securely and seamlessly connected to their POS?

Working in this space for 3 years now, I understand the typical answers and inertia of most retailers regarding mobile checkout technologies, they are normal in corporations with complex infrastructures, legacy systems and results that keep growing at a slow rate every quarter, but the main question is, which retailers want to lead the mobile scanning and checkout revolution that already begun?

Are they the discounter that after taking market shares everywhere will begin to lead in checkout convenience over the more “innovative” retailers? Or mobile checkout is the feature that will make new tech players come and win a piece of the grocery pie?

Until when, top retailers will continue to invest in costly self-checkouts stations and outdated hand scanner solutions? Can they ignore their customers wants and needs and keep looking at new in-store mobile solutions as nice-to-have technologies?

In 2017 Amazon launched its first physical store, Walmart will give a second chance to its scan and go mobile app while Sam’s club is rolling out the solution to all stores!

Walmart Scan & Go | Sam’s Club Scan & Go Roll out | Amazon first grocery store

When the biggest retailer on earth and the biggest pure player are pushing that way, where are the others looking?

Look at YouBeep…

Provides retailers of all sizes with a mobile shopping and checkout solution that can be tested at a fraction of the cost and time of others solutions

Requires zero integration effort with the POS (even legacy systems)

Personalized marketing platform in front of your customers in the moment they are buying.

Proven R.O.I ( > 300%)

Since security, engagement, R.O.I, Integrations, data ownership, store operations, targeted promotions, shopping experience and basket increases are always in my mind, let me know how you see grocery shopping in this exciting year for the retail industry.

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Our CEO presenting YouBeep @ the World Retail Congress 2015

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It’s been almost 6 months since we began installing YouBeep in-store, and the results we got are really exciting!!

We prove in many ways to the supermarket industry, the need to evolve into something that effectively creates a differentiated shopping experience, especially at the checkout, and that the use of mobile to do it, it’s definitely the most cost effective solution.

YouBeep is now in 5 stores from 2 leading retailers, and in less than 5 months more than 50.000 transactions were made through the app. These results prove that people are willing to use their phones in-store if they have a real benefit in doing it.

If you are interested in knowing more about YouBeep and see the entire report, drop us a line to info@youbeep.com

Beep Beep 

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We just launched a new YouBeep video to let users know how the app works in-store.

The video will be in loop in our digital totems at the entrance of each store.

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CEBIT 2015 - We confirmed once again that waiting time at checkout is a worldwide problem and that our solution can effectively work everywhere.

From Porto to Hanover passing by Berlin, Zurich, Abu Dhabi, Dusseldorf Oslo, Dubai, Mexico city, Athens, Ryadh, London, Rouen, Allndorf Hamburg, Malaysia, Berkshire, Virginia, Bonn, Brussels, Braga Beijing, Bolzano, Tema, Shenzhen, Zheijiang, Seoul, Belgrade Warsow, Frankfurt, Jakarta, Gujarat, Bucharest, Amsterdam, Yerevan, Vilnius, Nicosia, Thaltej, Crossroad and Koln we hope to be soon in a store near you!!

Thanks to all the people who pass by our small booth and ask for our solution on their city. 

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We are now ending the first month of our second pilot store, with amazing results !! The retailer, Pingo Doce, decided to use a branded App powered by YouBeep to provide a better shopping experience to all the customer of their brand new store in Porto.

You can only try in this store right now, but soon we will expand to other locations.

Download the Pingo Doce express app on IOS or Android.

BEEP BEEP

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Whole foods of the future

by rehabstudio

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YouBeep is now on facebook and Instagram!

Take a look @

www.facebook.com/youbeep

www.instagram.com/youbeep

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Our team was invited to present www.youbeep.com at the first Pioneers Unplugged in Porto.

The event was part of the ANJE “BORN GLOBAL” Tradeshow, and aims to be an evening full of tech talks and networking with entrepreneurs, coders, builders and other troublemakers.

We decided to showcase for the first time our product in a different way, more like a test for future and bigger tradeshows. Basically the idea was that everybody was able to get free chocolates if bought via YouBeep, the chocolates were a success and the overall feedback of the product great!

We get short listed on the pitch competition and once again it’s amazing to see the quality of the presentation from the Portuguese startups.

We can say that the Pioneers Unplugged concept is exactly the kind of small and informal event we like to attend to network  with smart people, drink some good homemade beer and test new ways of presenting our product, so for all these reasons see you next Time!!

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It's all about time

This morning we had an interesting chat with the guys from NoWait about our two companies.

They are also concerned about your time, so if you are in the US and want to go out for dinner without waiting in line, download this great app at http://nowaitapp.com/dining/ 

NoWait is the first and only mobile network for casual-dining restaurants. For consumers, the guest app provides real-time information on wait times in their area, enabling them to add their name remotely to a wait list from their phone, and simply show up when their table is ready. For restaurants, NoWait is an iPad wait-list and table-management system that helps them run their busy restaurant more efficiently. NoWait revolutionizes the overall dining experience and gives back the most important thing in peoples’ lives: their time.

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YouBeep Pitch at the 3RVF

We had the privilege to be selected to be one of the company’s pitching in the shark tank at the 3RVF in the Heinz field stadium in Pittsburgh. We were the only foreign company pitching, so we can say we were surprised by the great feedback from the audience and the sharks.

 The event is considered the biggest venture fair in Pennsylvania with more than 400 entrepreneurs mostly from the region and 150 investors from different areas, being this year the largest in the organization history.

The 3RVF is a great event to understand the growing start up ecosystem in the region, where companies begin mostly from incubators related to CMU.

Another great indicator of this trend and the big value of the program we are doing here, is the number of successful companies created though this incubators and that choose to stay in Pittsburgh or the region, this companies have raised more than 250$ million in the first three quarters of this year, this number come from companies like 4moms (41$million), Resumator (15$million) and NoWait (10$million).

To conclude, the event was a great opportunity to pitch and talk about www.YouBeep.com to investors, and get contacts from potential partners.

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XHOCKWARE at the world retail expo 2014

Despite the travel and incidental costs this congress was a must attend for our company.

This was the first expo alongside the congress and was of immense value to put XHOCKWARE its plans and progress into perspective; and as such the team had an excellent opportunity to review progress and set some goals and indicated actions.

The general standard of small company stands on the expo was high.

We had the opportunity to network and talk to relevant contacts and confirmed, that our product YouBeep is presently at the forefront of a new buzz word. “Seamless”.

The retailers we are currently working with were shortlisted in the world retail awards in the customer experience category, showing to the world that we are working with top level companies concerning customer experience.

For this first experience we felt that the world retail congress and now the world retail expo are in the most important events to attend and connect with the industry, we will definitely attend next year.

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How are retail CIO's reacting to disruptive technologies?

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Xhockware was at the Lisbon Investment Summit, for sure one of the most well organized startup event in Portugal. The event had great pitches from startups from all around the world (Portugal, France, Brazil, Argentina, Germany, UK, Italy, USA)  and a diverse and interesting panel of investors from (Index ventures, connect ventures, DN capital, caixa capital, Portugal ventures among others) sharing their experiences and  advices to startups from all stages .

The networking space had an amazing view and the atmosphere was perfect. Thank you Beta i for everything. See you soon

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Xhockware was at the mobile retail summit in London. 

 What we get from the event?

- We get great insights, talks and networking sessions in one of the best conference specialized in our market.

- We confirmed that our product is in line with food retailers needs in the UK.

- We talked with all kind of retailers and they are all aware about the importance of mobile in the future of retail.

About the Mrobile retail summit

"The Retail landscape is changing, and the sector is set for even more rapid change over the next three years as retailers respond to changing consumer behaviour, particularly around the use of mobile in the shopping process. The Mobile Retail Summit, now in its third year, offers retailers the opportunity to explore how mobile is impacting the retail landscape, and what their business needs to do stay ahead of the game.

The day is divided into four streams - On Device, Driving Footfall, In-store and The Future. "

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How retailers can keep up with consumers

The retail industry is more dynamic than ever. US retailers must evolve to succeed in the next decade.

Read the article from Mackinsey here