Smart lockers revolutionizing retail: A holistic approach to efficiency and customer satisfaction
Amidst the change and disruption of the post COVID-19 era, retailers have been creating opportunities to re-imagine the consumer experience in a low-cost, convenience focused way. Forward-thinking retailers are dedicating resources to technology investments that enhance the customer experience and cut down on expenses. Despite the difficulties in the retail landscape, new physical store openings exceeded closures by a two-to-one margin in 2021. Numerous retailers are recognizing the adaptability of smart locker technology as a solution to address various challenges and meet customer expectations.
Here are some of the diverse ways in which smart lockers are contributing to the success of retailers:
Harmonizing the physical and digital: Smart lockers redefining customer expectations in retail
In an era of technological advancement, the integration of online and in-person shopping experiences has become an increasingly anticipated consumer expectation for all retailers. Offering customers the flexibility to decide when and where to make purchases, choose their preferred delivery method, and manage returns not only contributes to satisfaction but also cultivates loyalty. Today’s consumers prioritize low cost, variety and convenience. Online shoppers are inclined to abandon their carts due to high shipping fees and slow delivery times; in fact 1 in 5 shoppers will actively avoid retailers that do not offer a click and collect service. Groundfloor’s smart lockers streamline this process, allowing retailers to create a simple, but memorable shopping experience for the customer.
Navigating the staffing challenge
By leveraging smart locker technology, retailers can meet customer demands for service and convenience without the need to increase staffing levels. Smart lockers facilitate unattended, self-service pickups, enabling retailers to extend service hours without the necessity of hiring additional staff or prolonging store operating hours.
Further, the streamlined process provided by the smart lockers eliminates the need for the usually labor intensive click and collect tasks of verifying a customer’s ID, retrieving the order, and generating a receipt.
Instead, a staff member can simply deliver the merchandise into a locker, maximizing a retailer’s floor space through efficient storage, and instantly notifying the customer that their parcel is ready to be collected at their convenience.
Embracing sustainability: How smart lockers contribute to environmental benefits in retail
Smart lockers have also been proven to be the most convenient and environmentally friendly method of delivering a parcel to a customer. The process allows for first time delivery, every time, empowering the consumer to collect the parcel at their leisure as well as providing the environmental benefit of eliminating the process of a carrier collecting the parcel, sorting the parcel and then redelivering the parcel, potentially multiple times. This has a profound impact on the amount of emissions that is required to deliver the parcel, in fact, a University of Melbourne study found that the emissions created as a direct result of failed deliveries within the Central Business District of Melbourne amounted to 89,000 tons of CO2 annually.
As Retailers continue to strategically invest in innovation, smart lockers will prove instrumental in not only meeting but exceeding customer expectations while fostering sustainability and operational efficiency.
by the smart lockers eliminates the need for the usually labor intensive click and collect tasks of verifying a customer’s ID, retrieving the order, and generating a receipt.
Instead, a staff member can simply deliver the merchandise into a locker, maximizing a retailer’s floor space through efficient storage, and instantly notifying the customer that their parcel is ready to be collected at their convenience.
