Grocery Activated: Boost Customer Experience Without Busting Your Budget
Allocating budgets strategically can stretch dollars while still making an impact.
Grocery stores — whether large or small — run on passion, hard work, and often, a narrow margin. When the time comes for renovations, proprietors must weigh a multitude of factors, from sales-floor disruptions to the allocation of dollars. A full-scale remodel may be on the wish list, but often what’s feasible is far more subdued.Â
Whatever constraints exist, there are plenty of ways to enhance the overall customer experience. Strategic modifications can stretch your budget because they’re concentrated in areas where they have the most impact. What’s more, select enhancements can also boost recruiting and staff retention by way of a pleasant working atmosphere. Â
A Sensory Experience
Rather than a comprehensive renovation, focus on your top three departments and choose two or three senses you want to impact. Think how you can weave those senses into the store experience, whether through materiality, sounds, scents, and/or tactile sensations. Then think of how they can interplay together. Â
Not sure which areas rise to the top? Consider areas that have significant touchpoints with your brand. Do people start their day with a doughnut from your bakery? Start there. Are you a purveyor of exotic fruit? Begin with the produce section.Â
Rather than a comprehensive renovation, focus on your top three departments and choose two or three senses you want to impact. Think how you can weave those senses into the store experience, whether through materiality, sounds, scents, and/or tactile sensations. Then think of how they can interplay together.
Or think about the entry. That’s where the first impression happens and can set the tone for the rest of the visit. Perhaps it’s the moment after customers enter. Which way do they go to find what they want? Lighting and finishes can identify zones and help them flow so that wayfinding is easy.Â
Is there a dark corner customers overlook? Turn drab into cozy with soft touches of materials, soothing sounds of background music, and a color palette that invites relaxation. This space could house specialty gifts such as candles.Â
Maybe it’s your café. Is coffee only brewed in the morning hours? The aroma of a freshly brewed pot or the sound of the coffee grinder can stimulate the senses and draw attention to other fresh food and beverage options.Â
A wine department can double as a venue for cheese tastings. Similarly, the cheese department can play host to a wine-pairing demonstration.Â
A great example of prioritization is the remodel of Town & Country Markets’ location in Mill Creek, Washington (pictured throughout this post). The main focus was on the store’s food service areas with the goal of creating a restaurant dining experience within a grocery setting. The renovation included a new layout for food service and seating areas, including a new restaurant and café. One of the key moves was to open up and connect the indoor and outdoor seating areas with sliding panels and larger glazing, bringing in air and light as well as creating a welcoming appeal. The layout strategically allows for improved customer experiences in a comfortable environment with updated millwork, décor, finishes, and a color palette that reflects the grocer’s brand colors and is a nod to wooded Pacific Northwest settings.
Show Local Love
Once you’ve narrowed it down and know your focus, you’re ready to build it up.Â
What works in one part of a city may not translate as well in another, so consider a hyper-local vibe that demonstrates you’re part of the neighborhood fabric. Rotating local art can adorn the walls. Area musicians can add a festive or soothing vibe to the busy holiday shopping season with a live performance. A region’s landscape can parlay into finishes and signage. Adornment of plants can provide a welcome respite in varying climates — even if plants are not part of your store’s offerings. Â
The key is to know the customer base, tap into what’s important to them, and demonstrate you can provide a visit that is not only efficient but experiential.Â
Exterior work for the Town & Country Markets Mill Creek location included replacing existing windows in the seating area with operable sliding doors to connect the indoor and outdoor restaurant dining experience.
Memorable Moments
As designers, we know every bit of your space matters. But we also know the practical aspect of running a business means making choices. Those choices can be more easily prioritized based on your brand, your customers, and the connection they have with each other. With that as the guiding principle, you can create memorable moments that keep them coming back for more. Â
