GroceryTech Opens With Informative Workshop
One novel feature of the workshop was the use of Mentimeter software to gauge audience viewpoints on a variety of topics by posing a range of questions, starting with “What factors do you see impacting your business in 2023 and beyond?” Unsurprisingly, labor issues came in first among attendees, followed by online shopping. One surprise for the presenters was that 76% of attendees described their main focus as acquiring new customers – which included new to online – rather than retention of existing ones.
In response to an audience member’s question about how to capture impulse purchases online, Perrier responded he had observed online shoppers “using [the] search [feature] for that impulse moment,” and spoke of a box featuring three or four recommended items that Mercatus had placed at checkout to spur such last-minute purchases. “This is a question that everyone’s trying to solve,” he admitted. “How do you create the magazine/gum rack at checkout … in an online world?”
There may not always have been a definitive answer to every question, but Mercatus certainly had attendees thinking more deeply about the various issues relating to their e-commerce operations.
This article first appeared on the site of our sister publication, "Progressive Grocer.”