Can you remember life before Uber Eats? Or a time before you could split a restaurant bill with your mate on a banking app or order a piping-hot coffee as you walk through the Koru lounge while you wait to board your plane? Or, in the case of my son, being able to swap shifts with colleagues via Facebook Messenger?
The pandemic catalysed new customer and employee behaviours and increased pressure on companies to adopt a digital strategy to supplement their physical presence with e-commerce. It also drove shoppers to websites, apps and methods such as click-and-collect for their necessities. For me, never forgetting my dog food and flea, tick and worm treatment is solved by Animates’ repeat delivery – seamless and forget-me-not proof.
Once physical retail spaces began to reopen though, we were met with a new consumer – one with expectations for the same convenience and touch points they’d grown accustomed to during lockdown. In short, their expectations are higher now that they’re comfortable toggling between different shopping modes. These customers check product inventory before venturing into a store because of supply chain shortages; they pay with Paywave and ‘Buy now, pay later’ (BNPL) so they can get what they want immediately; when they eat out, they order through a mobile app to ensure it's ready upon arrival; and they use click-and-collect if they're short on time. They’re hybrid shoppers.
These demands involve decision-making that is functional, rational and emotional, which means every retail experience will vary, dependent on your customer’s requirements for that day.
The magic glue
