The E^HACKATHON at LABS Camden House London was the place to be last Wednesday and Thursday. Thought leaders from various backgrounds came together to learn about innovations in ecommerce. The venue was bright the chairs filled with industry trailblazers and the days were full of tips and tricks to win your ecommerce strategy. Jeff Bezos said 'Focus on something that the customer wants and then deliver it.' Just kidding. It wasn't Bezos that said this but rather Sam Walton the founder of Walmart. Don't feel bad if you didn't catch the mistake. The evolution into omnichannel retailers demonstrates the need for thought leaders. Walton was a thought leader of his time in the same way that Bezos is today. It's simple to make the mistake as the quote sounds both innovative and inspiring. This is something that we associate with ecommerce today. Remember ecommerce is a process not a project. Are you sad that you missed the E^HACKATHON London? We know that not everyone could be there. To save you some #FOMO we've compiled some of the main takeaways from the E^HACKATHON London.
Click and Collect allows shoppers to order a product online and collect it at their local store. This brings advantages to both the business and the consumer. Leading the way in Click and Collect are brands such as Amazon and Walmart. By using Click and Collect they are able to provide easier quicker and more effective services for shoppers. According to KPMG's 2018 Annual Retail Survey 22.5% of consumers have currently ordered items through Click and Collect services.Many ecommerce brands have partnered with third-party companies to help give consumers the convenience they're looking for. After its acquisition of Whole Foods in 2017 Amazon has established Click and Collect centers in Whole Foods stores. This allows consumers to pick up their order alongside their weekly shop. Considering a staggering 42% of shoppers have purchased items through third-party retailers for the sake of convenience it's important to keep the ease of the experience in mind when catering to today's shoppers. Retailers such as Amazon and Walmart are constantly working to stay on top of their game. Walmart's Click and Collect strategy has also paid off as 42% of Click and Collect consumers identified Walmart as their first choice. This is three times more than their major competitor Target. Furthermore 50% of Click and Collect shoppers at Walmart purchased additional items at the store when they went for pickup. With a highly automated almost robotical efficiency it makes sense that Walmart's Click and Collect services are successful.
Supply Chain Automation doesn't initially seem like an integral part of omnichannel commerce but you'd be surprised. In today's digital world businesses need to optimize their workflows to increase revenue and keep a competitive edge. Moreover by systematizing and automating every aspect of the workflow it can only work to improve internal processes. One of the leaders in Supply Chain Automation is Ocado who's highly automated systems are agile promisable and work in real time. Even more impressively Ocado's warehouse robots are three times faster than Amazon's. As shown in on Ocado's Youtube Channel the Ocado Smart Platform automated fulfilment solution means serious business. The system is controlled via a 4G based wireless protocol using the most advanced real time optimisation system ever created for logistics. The robots collaborate as a swarm to pack an order of over 50 items in just a few minutes. Walmart is also leading some serious innovations in Supply Chain Automation. Soon Walmart intends on rolling out automated assistants to help streamline a series of repetitive tasks inside their brick and mortar stores. These handy new employees might become the #squadgoals that Walmart has been looking for a true R2D2 to their Luke Skywalker. There are plans to bring over 1500 more Auto-C autonomous floor cleaners 300 new Auto-S shelf scanners 1200 FAST Unloaders and 900 extra Pickup Towers to Walmart. These will help perform typical store functions such as checking inventory store maintenance sorting products and fulfilling online orders. These devices will help store associates to spend more of their time serving customers on the sales floor. Using Supply Chain Automation as a winning strategy can help drive long term and sustainable growth.
Frictionless shopping has evolved over time and with today's emphasis on technology providing a omnichannel shopping experience is integrale to keeping up with current trends and innovations. There should be an emphasis placed on creating a seamless integration between the online and in store experience. Sainsbury's has introduced a new pay and go technology in one of their busy London convenience stores that allows customers to pay on the smartphones. This high tech store has no cashiers instead shoppers are given the option to pick up their groceries and skip the checkout line altogether. The SmartShop app for Sainsbury's is available in 68 of their supermarkets. The scan pay & go trial in Clapham will take this innovation to the next level. It's not a surprise to hear that SmartShop is popular amongst Saisbury's shoppers as there are over 100000 SmartShop transactions and between 3000 and 4000 new customer registrations on a weekly basis. These technological advancements are truly bringing in the frictionless stores of the future. As contactless payments are predicted to reach $2 trillion by 2020 this trial will give shoppers an alternative method of paying quickly and conveniently in store. The typical brick and mortar shelf is static and predictable while the digital shelf is disruptive it has limitless selection focused on innovation and every digital shelf is different. By incorporating a technologically advanced in store experience you're able to create a new way to shop focused on store experience alongside convenience.
A strong Where To Buy solution could make all the difference for your brand's ecommerce strategy. Creating a unified consistent and captivating consumer experience across all channels is integral to winning at ecommerce. ChannelSight offers a unique Where To Buy solution that helps align brands with their consumers and gain valuable insights. It's as simple as a user clicking 'buy now' on a product that they are interested in. They're then presented with options and product information on the display. From there they're able to complete the purchase instantly and without pain points. It sounds simple but our Where To Buy solution helps to create sustainable value every step of the way. It's easier than you think to turn your brand's website into a shoppable site and incorporate the learnings of the E^HACKTHON London into your winning ecommerce strategy.
We came to the E^HACKATHON we absorbed everything with the enthusiasm of a new kitchen sponge and now we're back at our desks implementing the learnings we took from the E^HACKATHON London. In regards to innovation Bezos said 'What we need to do is always lean into the future. When the world changes around you and when it changes against you. What used to be a tail wind is now a head wind. You have to lean into that and figure out what to do because complaining isn't a strategy.' Yes this time the quote is actually from him. As thought leaders and industry trailblazers have realised ecommerce is disrupting everything that we know about commerce. It's up to you to find creative solutions to prepare your ecommerce strategy for sustainable growth. ChannelSight works with brands to achieve up to a 30% increase in basket size and 10% in conversion rates. If you're looking to upgrade your brand's ecommerce strategy why not get in touch for a demo?
