Year in Review: Digital Transformation in the Food Industry

While eCommerce is growing at a rapid pace, the grocery retail sector has been slow to adopt digital transformation strategies. However, this is beginning to change, as more and more grocery retailers realize the importance of eCommerce in today’s market. 

Customers are increasingly spending time online, and they expect to be able to buy groceries online as well. Already last year, global e-commerce sales topped 5.2 trillion US dollars, and this figure is anticipated to soar in the coming years.

There are many reasons why Local Express is the best choice for helping you digitize your multi-location grocery retail business. We offer a comprehensive solution that includes a mobile app, eCommerce website, self-service kiosks, POS integration, and much more. Our solution is designed to help you improve customer satisfaction, reduce operational costs, and boost sales.

In this blog post, we will discuss some of the key factors driving digital transformation in the grocery retail sector and most importantly, how Local Express can help you make the digital transition.

Mobile Application: Changing the Way Your Customers Shop

Having a mobile app that facilitates a simple purchasing process for customers is crucial. Modern customers want the ability to shop and purchase when and where they want, and that means offering a mobile app. 

Local Express offers a mobile application that allows customers to order groceries, meat, and bakery online and pick them up at a store of their choice, as well as have them delivered to their door. We can create unique mobile applications with our drag-and-drop mobile app builder.

What’s more, the app offers real-time tracking of orders, that way customers always know when their groceries will be ready for pick-up or delivery. There is also a built-in chat function available that allows customers to get in touch with the vendor should they have any questions or concerns.

Multichannel vs. Omnichannel

As noted above, modern customers want the ability to browse, purchase, and receive goods when and where they want. They want the freedom and flexibility to buy online and pick-up in-store, buy online and get products delivered, buy in-store entirely, or however they prefer to buy. 

For food retailers, that means you need an omnichannel presence. While focusing on a few channels and going multichannel may seem like enough, you need to provide a seamless and cohesive experience across all channels if you want to satisfy your customers. 

Local Express provides everything you need for a modern, omnichannel experience. From a mobile app and in-store kiosks to delivery options and integrations, you’ll have everything you need to ensure a cohesive branded experience no matter how your customers are shopping. 

By having an omnichannel presence, it’s possible to reach more customers and build your brand and customer base. On top of that, you can ensure that your customers are satisfied and have their needs met. 

Self Checkout For Grocery Retail

Empower your shoppers to self-check out using their mobile phones in your store. 

With Local Express they can scan the barcodes of the items they wish to purchase and pay using Scan, Pay, and Go–all without having to queue at a traditional till point. This not only saves time for customers but also reduces congestion in stores during busy periods.

What’s more, our self-checkout solution is fully integrated with our shipping and delivery options, so customers can choose to have their groceries delivered to their door or pick them up at a time that suits them.

SCAN

Your in-store customers scan items with the mobile app to add them to the shopping cart. All promotions and sales will be automatically applied.

1. Scan while shopping or find it in the directory.

2. Bag as you go.

3. Get savings

4. Find products in store.

PAY

Skip the line and pay in-app or on Kiosk.

1. Checkout in seconds.

2. Pay in the App or in Kiosk.

3. Use Apple Pay, Google Pay, credit card, EBT support, or other payment methods.

GO

Change the way your customers shop; empower your customers to smart shop with a seamless checkout process.

1. Loss prevention.

2. Staff app for order scanning.

3. Collect your customer data.

Sell More With a Self-Serve Kiosk System

Self-serve kiosks are a cross-platform solution that provides the right tools to instantly sell and update products on any device at any location. Scale your business with a robust self-serve kiosk system that includes everything you need to sell in-store, online, and everywhere in between.

You can improve your customers’ in-store experience with kiosks as well. They will allow you to:

Increase Your Profit

1. Additional purchases with upsells suggested via customer data. 

2. Fewer employees needed for ordering lanes, which means time-saving benefits for you.

Raise Customer Satisfaction

1. No queues and long waiting.

2. Improved grocery experience with more order customization.

3. Utilize a variety of payment methods. 

Get to Know Your Customers

1. Collect detailed data on customers’ preferences.

2. Use customer data for precise targeting.

3. Increase revenue via upsells. 

4. Simple set-up, even if you have thousands of products.

Streamline Prepared Food with a Kitchen Display System

In recent years, prepared food has become more and more popular. For grocers and other food retailers, this means focusing on your prepared food offerings is key to customer satisfaction and increased revenue. 

At Local Express, we provide a kitchen display system (KDS) that can help you streamline your prepared food operations. With cloud printing and department splitting, you can ensure that tickets get sent to the correct departments and are filled quickly. 

Our KDS also allows for simple, one-click management from one dashboard. This can help save time both in management and regular operations. Besides that, our KDS also allows for easy menu customization, allowing you to make the most of seasonal offerings and sales. 

Last Mile Delivery Management

Delivery is key in the modern era for grocers, which is why we’ve worked hard to ensure we provide a robust and functional delivery system.

Our one-click local 3rd-party delivery bidding system has more than 100 delivery service partners, including Doordash and Uber Eats. The system is integrated with eCommerce, POS, and in-store inventory for real-time order accuracy. 

It also auto-assigns delivery windows to ensure on-time delivery, as well as driver tracking and live customer notifications. All of that helps provide a seamless customer experience.

Last-mile delivery includes standard delivery, store pick-up, and shipping. That’s not all though; our last-mile delivery management solution also offers:

1. A streamlined process for receiving and managing online orders.

2. The ability to offer delivery from multiple locations.

3. An easy way to find and book the best delivery service providers.

4. Real-time tracking of driver location and progress.

5. Live customer notifications.

6. 24/365 customer support.

5 Key Points For Easy And Fast Digital Transformation

Nearly 25% of grocery shopping is happening online. Your customers want a better online shopping experience—are you ready? 

Local Express is your all-in-one solution for competing (and winning) against the big players in the eCommerce space. This is how we help you get there!

Big box companies have big tech budgets and teams of engineers, and you don’t. But that’s ok; Local Express has everything you need to outcompete national brands in your local market. Some eCommerce solutions just deliver the software and leave the rest up to you—not Local Express. 

We provide full onboarding and ongoing dispatch support to ensure that you’re up and running without any unexpected challenges. Additionally, we help you create and merge an online marketing plan so you can keep your core customers happy and help attract new ones.

Here are five key ways in which Local Express can help you quickly and successfully undergo a digital transformation:

1. Store Frontend: Create a Branded Experience

Quickly build a custom-branded eCommerce store with pre-built, customizable templates. Create your own customer experience and manage your own customers.

1. Responsive interface styled by you.

2. Personalized products protected with your watermark.

3. A pre-set-up library with 1,000+ product items.

4. 24/7 technical support.

2. Store Backend: More Efficient Inventory Management

Easily manage the backend with one dashboard to track orders and manage items. Your online store and mobile app are always synced, so you never have to worry about inventory updates.

1. Admin dashboard to track everything in one place, even across multiple stores/locations.

2. Order and category management system.

3. Staff management system with multi-level permission settings.

3. Delivery Ecosystem: Become the Best Local Delivery Option

Deliver your products fast in a comfortable way, ensuring customer satisfaction. Manage and track your deliveries with full transparency.

1. Expand your business with nationwide shipping (US & Canada).

2. Automatically optimize delivery time and cost with a multi-vendor system for regular and rush orders.

3. Streamline logistics and tracking with a fully integrated delivery driver app.

4. Marketing Tools and Support: AI Merchandising and More

Get the help you need to build a strategy and make the most of your online marketing budget with smart analytics, SEO, and automated email campaigns.

1. Hands-on marketing assistance.

2. Access to a wide range of marketing and customer communication apps.

3. Your own data hub of customers and subscribers.

Local Express also offers AI merchandising, which can be an incredibly powerful tool. Instead of spending time to merchandise your products, let our AI informed by customer data make intelligent decisions for you. 

And if you want to fine tune your merchandising and do it yourself, we also offer simple and easy manual merchandising. No matter how you want to merchandise, we have the needed tools available.

5. Easy Integrations: Automate Your Catalog From Conception to Completion

Local Express can quickly integrate with any system you already have, saving you tons of time. Plus, you can build brand loyalty and manage your store with numerous pre-integrated apps.

1. Integrate point of sale (POS) and self-serve kiosks.

2. Attract customers with coupons and loyalty programs.

3. Enable multiple payment methods.

4. Stay top-of-mind and inform customers with SMS and push notifications.

The Bottom Line: Join the Local Grocers’ Digital eCommerce Revolution

As eCommerce continues to grow, it’s important for local grocery stores to keep up with the competition. By investing in a digital transformation, you can level the playing field and provide your customers with the same convenient shopping experience they’ve come to expect from big-box retailers.

The digital transformation of food retail is inevitable; it’s time to move forward and join the eCommerce revolution! 

With Local Express, you can be up and running in no time with a fully featured mobile app that will help you sell more and serve your customers better. Contact us today to find out more. Get Started Today!