The COVID-19 outbreak has caused a drastic shift in customer priorities. Where shoppers once valued low prices and unique experiences, they are now focused on speed and efficiency.
Shopping is no longer seen as a leisure activity. With the growth of new COVID-19 variants, your customers are keen to get in and out as quickly as possible:
- 31% of shoppers are spending less time in store as a result of COVID-19.
- 64% of UK shoppers are avoiding busy stores due to health concerns.
- 48% of UK consumers plan to avoid busy destinations after the pandemic.
Alongside safety concerns, the rise of internet shopping has had a marked effect on your customers’ patience. With Amazon making one click ordering and same day delivery the norm, customers have become less willing to wait:
- 51% of online stores offered same day delivery in 2018. The figure is now estimated to be at least 65%.
- 38% of customers say that online shopping has made them less patient than they were 5 years ago.
- 61% of shoppers would be unlikely to return to a store with long queues.
Contact us to find out how we help cut queue times
Speed is good for colleagues too
It is not just your customers who want a streamlined shopping experience. Colleagues are also keen to maximise efficiency. This was clear from our recent survey of retail colleagues:
- 38% feel they could offer better service if they had access to technology that improved efficiency.
- 34% think that it takes too long to find information.
- 26% say that trying to find information for customers is the biggest cause of inefficiency.
Read the full report here
Save time without cutting corners
Every piece of VoCoVo kit is designed to streamline day to day tasks without sacrificing customer service. We do this in two main ways: improving task efficiency and reducing walking distance.
Every second counts
VoCoVo improves task efficiency by eliminating friction. We have identified the most common causes of inefficiency on the shop floor and our products are designed to rectify these:
- Headsets allow colleagues to answer customer queries and phone calls remotely. You can continue working while you respond, rather than pausing to deal with questions.
- If you are unable to answer a query, you can transfer the customer to a more knowledgeable colleague. This saves you the trouble of tracking down the information yourself.
- Personalised Voice Reminders ensure that important tasks are not missed. Managers can send reminders to all colleague headsets or to individual colleagues or selected departments. When a colleague has completed a task, they can mark it as finished by saying ‘Task complete.’
These small increases in efficiency add up over the course of the day. Our research shows that we can save your team an average of 67 minutes per day in task efficiency alone. In larger stores, this increases to 105 minutes. Not only does this mean better customer service- it also saves you money. Saving 105 minutes a day could save you £111 per week per store.
Find out how much time you could save with our team time saver calculator
Less walking, more working
Walking is a major cause of inefficiency, especially in larger stores. With VoCoVo, distance is no object. Colleagues are always just a button press away, wherever they are in the store:
- Check stock levels without walking to the stockroom.
- Request information without seeking out colleagues.
- Answer customer queries without tracking down the customer.
- Call for checkout assistance without leaving the till.
This may be bad news for your pedometer, but it’s great news for your bank account. VoCoVo reduces walking distance by an average of 1.4KM per colleague per day. This translates into a saving of £442 per week per store.
Reducing walking distance and improving task efficiency is a win-win. You save money and your customers get a better service. We’re always looking for new ways to save you time, so get in touch for the latest tips.