Photo: The Canadian Press
Masked people shop at a grocery store in Moncton, NB, on Wednesday, Sept. 22, 2021. Online grocery orders rose during the pandemic as Canadians heeded public health warnings to limit excursions. As stores quickly increased online grocery and delivery services, shoppers largely tolerated product substitution and accidents. THE CANADIAN PRESS / Christopher Katsarov
Anjali Rego doesn’t mind some substitutes for online grocery orders. Replace ordinary tomatoes with cherry tomatoes? No problem.
But other changes irritate her. Replace plain meat with a plant-based substitute? No way.
“I don’t mind if you give me a different kind of tomato. But don’t confuse my meat, “said a resident of Mississauga, Ont.
“And if I order one percent milk, don’t give me two percent.”
Online grocery orders rose during the pandemic as Canadians heeded public health warnings to limit outings. As stores quickly increased online grocery and delivery services, shoppers largely tolerated strange product substitutions and accidents.
But consumers are becoming increasingly impatient about mistakes in online food orders, experts say.
Stores that do not improve online grocery errors could lose sales – especially as the supply chain and the sixth wave of COVID-19 may increase the need for replacements, they say.
“In online grocery stores, customer experience is about how you fulfill your order,” said Frank Curetas, Orckestra’s chief product officer.
Misunderstand and new customers may avoid shopping for groceries online again, while experienced online food buyers may switch stores, he said.
“From the customer’s point of view, it’s hard to see why the store made a mistake,” says Kuretas. “And it’s easy to go wrong without the right technology.”
Orckestra, an e-commerce solution provider from MDF Commerce Inc., based in Longueuil, Que., Has developed a technical solution to address the problem of food substitution.
“Substitutions are unique to food,” says Kuretas. “Sports experts will not replace my (Nike) Air Force 1 with Adidas – they either have them in stock or not.
“But you have volatile inventory in groceries and substitutions are happening – that’s why you hear terrible stories about substitutions.”
Tales of replacing online grocery orders have become legendary near the city: ground beef instead of tofu, candles instead of light bulbs, flour instead of gluten-free baking mix, many nappa cabbage heads instead of baby bok choy.
Others include mixed amounts, such as 10 pounds of bananas instead of 10 bananas, or more common but irritating substitutes such as fresh oregano instead of fresh coriander.
“The decision on how to replace it is complex and extremely personal for each customer,” said Srini Venkatesan, executive vice president of Walmart Global Tech, in a blog post last June.
Take, for example, a store that ran out of cherry yogurt. Whether to choose another fruit flavor, such as strawberry or blueberry, or to choose instead a simple or different brand in general, is not an easy choice and can vary from customer to customer.
“There are almost 100 different factors that can be involved in this decision,” Venkatesan said in a blog post. “Trying to take all this into account would not only be too difficult, but it would take an incredible amount of time.
“If the wrong choice is made, it can negatively affect customer satisfaction and increase costs.
Most stores allow customers to choose whether to allow replacements or not. But by default, replacements are usually allowed, and changing them can be cumbersome.
Stores refund the item if the customer is not happy with the replacement, but the inconvenience of asking for a refund for customers and the loss of potential store sales makes it a loss solution.
The situation has led some retailers to turn to technology and artificial intelligence to help personal shoppers, sometimes called packers or collectors, make the right choices for customers and dispel speculation.
Orckestra, for example, has developed what Kuretas calls the “order selection application”.
“He provides the right feedback to ensure that the person choosing the orders doesn’t make mistakes,” he said.
The technology can improve both online grocery swapping and customer satisfaction, especially when tailored to the retailer, Kuretas said.
Orckestra works with major grocers such as IGA and Aldi, a German discount supermarket chain to improve their online grocery ordering and picking system.
Kuretas says employee training is also crucial.
“I can’t stress enough the importance of training,” he said. “Having trained employees who know the store, who know the products and who understand how to replace the products will improve the results.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on April 24, 2022.
Companies in this story: (TSX: MDF)
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