Why retailers should enable households to shop as a team

This article originally appeared on Supermarket News.

According to FMI’s “U.S. Grocery Shopper Trends 2016” report, more households than ever are sharing grocery shopping responsibilities, with 33% of adults saying they share the responsibility or are secondary household shoppers but not the primary decision-maker. With multiple adults in the household making decisions or shopping, things can get confusing. Grocery store operators can use this opportunity for shoppers to further engage with their store loyalty app.

Shopping lists

Whether households are using a “divide and conquer” strategy or one member is doing the majority of the grocery shopping, a shared in-store loyalty app gives shoppers the opportunity to share shopping lists and access promotions. Shoppers no longer need to make a long handwritten list for their partners or worry about forgetting an item and calling or texting a reminder. The primary decision-maker can simply update the list in the app to make sure their shopping partner has the latest information before or during their shopping visit.

If shoppers are using a divide and conquer strategy, they can split the list using the store map feature in the app based on the provided location of in-store items, making the most of their valuable time and ensuring all groceries are purchased for the week. Detailed in-app shopping lists also help guarantee that the correct brand, quantity, size, or any combination of options and preferences are correctly purchased.

Promotions

Using the in-app digital coupons and promotions created by both the retailer and brands further simplify the task of household shopping. There is no need for shoppers to worry about their partner forgetting the coupon binder because all of the offers can be found at their fingertips. If two shoppers share a loyalty app, grocers can get a more accurate view of the entire household and their wants and needs, which can lead to increased basket size and sales.

Stay connected

In today’s massive supermarkets, it’s easy enough to find yourself wandering off your planned path. When you’re team shopping with a partner, you also have to keep track of your shopping partner. Loyalty apps that are connected to beacon technology can become a valuable asset to team shopping. By simply adding a location finding feature to the app, the retailer and technology solution provider can easily use the beacon technology to allow shoppers to keep tabs on their shopping partners; with the help of beacons, you can easily find someone’s in-store location and keep track of when it is time to head to the register to checkout.

All around, the use of a shared in-store loyalty app when grocery shopping as a team can make each outing more efficient and successful. In addition, the app makes sure customers are taking advantage of promotions and sales, increasing their basket sizes and growing profits for supermarket retailers. Perhaps, most importantly, a loyalty app can remove any uncertainties from the shopping experience, making shopping in a busy supermarket and weekly meal prep less stressful and more pleasant for today’s incredibly busy adults and families.

To view the original article as it appeared on Supermarket News click here.