The ecommerce boom and ever-increasing consumer demands for more digital and personalised services are rapidly changing the business of liquor retail. Kelly Brown explains why liquor retailers are overhauling how they plan, build and deliver their CX, and shares three steps to take to remain relevant.
Customers now expect retailers to offer convenience, speed and value throughout the end-to-end shopping journey. They are more discerning and impatient, and don’t care that it can be hard to deliver – they only care about a great experience.
That is driving a massive shift in how liquor retailers plan, build and deliver their customer experience.
The retailers making the first move know that a compelling bricks-and-mortar presence blended with an improved digital offering can be leveraged for competitive advantage.
And that means seamlessly integrating all backend systems and channels to deliver experiences that align with customer expectations.
However, it’s complicated.
While liquor retail has always been challenging – fast service is non-negotiable, staff require specialised knowledge and transaction volumes are highly variable – this requires a fundamental transformation of the standard business model.
Liquor retail has been a laggard in creating new digital experiences and investing in technology to improve front- and back-end operations. Many liquor retailers have legacy solutions that are no longer fit for purpose and have bolted on solutions for the digital space that don’t easily integrate.
And they struggle to support their customers’ current omnichannel demands, let alone the personalised ‘phygital’ shopping journeys now expected by post-pandemic, digitally savvy consumers.
So what steps can you take to differentiate your liquor retail business?
Here’s a three-pronged strategy that will help create the distinctive omnichannel experiences customers now expect:
1. Pivot into retail media services
To remain relevant and competitive in the future, you’ll need to venture beyond traditional retailing and enter new service categories with a higher level of profitability.
Retail media networks are emerging as one example in retail. Liquor retailers are monetising their existing data and channels by introducing state-of-the-art digital screens closer to the point of purchase, creating a raft of opportunities for alcohol brands to advertise.
With the demise of revenue from third-party cookies, retail media helps alcohol brands reach the right audience - people who want to purchase alcohol and are legally entitled to do so - and drive higher conversions that increase sales. And as online alcohol sales grow – 15.2% growth is expected between 2022 to 2030 - so will advertising revenues for retailers.
2. Deliver a unified customer experience
Focus on the end-to-end needs of your customers and revamp the customer journey to expand your relationship beyond quick visits to stock up on beverages.
That means making purchasing online and in stores seamless and convenient through endless aisle, digital payments and ‘buy anywhere, fulfil anywhere’ services coupled with fast and flexible delivery options.
Take advantage of the shift in preference for neighbourhood shopping, with local product ranges tailored to each location and community, supported by bespoke promotional programmes.
And you’ll need to create true omnichannel experiences that seamlessly integrate physical and digital channels to create personalised customer communications, offers, experiences and rewards across in-store and digital touchpoints.
3. Embrace complexity to build new capabilities
To revamp your business and aggressively embrace innovation and new technologies, you’ll need to develop new expertise and capabilities. That will introduce more complexity into your organisation, with sales channels becoming less physical and more digital.
You’ll want a retail platform that connects your physical and digital channels to let you deliver customer experiences that provide the convenience, speed and variety customers demand. Embrace agile working to innovate and get products to market faster. And by using APIs, you can create an ecosystem of partnerships to deploy new apps, services, channels and devices.
Want help to differentiate your liquor business?
If you want to create distinctive and frictionless customer experiences across all physical and digital channels, get in touch. We’d love to help you develop a unified customer journey.
For more on how to deliver every customer a personalised, fast and seamless experience, download our new ebook:
