Wal-Mart’s produce area has been lacking customer appeal. It didn’t take long to notice the lack of sales equated to an area of improvement. Improving customer experience is exactly what they are doing.
Customer Experience Improvements
In a Bloomberg article, Wal-Mart leaders open up about the steps they have taken to improve their produce department.
1. Local Suppliers: Wal-Mart’s increase in using local suppliers had a profound improvement on produce quality. Local suppliers have worked hard to provide Wal-Mart with the freshest produce.
2. Product replenishment: Ditching old school restocking techniques, Wal-Mart went automated to improve produce stocking requirements. Now the produce is stocked according to consumer demands, which means waste reduction for the retailer.
3. Produce display: Wal-Mart updated their in store signs, displays, and produce arrangement to have a better visual appeal.
Wal-Mart’s initiative to answer the needs of consumers is improving sales. In a recession, Wal-Mart’s strength is low prices. In the end, it will be the customer experience which will keep consumers shopping or switching.
Successful Improvements
Wal-Mart’s move to improve customer experience can be replicated by others. The three essential components to Wal-Mart’s success includes:
1) Quality: Wal-Mart found local suppliers are the best source of fresh produce. Quality is king when it comes to product. Low prices doesn’t always win customers when the quality is lacking. No matter what product you are aiming to sell, make sure the quality is representative of your retail brand.
2) Customer Needs: Paying attention to the metrics and reports which show what products are in high demand are incredible important. Customer’s become discouraged from shopping when they cannot rely on replenishment of favorite brands or items. Make it priority to dedicate resources to understanding your customer shopping behavior.
3) The eye buys: Premium placement and well maintained product displays is the heart of an in store promotion. Unless there is sufficient product placement and promotion, customers can easily overlook possible your best product asset. Be sure to take pride in your product displays.
