by Mimi Nicklin (@MimiNicklin) Can a dancing chicken make you buy more? According to Lowe’s Foods in the US, the answer is yes!
While I personally would not have confidently believed that a giant flashing chicken-chandelier installation, or life-size dancing chicken mascots and store staff, would be the solution to a retailer’s falling sales, there is a team that did just that, and it is reaping the rewards!
Changing the grocery model
Lowes Foods is a supermarket grocery store fighting against the “big boys”, with the likes of Walmart and Target just round the corner.
When the executive team came to the realisation that it wasn’t product selection but brand experience that would set it apart, with the help of Martin Lindstrom, it embarked on a journey to turn its stores into shopping experiences– changing the grocery model for and encouraging spending in its stores that it had previously been losing out on.
First of all, as described in a CNBC.com report, in each renovated store, every time a new batch of fresh hot chicken comes out the kitchen, the chandelier ‘goes off’ and the staff begin to dance — much to the delight of waiting customers!
It has to be seen to be believed — and hold on to your inner cringe while watching in the knowledge that this entertainment is responsible in part for the 23% volume turnaround (!!) in just six months:
The Pick & Prep allows shoppers to select their fruit and veg and then get a Lowe’s kitchen ‘host’ to chop, slice or julienne them to their own personal requirements.
Love to watch
Kids love to watch and talk to the hosts at work, and parents love the ease of being able to take home perfectly prepared fruit and vegetables for their favorite family recipes or snack time — the perfect balance of in-store theatre, convenience, customisation and retail entertainment.
Last month, I wrote about the the oldest principles of retail success and the need to allow shoppers to engage with, touch and taste when making shopping decisions —Lowe’s Foods has got this right, too.
The introduction of the ‘Community Table’ allows shoppers (and kids!) to sample new foods and even learn how to prepare them. The drama is all created live in-store and, of course, set next to beautiful merchandised — and easy-to-shop — displays, prompting shoppers to trial new goods.
Calmer, quicker, more-efficient
When the ‘Community Table’ isn’t full of tasters, kids are allowed to take part in craft workshops while moms shop (allowing moms a calmer, quicker, more-efficient shop) and, monthly, couponing workshops are held to teach moms how to get better value from discounting! In the bakery section, kids are allowed to blow out birthday candles on their special day.
Why would moms shop anywhere else?
The store has so far seen basket-size rise by 7%, with transaction volumes up by 23% since January 2014, reports CNBC.com.
So much for shoppers only shopping on autopilot and wanting cheap and convenient, over and above everything else!
You can compete
Lowe’s Foods knew that it couldn’t compete on volume and it knew it wasn’t a pure price-battle either: as Lindstrom told CNBC, “You can’t compete on prices because the online retailer will always win,” but you can compete with real retail experience, in-store entertainment and a “sense of community”.
However, with Lindstrom on board as a key brand consultant and a host of Walt Disney writers hired to create the storyline, this didn’t put the retailer off.
Revamp proves so much
The revamp that followed is a unique example that proves so much of what I try to convince our brands and retailers of here in South Africa. Put simply:
Experience sells, shoppers want more engagement, grocery shopping can become a destination for experience plus purchase, and, critically, that shopper marketing is not a trade promo with a prize giveaway!
According to WhyFive Brandmap data 2014, 43% of SA shoppers believe shops here (vs abroad) are worse in quality, product and service, with only 6% thinking SA has “better stores.” Further to this, the Brandmap data shows that 56% of shoppers see SA customer service as poor or terrible!
Opportunity for South Africa
The opportunity for us to learn from brands such as Lowes is wide open, and our shoppers are screaming out for improvements on all levels. After all, when there are five senses which we can appeal to when selling to people in-store, why is it in SA we so often only stick with referring to the same two?
Mimi Nicklin (@MimiNicklin) followed her passion and experience in the consumer, retail and shopper space from regional roles in Europe and Asia, to South African shores in 2010. Having led global brands through the line for Procter & Gamble, and two of London and Hong Kong’s top agencies, her background gives her an international perspective to add to her depth of SA understanding. She serves as strategic director and a partner at 34 Group. Mimi contributes the monthly “The Sell” column concerning shopper marketing to MarkLives.
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