Supermarkets Spend Big On IT, Preparing To Fight Wal-Mart
Written by Evan SchumanAugust 8th, 2007
With many trying to out-service and out-specialize Wal-Mart, grocery chains are looking to spend more than $9 billion over the next year, according to a new report from the IHL Consulting Group.
One of the big trouble spots that IHL saw for grocery chains is the lackluster performance of many loyalty programs, which IHL President Greg Buzek attributes to most retailers deploying the packages poorly. The programs are generally used more as discount programs ("come in with your card and you'll get discounts on 400 specially-marked items") than as an attempt to understand individual customer's buying habits and to make their experiences better, Buzek said.
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One Comment | Read Supermarkets Spend Big On IT, Preparing To Fight Wal-Mart
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Our Comment SPAM system is getting very aggressive these days and has been blocking legitimate comments. If you post a comment and don't see it appear within 2 hours or so, can you please send a heads-up to customer-service@storefrontbacktalk? Ideally, please include the time you posted the comment. That will allow us to try and hunt for it. Thanks! P.S. We're working on fixing the system, but we don't want to lose any valuable comments in the meantime.
Our Comment SPAM system is getting very aggressive these days and has been blocking legitimate comments. If you post a comment and don't see it appear within 2 hours or so, can you please send a heads-up to customer-service@storefrontbacktalk? Ideally, please include the time you posted the comment. That will allow us to try and hunt for it. Thanks! P.S. We're working on fixing the system, but we don't want to lose any valuable comments in the meantime.
-Ed
August 20th, 2007 at 10:46 pm
What most retailers forget is the last yard of the supply chain. I heard an interesting quote from a retailer in the UK who said “It costs me more to get a bottle of wine from the stock room to the shelf than it does from Australia to my stock room!”. As always, the final yard is the most difficult but it offers retailers a real way to improve the customer experience. Have the right product on the shelf…and if you need to bring it from the stockroom then do it quickly and efficiently.