The Changing Landscape of Grocery Shopping

Will Seniors Adapt?

As online grocery shopping and the convenience it offers grows in popularity, physical grocery stores are adopting technologies that can allow them to better compete for shoppers' attention.  Well beyond a shopping app or loyalty program, AR navigation will soon guide users to items from their digital shopping list (Dent Reality), electronic shelf displays are replacing paper price tags with personalized pricing incentives (Kroger), robots are being used to monitor shelf inventory (Walmart), and it's becoming common to pay for groceries using a smartphone (Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal). 

Amazon has even taken this a step further by implementing a cashier-less and cash-free shopping experience.  By using the Amazon Go app to enter one of their stores, sensors detect when products are taken from shelves and placed into a bag/cart. Once finished, shoppers leave the store without interacting with a cashier or having to pass through a checkout lane, the groceries are charged to the user's Amazon account, and an itemized receipt is sent through the app.

Because the grocery shopping experience has remained mostly unchanged for decades, this shift to technology can feel sudden and the idea of walking out of a store without the payment process can be uncomfortable.  However, because these changes are cost-efficient for companies and require less physical contact (needed in a post-Covid world), grocery store chains are beginning to implement the technologies broadly.  Younger shoppers are also adapting to the changes quickly and are welcoming the conveniences they provide. 

While these technologies should make it easier for seniors to shop, for many though, it creates new challenges for them to buy the things they need. So how can you assist your loved one with these changes in grocery tech? The easiest way is to help them understand how the process works; show them how AR guidance can help to find products with less effort, explain how digital payments are more secure, and teach them the terminology they’ll need to know if they need to ask for assistance (most grocery stores have trained staff on hand to explain how to use it).   

Once they’ve understood the process, allow them to establish trust with the technology through other low-cost/low-risk comfort item purchases (a cup of coffee at Starbucks, a meal at McDonald's, or a soda from an Amazon Go store). This helps to reinforce the habit of using technology like digital payments and can make it easier to trust in other environments (like at a hardware store or shopping mall).  As with any new process, it may take several tries before they understand it, but with persistence and patience, your aging parent(s) can feel empowered by these changes instead of fearing them.

https://www.amazon.com/b?node=16008589011

Tags: #groceryshopping, #amazongo, #applepay, #googlepay, #digitalpayment, #digitalwallet, #grocery