Leveraging technology and store design for online picking efficiency
As retailers continue to rely on their main locations to fill digital demand, many are trying to boost efficiency and quality through enhanced training, technology and store layouts.
Picking online orders is still causing headaches for grocers on multiple fronts, with customers often groaning about inadequate substitutions or bruised produce and in-store shoppers jostling with e-commerce workers to select products in the aisles.
Major players like Kroger are looking to solve those dilemmas with dedicated fulfillment sites for online orders and automation that takes the burden of order picking off store associates and gig workers. But many other grocers continue to rely on in-store fulfillment for online orders. Sometimes this is by choice — Walmart, for example, is leaning on its existing retail locations’ proximity to customers to help fulfill online orders — and sometimes it’s due to financial constraints that keep them from investing in off-site e-commerce infrastructure.
Sources in the industry outlined three key areas grocers can invest in to help make in-store order picking more efficient while also offering a quality experience to both in-store and online customers: store design, technology and training.
As an incentive to step up e-commerce fulfillment, some companies, like SpartanNash and Shipt, have positioned their workers as high-touch personal shoppers and promoted their services as a competitive advantage.
