(exciting music)
Linda: This is retail today.
Omni-channel, multi-purpose, personalized.
Amplify these and a core story emerges.
It's the future of retail right now.
I'm Linda Zou, a partner at BCG.
Today, we are taking you to China
to hear from one of our leading subject matter experts,
Joseph Sun.
Joseph is speaking to us from BCG's Digital Immersion Center
in Shenzhen.
Joseph: Today, we're focusing on innovations in grocery
with examples from Alibaba's Hema stores,
and Tao Heung Superstore.
Stay with us as we will be jumping
between both stores in order to unlock the whole story.
We're all familiar with the traditional customer channels
of online and offline in the store.
What we're starting to see now
is a new customer journey blending,
which does not distinguish between
online and offline shopping.
Linda: We've been talking about omni-channel
for a while now.
What's new or different here?
Joseph: Let us take a look.
Inside Hema, customers can use the mobile app
to scan a product in store
and unlock more information about it.
There will be auxiliaries
like information about the product,
the company that makes it, cooking instructions,
nutrition facts, and pricing.
Linda: Has this led to any changes to the physical store?
Joseph: Absolutely.
At Tao Heung, there are in-store digital displays
that function much like the product scanning at Hema.
Using a mobile app, customers scan barcodes.
This takes them to a page on their mobile app
where they can access the discounts.
Linda: Do these apps also connect with online ordering?
Joseph: They do.
At Hema, customers use the product barcodes
to add that exact product to online ordering
with employees packaging their order
and delivering straight
from the store to their doorstep within 30 minutes.
Linda: I think what we see here
in omni-channel has evolved into a retail experience
which offers infinite pathways for shoppers.
The shopper is empowered to complete their journey
without thinking about which channel
or format they want to shop in.
Looking at multi-purpose retail,
what's the pathway for customers
who want to spend more time in store?
Joseph: There is a great example at Hema
where we can find in-store restaurants.
Customers can have a full meal prepared
as well as getting their own groceries cooked for them.
Customers choose whether they want fresh ingredients,
semi-cooked food, or even a full meal.
And it's all happening in one place.
It is about meeting the different needs
of the customer within the same store and customer journey.
Linda: And that's a great segue to our next topic.
What truly enables these infinite pathways
is data which creates loyalty with shoppers.
Joseph: At Hema, customers are asked to download an app.
This enables Hema to collect the customer data.
Linda: And it's important to note
that there must be a two-way trust here.
Joseph: With this trust customers give their loyalty
and share their information and preferences because
they know they will receive helpful interactions
in response.
Personalized product offers are key
as well as tailored assortments and personal promotions.
It is all about offering a high level
of convenience, and data helps to simplify this experience.
Linda: Joseph, this has been very insightful.
A great look into what the future of retail looks like.
Shenzhen is just one look into the future of retail.
And this is not just about retail in China
or for grocery formats
and those who already have these capabilities.
This is a future that can inspire every retailer
to think about their own future
and how they want to get there.
Our BCG team works with retailers
around the globe to take inspiration
such as what we saw today,
and apply it to their own unique businesses,
geographic markets, and their customers.
Join us next time as we travel to a new region
in the global future of retail.