Category: Retail & Grocery

This checklist includes considerations for retail mystery shopping programs.

What kind of an impact will the new health care laws have on customer dining out experiences?

As restaurants adjust to new laws on healthcare for employees who work more than 30 hours per week, managers will juggle employee schedules and budgets even more so than in the past. The restaurant industry's reliance on part time workers ensures that the industry will feel a big impact when the new law comes into play in 2014. Some restaurants, such as Darden Restaurants, whose concepts includes Red Lobster, Olive Garden and Longhorn Steakhouse, will reassess the number of employees who will receive health benefits within the law and determine ways to manage the increased benefits costs . Other restaurants, such as Panera, say that for now, they have no plans to adjust employee hours because of the new law. Still others worry about the ability to afford good people in order to provide good service at their restaurants.

Several restaurants are preparing now. Darden Restaurants is currently testing the limiting of staff hours at some locations. No doubt, management will evaluate

Do you worry about lost sales opportunities and less than perfect customer experiences when your associates interact with customers? Does it worry you even more to think of situations when customers visit with a specific item in mind, only to find the item not on your shelf? When customers visit your location with a product in mind and don’t find it, negative customer experiences are not the only result. After experiencing this frustration, customers may return; however some opt to shop at another store where they feel more confident about finding items on the shelf. In fact, fifty percent of those who encounter an OOS will visit another store to find the item. The most frustrating piece

We recently saw a communication from one of our grocery store clients. A store manager received his mystery shopping report and reminded his employees, “Remember, exceptional service is our best weapon. WalMart is right across the street!”

In the war among grocery retailers, competition for new customers remains fierce. Grocery consumers remain store-loyal and non-traditional grocery stores continue to enter the grocery playing field. Giants like Wal-Mart and Target add even more intensity to the competitive mix. Given these challenges, it’s no wonder that many grocery store chains have mystery shopping in their arsenal. For some grocery retailers, mystery shops go beyond

The shift in the way that retail associates and customers interact in today’s store environment is dramatic.  Before, customers simply entered the store, interacted with a salesperson, found the right item, and paid for it at list price.

Now, because consumers capture competitive product details swiftly with the tap of a mobile device, they challenge store employees to provide popular products at the lowest price. Customers call the shots, while retail managers do their best to guide employees toward effective interaction with this sophisticated segment.

Elaine Buxton, President of Confero, recently spoke with Software Advice about this topic, in the  article “Empowering Associates to Assist the Educated Consumer.” She comments on the major challenges of arming employees