scanning shoppers
The Container Store looks like they’re doing something interesting in their Manhattan store: GoShop! Scan & Deliver.
You just shop, scan and go! You don’t have to push a shopping cart around, you’ll enjoy faster checkout and you don’t have to haul your purchases home. It will all be delivered to you anywhere in Manhattan – the same day if you’d like – for just $15.
Potential upside: lighter psychological burden of lugging things around the store could lead to higher average tickets (I scan it, it’s mine); home delivery means high cost real estate could be better used for merchandising, and shift delivery-bound inventory to lower cost warehouse space. Potential downside: customer education and real time tech support. Trap to avoid: merchandising in the scanner itself; the customer’s already in a rich retail environment, don’t annoy them with “you may also be interested in…” messages and make them read the screen more than they have to.