In my work with clients, it’s become clear to me that retailers are at an inflection point. As the pandemic subsides, and after months of limited in-store and in-person experiences, customers are returning – but to what? So much has changed: the retail landscape, our individual habits and all kinds of new shopping options and combinations. But with change comes opportunity — the opportunity to reimagine the store experience that customers will be returning to.

Located in downtown Stockholm, Sweden, and having recently invested in a new store layout, ICA-Roslagstull wanted to build on that initiative by enhancing the grocery shopping experience. Store owner Peter Dinehage wanted to make his store a “grocery foodie experience,” coupling great food selections with inspirational offerings and locally sourced products. And he knew that to turn his vision into reality would require the addition of differentiating digital experiences.

We love technology at Avanade. It’s music to our ears. But we also recognize that technology is a lever, a way to create value and make things better for customers, employees and retailers alike. Coupling our outcome-oriented approach with ICA-Roslagstull’s desire to better delight their customers and enable team members to focus on customer-facing responsibilities, allowed for open-ended discussions and close collaboration from day one.

Using Avanade’s Intelligent Store Framework, built on the Microsoft ecosystem and in partnership with Ombori, we developed and implemented three specific modules for ICA-Roslagstull: Customer Attention, Shelf Attention and Floor Attention.

ICA-Roslagstull team members now receive near-real-time notifications on their mobile devices about occurrences happening in any of these three areas. These notifications are powered by match-making algorithms that allow for the right signal to be sent to the right individual at the right time. This enables team members to react as and when needed rather than strictly adhering to a prearranged schedule. Powered by Avanade’s Intelligent Store Framework all notifications can be viewed via a web application, visualized by service via a store map, and ultimately aggregated for additional insights and learnings.

Unattended shelves lead to lost sales, lower customer satisfaction or both
To ensure customers have access to the products they desire, team members would ordinarily need to continually monitor shelves manually to spot empty spaces that are in need of restocking, which reduces the time they spend on other valuable tasks within the store, such as serving customers.

By using cameras and AI vision shelf-attention algorithms, Avanade developed the Shelf Attention module, which allows for more reliable product accessibility for customers, reduced lost sales and optimized sales opportunities. Coupling the AI vision algorithms with near-real-time notifications enables team members to increase effectiveness and efficiency.

First impressions count
Products should be on the shelf and not on the floor. Clean, unobstructed floors allow for a safer environment where customers can better do their shopping, leading to more satisfied customers and increased Net Promoter Score (NPS).

Avanade’s Floor Attention AI vision module sends notifications when something unexpected ends up on the floor. This allows for more immediate remediation, quick elimination of safety concerns, increased product accessibility and reduced lost sales.

Powering the experiential part of the customer visit
Touching, feeling and learning more about products are all important aspects of what customers are looking for, especially in a grocery store. Working with Ombori, we provided an enhanced digital signage experience as a way to expand customer expectation and delight. Using Avanade’s Intelligent Store Framework, we coupled Ombori’s in-store digital signage with our Shelf Attention module to provide customers with product information and up-to-date availability, helping them make more informed shopping decisions.

Using these modules, ICA-Roslagstull is on its way to integrating the physical and digital worlds. On a practical level that means data produced in one experience can be used as input for the next experience, ultimately creating a digital feedback loop, which enhances all experiences and drives effectiveness and efficiency. Collectively, this enables employees to focus on what’s most important to the customer and drive a better customer experience that will help to attract and retain customers.

The foundation powering all of this is Avanade’s Intelligent Store Framework. With this approach, retailers have the ability to deliver scaled value through the combined effects of coordinated systems working together to unlock value, as opposed to technologies that work in isolation to solve singular problems. Because at the end of the day you don't need to prove the technology. You need to find real customer problems and prove that fixing them will lead to ROI.

To learn more, please download our Avanade’s Intelligent Store whitepaper, co-authored with Microsoft, or contact your local Avanade representative to schedule a one-on-one introductory session to better understand how Avanade and Microsoft can help meet tomorrow’s opportunities today.