1

Introduction

Guy RedwoodFounder & MD of SimpleUsability

Leading by example here in Leeds

SimpleUsability Founder and MD Guy Redwood kicked off the conference by introducing Leeds as the centre of online grocery excellence. Home to some of the biggest names in the industry including ASDA and Morrisons, Leeds has seen some brilliant innovation and development.

From early glimpses of online shopping capability, right through to the emergence of voice-enabled shopping, Guy passed over to the experts to explain why Leeds is worthy of this title…

The Retailers

Susie Spencer Senior Manager UX – Walmart, UK Market

First up was Susie Spencer, talking us through the evolution of online grocery at ASDA and what they have learnt along the way.

Starting in 1998, ASDA first began delivering to customers, and a year later in 1999, ASDA launched its first online grocery website. In 2007 Walmart, who acquired Asda in 1999, overhauled the Groceries platform here in Leeds and since this we’ve seen the launch of their mobile application (2011-2012), a complete multi-channel redesign (2012-2013), the creation of a responsive site (2014-2015), and a shift in culture to “refine it, don’t redesign it”, with a commitment to listening to their customers, to reiterate designs and continually improve their online platforms.

The most recent development of 2018 has seen the integration of voice into a customer’s shopping experience, much of which Susie admitted is a work in progress to discover how users wish to use it.

So what have they learnt?

Susie explained that what this journey has helped them to understand is the ASDA customer and how they shop. Unlike other eCommerce sites, grocery shopping is usually a compulsory activity, requiring a vast amount and large variety of items. Planning meals and buying groceries can be time consuming, overwhelming and difficult. So, what ASDA have learnt is how they must adapt to ensure their customers’ experience is as seamless as possible. Here’s a few examples of how they’ve done this:

• Allowed users to find and add items from the product listing page: by including a product image, price, decision drivers (offers), and importantly an add button, users can complete their shopping by scanning the listing page

Leeds: Centre of Online Grocery Excellence Wednesday 18th April Leeds Digital Festival 2018

2

• Made the trolley visible: allowing users to monitor their shopping and edit it as they go along

• Allow users to purchase the same items again and again: including areas such as Favourites and Previous Orders allows users to easily find and reorder items

But in an ideal world, what customers really want is a big red button which gets them everything they need. This is a tricky one to address given the variants that go into grocery shopping such as seasons and special occasions, and it’s generally a very personal experience. Everyone has their own mental models, habits, and commitments which affect the way they shop. So whilst technology does not yet allow us to create that red button, Susie explained that the key learnings for ASDA have been to design for everyone - cater for the majority but ensure that everyone is able to shop the way they want to shop.

“refine it, don’t redesign it”-Susie Spencer, Walmart

Katie DriverSenior Platform Manager – Morrisons

Katie kicked off with the question: ‘Who remembers what Morrisons online grocery proposition looked like 5 years

ago?’, the answer being that there wasn’t one with their site launching in 2014.

Being latecomers to online grocery shopping, Katie explained how under the wing of Ocado, Morrisons have had a lot of catching up to do. Morrisons’ first online presence was essentially the Ocado website overlaid with Morrisons skin and logo. However, Katie explained how over the last four years Morrisons have gone through a transformation, utilising lab-based usability testing, online prototype testing and the like, to understand their own customers, and make adaptations to suit.

In terms of development, Katie shared how they use the Ocado roadmap, and a 3-point system to decide what they include in their own Morrisons roadmap. With each piece of capability they will either:

1. Take it as it currently is

2. Take capability and adapt it for Morrisons customers

3. Say no as it won’t suit Morrisons customers

Once they have settled the capabilities on their roadmap, they then have a common approach which they use for each piece. This begins with measuring user behaviour with analytics and tracking, reporting on this measurement to produce stats and charts, analysing the outcomes, in order to decide on a strategy, then taking forward this strategy into design, and then implementation.

3

Katie shared three key examples where they have implemented this process:

• ‘Morrisons Regulars’ – a feature added to allow regularly purchased items to be automatically to a users’ basket. Although adopting similar functionality to Ocado, Katie explained how through research they were able to confirm the user need for this feature and adjust functionality and categories where necessary.

• Amazon Alexa – the introduction of voice-enabled shopping. Again, although this was adopted from Ocado, Morrisons tweaked the voice, and elements of functionality.

• Header redesign – a Morrisons only development to accommodate their multi-channel propositions, and incorporating categories requested by users, for example, ‘Flowerworld’, ‘Morrisons More’, ‘Recipes’ and the like.

So after a whistle-stop tour of their digital transformation, what does the future hold for online groceries at Morrisons? Katie rounded up by sharing four key areas they hope to innovate:

• Basket optimisation – accommodate for customers with increasingly big shops

• Voice-enabled shopping – plans to adapt the service to be more Morrisons specific

• Personalisation – discovering how they can adapt customer journeys at an individual level

• Skills & experience – continue expand their skillset by expanding the team

Connor WilkinsonOptimisation Manager – ASDA

Despite the competition in the room, Connor began by proudly sharing that ASDA currently has 15.6% market share of the UK grocery market, ranking them 3rd. Here he began to paint a picture of the company’s growth, and how, being a part of Walmart, who have over 270 million customers every week across all stores and websites worldwide, and 2.3m associates, has really allowed them to develop.

But how does Connor’s team at ASDA fit into this? As an Optimisation Manager Connor’s team are involved in site optimisation, search, merchandising optimisation, personalisation, and as Connor termed it, all the “cool stuff”. Together they work with Development teams, Analytics, Merchandising and Events to produce capable platforms. From the launch of their first website in 1997 through to the 2007 Walmart overhaul, and the 2012 complete redesign, Connor explained how with their experience and the help of their partners (Walmart, George and Jet to mentions a few), ASDA have developed web technology which allows them to optimise the customer experience. He particularly touched on the following technology and how it has allowed them to grow:

• Walmart supported back end system

• CMS driven Single page app – useful for experimentation, and the small ‘tweaks’

• Multi-faceted analytics & monitoring – allowing them to essentially monitor every click

4

To round up, Connor explained how with all of this technology and data, ASDA are able to gain insight, create opportunities, try them out in an ‘Agile’ manner, and overall to provide the optimal online customer experience.

The Brands

John ConnellyHead of eCommerce GB – Coca-Cola

John started by quite honestly introducing himself as the least tech-savvy person we would meet that day, and possibly the least likely person to be heading up the eCommerce team of one of the largest beverage companies period. But, he’s seen the light, and John explains how he has come to believe that digital holds great commercial benefit, and is critical to the today and tomorrow of Coca-Cola.

John shared how for Coca-Cola online is now the home channel engine of growth for the company as the online soft drinks shopper is worth twice the offline, with average weight of purchase being double the in-store sale weight. But beyond the consumer, digital touches every part of the Coca-Cola sytem – from brand management and marketing, to e-commerce and customer experience. John went on to explain how they have four key pillars they stand by to ensure they are at the top of the digital game and continue to provide the best overall experience:

• World class basics – what’s on the shelf... ...has to be right first before they can fully commit to a digital approach

• Industry leading innovation – continue to be ahead of the game

• Win the customers – working with retailers to ensure they are heading on the right path

• Democratise digital – bringing everyone up to speed throughout the company

With these principles in mind John shared how Coca-Cola are making sure they stay at the top of their digital game. One of the key ways they do this is by understanding EXACTLY what success looks like, right from the pre-shop experience, to in-shop, and post-shop. To be at the top of their game John explained that Coca-Cola need to be constantly winning in all of these areas, and using analytics and quarterly meetings to decide what that should re-think and prioritise.

They also need to understand the shopper, as well as their customers to ensure they are optimising their digital capabilities for both. As an example, John shared how their efforts to accomplish Mobile Ready Hero Imagery has got them thinking about this complex relationship between the retailer and consumer. In an attempt to address the issues of unclear pack size and variant, he explained how they have accumulated 5 research phases, 86 creative concepts, and 40+ collaborations to get this right.

To round off John shared with us a nice tip to embracing a digital strategy – “Fish where the fish are” - build a process to ensure the company is constantly learning, spread individuals across all touch points and send them fishing. Then, compartmentalise the learnings to decide what needs working on and when.

5

Anita MoolgavkareCommerce Business Manager Arla Foods UK

James Bell Senior Digital Marketing ManagerArla Foods UK

As a dairy producer who spend less time in the eye of the consumer, Anita shared how in 2014 only 4% of people were aware of the brand Arla Foods. So before telling us about their current transformation to WIN in digital marketing & eCommerce, we were taught a bit about Arla…

Who is Arla Foods? Arla Foods sits within the top 3 of all FMCG companies in the UK. Whilst investing in innovation through their market-leading brands such as Lurpak, Cravendale, and Anchor, they are also leading growth with retailer partners such as ASDA and Morrisons, for whom they produce the majority of their own label dairy products. But what is really at the heart of the future Arla Foods mission, is Transforming to Win within eCommerce and digital marketing. Not only are they constantly growing their understanding of their retailers and consumers, and coming to grips with the advancements in digital and voice, but they have a four-point strategy to become the online leaders in their field:

1. Global Digital strategy

a. Fully connecting cow, customers & consumer: from maximising milk yields, to advancing products and packaging for the consumer, they aim to amplify digital connections at all stages of the product journey

b. An uplift to 15% of global sales online, profitably: to find the most sustainable way to comply with low margin products at a high volume c. An uplift to 500m consumer engagements yearly: to increase consumer engagement on a global scale

d. Leaders are digital role models: adopting the ideology that the leaders have to be on board in order to lead by example

2. New structures

a. At an organisational level: introducing dedicated eCommerce, direct to consumer, and digital marketing teams who can work collaboratively to optimise all levels of the business b. At an agency level: adopting an integrated agency model across brand, specialist services and production, to reduce risks, decrease costs, and increase outputs

3. Mobilising & Upskilling: bringing the digital and ecommerce, customer, and brand teams together to think collaboratively about eCommerce and implement change.

4. Data & Performance tracking: on top of the sales results provided at a retailer level, Arla is implementing performance measures and Total Arla UK sales tracking at a business level, to assist with top level business decisions.

In summary, Anita and James, shared how with this strategy and constantly growing their understanding of both retailers and consumers, Arla strive to be at the top of its game in terms of digital marketing and eCommerce.

6

The Users

Guy Redwood Founder & MD of SimpleUsability

UX of Digital Grocery

To round off the morning, Guy shared what the team at SimpleUsability have learnt about online grocery shopper behaviour.

What do we know? From observing hundreds of hours of natural online grocery shopping, we know that shoppers have different strategies to search for different things. After browsing through menus for fruit, they then might search for chicken, and go into favourites for washing powder. So generalisations about shopping behaviour are not always useful.

With eye-tracking technology and a natural shop, SimpleUsability is able to observe what users really do when grocery shopping, and not what they say they do. For example, the idea that users only shop by image is something we find questionable, as time and time again we observe shoppers interacting with descriptions, price, and additional information to inform their choices. So, by observing this natural behaviour, and speaking to users about their experiences, we are able to use evidence to understand their actual behaviour rather than making assumptions.

But what are the blockers? No matter how pristine the interface, there are still some common problems with online grocery shopping. Typically, delivery slots, amendments,

substitutions, and returns are the primary causes of frustration. In case you’re not familiar with these issues, the tweets below may help to paint a picture…

Unfortunately the driver has now gone and didn’t talk my wife through the subs, I ordered 4 (small) x watermelon 🍉 chunks and have ended up with four WHOLE watermelons!

When you really need the loo but your delivery is imminent 🤨 Please please hurry up, man in the van, before I burst 🤣

We ordered hickory smoked bacon this week, apparently it wasn’t in stock and there were no substitutes?? How can that be possible when you sell over 30 types of smoked bacon.

To draw it all to an end, Guy finished by touching on what the future holds for grocery. Voice is really what we’re all talking about at the moment, as it continues to provide us with challenges and opportunities. There are also plenty of areas of potential growth, particularly around Meal Planning, and Recipes. But the key area we should further consider, and a nice way to bring the show to a close, is how we build a strong branded relationship between retailers and brands whilst still placing the shopper at the centre.

“

“ “