During a time of high inflation rates and increasing cost of living expenses, retailers are compelled to test out new and creative solutions that better the experience of the consumer and minimize costs.
In pursuit of this type of endeavor, Walmart, the supermarket giant, is implementing a new security measure aimed at streamlining the shopping process and Illinois shoppers will be the first the experience it.
New security measure at Walmart
In the hopes of reducing frequent interactions with employees in store, whilst also streamlining the shopping process for customers, the retailer will be introducing a new security measure to its stores. This measure is meant to better the shopping experiences for customers, specifically those based in Illinois.
After several store robberies, the retailer made the decision to lock up certain small items that were often the target of robberies such as toothpaste, razors, detergent, or clothing. Although it may be a necessary measure for the company, locking away items can be a rather annoying inconvenience for innocent customers who now have to seek out an employee in order to gain access to whatever product they need. Not only does this add more time to the customer’s shopping trip, it could also cause them to turn away from the store entirely.
Now, however, the company is evolving and is “focusing on innovative technologies and streamlined processes to ensure shoppers can easily access what they need,” 97x shared.
By utilizing technology, the purchasing process can be sped up and as such the supermarket giant will be rolling out devices that allow Walmart employees to unlock registers without the need for a key. Several stores around the Illinois region have already begun implementing this system.
Customers use their phones to shop in store
Shoppers subscribed to the company’s membership program, Walmart+, are able to access the unique service of mobile unlocking. Customers will use a facial recognition system titled “Freedom Case” to unlock the case holding the product. This eliminates the need to find an employee to assist you when purchasing something as simple as a razor or toothpaste.
The implementation of this system kills two birds with one stone as it will streamline the shopping process, and also motivate shoppers to sign up for Walmart+ which is the retailer’s membership system whereby they can access exclusive benefits and deals in exchange for an annual fee.
This anti-theft system was introduced by the retailer in order to reduce the time customers spent waiting around for access to plexiglass protected products by allowing for them to be accessed in a more efficient and rapid way.
The standard procedure for this would be for customers to press the button found near the item and wait until an employee is able to show up and assist them. The issue with this system was that shoppers would often abandon their baskets or shopping carts entirely, rather than wait around for a long time until an employee unlocks the case holding the products for them.
The data technology firm, Numerator, recently conducted a survey and the data it yielded revealed that, “approximately a quarter of shoppers regularly abandon their purchases when they encounter blocked products.”
These consumers would then go on to shop online after leaving the store empty handed and shopping online offers a much wider variety of options which then opens up the potential for the customer to pick another store instead of the one that inconvenienced them.
As such, this kind of convenient measure could be quite useful in drawing these customers back to the store — assuming that they would be willing to pay the annual membership fee that would allow them to access this “Freedom Case” measure.