Shoppers today have a multitude of options to choose from when it comes to where and how they buy their groceries. The corner 24-hour mart is fantastic for last-minute pick-ups, while the wet market provides freshness for early-risers. If you're a time-strapped young professional, online grocery shopping means not having to wrestle with the crowd, queue at check-out, and lug heavy groceries home.
Even with many different options available, for most of us, the supermarket is the classic one-stop-shop for all our grocery needs. Think neat aisles of attractively displayed products, heaps of fresh fruits and vegetables in a rainbow of colours for your perusal, and a wide range of meat and seafood to inspire your next meal. The act of buying groceries is so much more than just a functional transaction. For some, it's a fun weekly family activity. For others, it's an important time to collect your thoughts and plan for the week ahead. What defines a great grocery shopping experience in Singapore today? What keeps you returning to your favourite store and channel over and over again?
1. Affordability
Deals and promotions
Raising a family in Singapore can be costly. This is why everybody loves a good deal and every cent counts. When it comes to grocery shopping especially, keeping an eye out for deals and promotions can go a long way in helping you save money. Shopping at your favourite supermarket chain means being able to take advantage of economies of scale, and buying groceries at much lower prices than that of smaller players.
Keeping up with what's on offer at your favourite supermarket is easier than ever before, with discounts communicated through multiple channels such as on websites, social media, and newspapers. This means being able to stock up on your favourite groceries while their prices are at an all-time low, which can lead to massive savings in the long run!
Loyalty programme
In addition to great deals and affordability, another thing that keeps us returning to our favourite stores is a loyalty system. It helps customers feel valued for shopping with a brand. A loyalty program entitles members to special privileges such as points, rebates, and discounts.
2. Convenience
Whether you intend to spend hours browsing through the aisles or plan to hit the self-checkout lane with just a carton of milk, convenience is key.
24-hour stores
The 24-hour store, usually strategically located in housing estates, packs a punch when it comes to convenience. We've all needed a quick midnight snack, beers during football season, or an emergency box of painkillers. For a lot of us, that means popping into the nearby 24-hour store to get exactly what we need.
Wide product inventory
One key thing that defines the ideal supermarket experience is the massive variety of products on offer. Having a wide product inventory means there's something for everyone, which keeps us going back for more. Sometimes, the sheer variety of products is dizzying, and shopping at a new store feels like a marathon. However, when you're familiar with your favourite store's layout, you're more than likely to breeze through the shopping experience. Instead of visiting different stores for different purposes, the supermarket is a one-stop-shop for all your household needs. At the end of the day, supermarket shopping saves you both time and money.
On top of groceries, many supermarkets also offer a large variety of ready-to-eat food for shoppers who don't have the luxury of time. Supermarkets are now also home to sushi counters, rotisseries, delicatessens, and bakeries, providing a myriad of options to help customers make putting dinner on the table a less daunting task. These days, you won’t be hard-pressed to find a supermarket that also sells homeware products such as furniture, household appliances and home décor. The possibilities are endless!
3. Great In-Store Experience
Attractive product displays
We all have memories as a child, wandering through the candy aisle, mesmerised by the towering shelves of confectionery in every colour and flavour imaginable. If you love food, chances are, the supermarket is your Disneyland. Thanks to bright lights, upbeat music, and rows of neatly arranged products, the supermarket shopping experience today is increasingly enjoyable. With endless sections to meander through and new products to discover, we're becoming accustomed to perceiving supermarket shopping less as a chore and more as a leisure activity.
Experiential retail
One of the reasons we keep returning to our favourite stores is that there's so much more to see and experience at supermarkets now than ever before! If you think a personalised retail experience is only reserved for small speciality stores, you’ll be glad to know that supermarkets these days are also upping their game with specialised sections and services. If you're a cheese enthusiast, a dedicated cheese room with an in-house expert and free cheese sampling can significantly enhance your shopping experience. If you’re a coffee-lover, a coffee section with whole beans sourced from around the world, coupled with a coffee grinding service, would be a dream shopping experience. Many supermarkets are expanding on this form of experiential retail, making grocery shopping more interesting and relevant to our interests.
Product discovery
If you observed the number of families at grocery stores in Singapore on weekends, you'll know that grocery shopping is not just a necessary task, but rather a form of discovery. Some classic examples of interactive shopping are food sampling and product demonstrations that introduce shoppers to products that are new to the market. Part of why we love supermarkets is that they provide the opportunity to discover new products and experiences. Supermarkets these days have taken interactive shopping a step further by introducing themed fairs, where outside vendors can showcase a curated range of unique products, and shoppers can have a peek into a culture or cuisine. These fairs allow customers to interact with the supermarket’s offerings in new and interesting ways, thus enhancing the shopping experience.
4. Community
The best supermarket shopping experience is no longer confined to just buying groceries! Today, being a customer also means being a part of a larger community of like-minded people. You can now interact with supermarket brands, fellow customers, and the larger community in new and meaningful ways both online and offline.
Family-oriented in-store activities
Beyond just grocery shopping, supermarkets now host different in-store events for customers and their families to participate in. Many of these events are geared towards children, with activities such as balloon sculpting, magic shows and giveaways in the line-up, attracting many shoppers to join in the fun.
Caring for the community
The shopping experience becomes all the more meaningful when it is linked with community outreach efforts. Shoppers can partner with supermarkets to do their part to serve the less fortunate in the community, be it through charity collection drives or donations to adopted charities. Special senior citizen privileges and curated content for the elderly also help to promote inclusiveness and a sense of community among shoppers. Supermarkets in Singapore also partner with the Health Promotion Board to promote healthier food choices at home, further emphasising that they care about the community at large.
Online community
When discussing the ideal shopping experience, we cannot underestimate the significance of social media and how it has changed the way we communicate with our favourite stores. These days, our interaction with a brand does not end the moment we step out of the store. It extends to the time we spend on our mobile devices, where we've grown accustomed to bite-sized, easily digestible pieces of content. With a few taps on your phone, you can catch up on the latest promotions, the newest products, and engage with fellow fans on social media. If you're part of a mailing list, you get privileged access to special discount codes and other insider information before others. Being a member of this shared online community plays a significant part in the ideal shopping experience today.
If your home cooking or home décor feels uninspired, you'll be glad to know that supermarket websites have expanded to offer a great deal of information for their customers. Hit up your favourite supermarket's website and chances are, you'll reach a plethora of information and guides that are catered specifically to you and your interests. Get ready to be re-inspired by the wide variety of interesting articles and recipe videos that are sure to inform your next trip to the grocery store.
5. E-Commerce Platform
Mobile-friendly interface
If you're short of time and want a fuss-free grocery shopping experience, the online store is probably your platform of choice. With a mobile-friendly interface, you can order your groceries on your morning commute and have them delivered to your home in the evening!
Seamless customer journey
Beyond a customer-friendly interface, what makes the ideal online shopping experience? It's undoubtedly a seamless customer journey. The ideal e-commerce website must have convenience built into its DNA. Your user account is a friend who saves your shopping lists, understands your frequently purchased products, knows your preferred payment option and your home address. In other words, the ideal online shopping experience is one that is quick, easy and effective.
We as customers today are simply spoilt for choice when it comes to grocery shopping. With all that is out there, we ultimately choose to shop where it suits our growing needs and desires. Thanks to the evolving definition of what a supermarket means to many of us, from a necessity to a form of entertainment, we can fully expect to enjoy more of what supermarkets have to offer.
