Contactless click and collect, number plate recognition technology and a queue tracking tool are just some of the major tech innovations rolled out at Dan Murphy’s and BWS in the last 12 months. And that’s just for the car pick-ups. BWS has also recently introduced a tool for in-store teams to assist customers in selecting the perfect wine for their needs. “It’s really only a few weeks old now, I’m really excited about it,” said Claire Smith, general manager D
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id Claire Smith, general manager Digital who also heads up Endeavour Group’s digital arm Endeavour X.
“It’s based on what we know about what customers consider when they’re choosing a wine: what’s the occasion, what’s the budget, what things they like or don’t like, and whether it’s a light, medium or heavy body wine that they’re looking for,” Smith told Inside Retail.
The ‘Findawine’ app, which can be used on an in-store device or on the team member’s own phone, provides a series of questions that staff can ask customers to understand their preferences. By utilising all of the retailer’s data around the product range, the app can whittle down a shortlist of products that are in stock in that store and provide reviews and information about each product for the team member to relay to the customer and help them choose which one is right for them.
“It’s very early days but the feedback from the teams is that it’s really helping them to help customers choose the right wine for dinner, gifts or the occasion that they’re shopping for.”
Smith said the tool could also become an added feature for the online shopper in the future.
“I think it’s something that ultimately we might want to put in customers’ hands as well but we’ve started with the team and we’re very excited about how it’s going so far.”
Dan Murphy’s Q-Tracker. Image: Supplied.
Real-time queue tracker
Convenience, safety and speed of service are some of the key reasons behind the introduction of new technologies at Dan Murphy’s.
Just this week the liquor retailer introduced a Q-tracker which allows customers to check online to monitor the queue at their local store to ensure a seamless pick-up.
On-site staff are responsible for keeping the tracker updated to give customers a real-time view of how long the queue is likely to be.
“[The team] know how important it is for customers to have that real-time information about how long the queue is particularly at this time of year,” Smith said. “As we evolve that over time, we can look at other sorts of technologies we can use to improve that.”
Tech trends
The retailer has focused on easy and convenient car pickups this year at both Dan Murphy’s and BWS given the need for consumers to reduce contacts.
“Customers have been wanting more and more convenience over the years and Covid has taken that [to the next level] with the need to make experiences contactless for customers.”
Smith said the work that’s been done around contactless pickup options for customers has been very well received.
“The work on direct-to-boot and number plate recognition at Dan Murphy’s and really starting to get into that contactless pickup in our drive thru BWS stores … those have been a real trend, that customers are wanting to shop in that way, they’re wanting to shop online and know that their shopping will be ready for them when they turn up.
“It’s something that we probably accelerated because of Covid, but it’s here to stay for us because customers are responding to it so well.”
BWS Cooler campaign. Image: Supplied.
Smith also highlighted the growing consumer interest in shopping on apps and the opportunities to connect with shoppers in an engaging way.
“Customers are increasingly comfortable browsing and shopping on apps and preferring that to the more traditional desktop and mobile web experiences, that’s one of the other big trends that we’re seeing,” she said.
“Some of the features that you can build into an app like the Cooler campaign [a giveaway for Rewards members] that we’re doing with BWS, they find it engaging and fun. So there’s lots of different ways in which we can use apps to engage and provide better experiences for our customers.”
