Following the announcement that Snappy Shopper has expanded beyond the UK mainland, partnering with Iceland Foods in Jersey, Grocery Gazette spoke to Greg Deacon about consumers’ digital expectations; building trust in Q-commerce; and technology as a leveller.

As shoppers on Jersey gain access to on-demand grocery delivery, featuring everyday items from Iceland, Snappy Shopper‘s VP of groups & business development explains that Q-commerce is no longer just about ultra-fast fulfillment.

“Consumer expectations have fundamentally shifted,” notes Deacon. “Customers no longer compare grocery deliveries with other grocery deliveries. They’re naturally comparing it to other digital experiences they have every day – ordering a taxi, streaming, or receiving content on social media.”

He warns that the firms who tried to delivery in 10 or 15-minutes failed, and a more “fair and valid” time scale is needed for fast commerce delivery.

“We are moving to a place where it’s all about reliability. It’s all about the availability of product and the convenience aspect. Customers want to have trust and confidence in who they’re using and where they’re buying it from. They want to do it in a way that’s frictionless.”

Convenience retailers are “absolutely primed for this”, as they have a place in the community already. Convenience stores are “the go-to place to get the gossip, to have a conversation, as well as to get your essentials in the most convenient way.”

Furthermore, there are thousands of them across the UK with communities becoming even closer to their local shop. Deacon says: “That gives them a real distinct advantage versus big box retailers, because these independent convenience stores now are becoming much more than just a physical or digital shop. They’re becoming fulfillment hubs, giving the customer choice whether they want to do it physically or digitally, or both. What’s more compelling than that.”

Convenient technology

This local advantage is now coupled with technology which gives these independent retailers “the same tools as a big supermarket”. Deacon adds that “the difference is they have the means to communicate at a hyper-local level”.

Whereas supermarkets have the power to launch national advertising campaigns, convenience stores have turned to social media to reach their increasingly loyal customers.

“They know their followers, they know the people that shop for them. They now know people that shop from three miles away who are not frequenting the physical store anymore or never have done. Suddenly, these people are following these stores on social media and saying, ‘I want to order from this man or this woman, this shop.’ And that shop is delivering to them.They’ve now got insights on the customer they never had before.”

“Technology has made everything really small and made retailers really agile. It gives them a real advantage.”

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Trust building exercise

The staying power of Q-commerce long after the initial pandemic need has been driven in part by consumers seeing convenience retail as more than just “in an emergency”. Its digital presence enables consumers to reliably order a mid-week meal or treats for World Cup viewing parties, thanks in part to trusted third-party platforms.

Customers now view Q-commerce as “synonymous with Deliveroo, Uber Eats, and Just Eat in the UK”.

“They’re on every TV ad. They’ve got the jingles. They’ve got Craig David singing a tune. They’ve even got Gordon Ramsay now,” says Deacon.

“But for the retailer, that combination of trust and convenience is so powerful. That blend of digital agility, convenience, and trust drives the reason to keep going back”.

This is, of course, helped by serviceability, offering a great experience, simply ensuring that the products ordered will arrive on the doorstep. If convenience retailers can achieve this with their Q-commerce offering it “puts you into the same bracket as an ecommerce provider, like Ocado.”

Digital shop window

Independent retailers, and Q-commerce providers, are progressively starting to think and act like ecommerce platforms. That blend of in-store and online is redefining the traditional view of browsing.

“A lot of people think Q-commerce is just where people buy, that’s just fulfillment. Where actually, Q-commerce can be a lot about discoverability. It can be about where you can engage,” states Deacon.

The variety of retailers harnessing Q-commerce can be a powerful driver of discoverability for a brand, or a product even a store. Deacon stressed that these brands and retailers should be considering the brand equity and not simply Q-commerce being a “performance channel”.

“Why can’t the screen be like your shop window, effectively?” he questions.

Brands can fall into the trap of simply discussing just performance, asking “how much more did I sell?”. Whereas a more holistic view is needed, which “gets into the quality of your ad, the quality of your content, the quality of your message, what you’re trying to portray at that moment in time. Is it the right thing? Was it the right thing for that customer? Is it personalized enough?”.

Bringing together brand awareness and personalisation on these Q-commerce platforms is key for independent retailers as it “creates a much more powerful conversation between the platform and the consumer through the retailer.”