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I feel like a lot of retail should function similar to this way. Stores with shelves of homogenous "stock" is basically asking your customers to navigate a big

I feel like a lot of retail should function similar to this way. Stores with shelves of homogenous "stock" is basically asking your customers to navigate a big warehouse while carrying around all their intended purchases; then go stand in a line to pay for those items. They could often easily function as big vending machines. Some stores could be reduced to a few shelves/aisles of 1-sample-per-SKU, where you just scan the barcode from your phone and all your items get sent to you. Preferably not one at a time and not right to the customer, I'd make it where the customer just goes and collects their bagged/carted items when done scanning. The payment could occur at the same time. Using a grocery store as an example. I'm not a fan of shopping on my phone for some things like groceries. I like to look at the boxes and visually scan the shelves and see things I might not think to search for on my phone. This would allow for it but remove the need to walk up and down 30 aisles. I would still want to pick my produce/meat so this would require a slightly different approach, but the dry goods and other stuff that's typically in center of the store could work.

aaronmdjones 2y ago
Argos Extra (Retail store) works like this; you walk in, place your order on an electronic machine (or go to customer services with a paper list of product codes), pay (which can be at the machine if you ordered by machine), wait 5-10 minutes, and all of your goods arrive via conveyor belt. Here's the entire (customer-accessible) part of one such store: https://c8.alamy.com/comp/2H6TX48/interior-of-an-argos-store-2H6TX48.jpg https://c8.alamy.com/comp/2H6TX48/interior-of-an-argos-store...
akira2501 2y ago
> is basically asking your customers to navigate a big warehouse while carrying around all their intended purchases Yes. And when you do that they tend to buy more than they originally intended. > I like to look at the boxes and visually scan the shelves and see things I might not think to search for on my phone. Precisely. The store and those products are designed with this exact outcome in mind. > but the dry goods and other stuff that's typically in center of the store could work. That's why many warehouse stores have home delivery but put a hefty fee on those items. Unless, of course, you spend more than a minimum threshold. It's a narrow margin business so it's hard to reliably make any other type of model work.
- conductr 2y ago
  I've considered your shopping behavior points and feel like people may actually buy even more since it would be easier to browse the entire selection of SKUs so they would more likely do so each visit. Or, at least, see more of them than they would otherwise as I think most people don't traverse every aisle on each visit in the status quo setup. Stores know this now already and do things like put milk in the back since it's a frequent purchase and you'll buy more if you have to walk by more to get to it. A customer that just runs in for milk still is only seeing an aisle or two of product when they could walk by the majority of store's items on that same aisle if it was a condensed selection. On the Home delivery point. You're right free home delivery and narrow margins don't mesh. Yet, I have FREE home delivery options at dozens of stores/grocers in my area. I've never seen what I'd call hefty fees for this service. It's usually in the $1-10 range. They really compete for customers with this option; in my area anyway. Also, they push curbside pickup really hard now and it's always free. I've never seen that have a fee, yet someone in the store is being paid to walk around and pick your order off the shelves. We're paying for it somehow and this trend really took off during the same time as inflation ratcheted up, so my guess is it's being baked into prices and every customer is sharing the cost. In any case, I don't see why the in store shopping process couldn't be improved while home delivery coexisted. They each have their place and each customer has their preferences. Using myself as an example again, I do like pickup when it helps the logistics of my day or if I know exactly what I need and maybe I know it's heavy and want to be lazy.
  - akira2501 2y ago
    > Yet, I have FREE home delivery options at dozens of stores/grocers in my area. Are you sure those aren't introductory offers? > I've never seen what I'd call hefty fees for this service. It's usually in the $1-10 range Is it being fulfilled by the store or Instacart? I'm referencing Costco which can charge $1 to $3 _per item_ for delivery, unless you order more than $75 in total. Those orders are fulfilled by the warehouse and not a third party. > They really compete for customers with this option They might just be outsourcing it and your subsidy is actually the third party investors. > Also, they push curbside pickup really hard now What does that look like? It's free, as you say, so what is the incentive, exactly? > They each have their place and each customer has their preferences. Which works as long as the cost of each preference is equal. Typically, it is not, which is my point. So you can set your expectations for the "future of grocery" around that, at least, until it changes.
kalleboo 2y ago
"Catalog stores" kind of like this do exist, such as Argos in the UK, and Kjell&Co in Sweden. They can stock a huge number of SKUs in a small footprint.
- ajb 2y ago
  The funny thing about Argos is that it was originally not a store, but just a collection point for promotional giveaways. There was a promotional scheme called "Green Shield Stamps", whereby shops gave the customer a number of stamps with each purchase, and then when you had enough stamps you could collect a gift from the catalogue. But eventually retailers decided that the promotion wasn't benefiting them enough, and pulled out - so the distribution network became a retailer instead. Unfortunately argos isn't very fast, so the customer experience is not necessarily better than a normal retailer. They seem to focus on lowest cost, which means that they skimp on operatives and waiting times can be long. And of course, it isn't automated!
rpeden 2y ago
An approach similar to what you suggest used to exist quite widely - at least in my part of Canada. We had Consumers Distributing, which was popular here and in parts of the U.S. You'd go in, find the item you want in a catalog, fill out a paper slip with the items you want, then hand it in and wait for your items to be brought out. Beer stores in Ontario used to be like that, too. You'd place your order and pay for it, and shortly thereafter, it would come rolling out of the back of the store on a rolling conveyor.

aaronmdjones 2y ago

Argos Extra (Retail store) works like this; you walk in, place your order on an electronic machine (or go to customer services with a paper list of product codes), pay (which can be at the machine if you ordered by machine), wait 5-10 minutes, and all of your goods arrive via conveyor belt. Here's the entire (customer-accessible) part of one such store: https://c8.alamy.com/comp/2H6TX48/interior-of-an-argos-store-2H6TX48.jpg https://c8.alamy.com/comp/2H6TX48/interior-of-an-argos-store...

akira2501 2y ago

> is basically asking your customers to navigate a big warehouse while carrying around all their intended purchases Yes. And when you do that they tend to buy more than they originally intended. > I like to look at the boxes and visually scan the shelves and see things I might not think to search for on my phone. Precisely. The store and those products are designed with this exact outcome in mind. > but the dry goods and other stuff that's typically in center of the store could work. That's why many warehouse stores have home delivery but put a hefty fee on those items. Unless, of course, you spend more than a minimum threshold. It's a narrow margin business so it's hard to reliably make any other type of model work.

conductr 2y ago
I've considered your shopping behavior points and feel like people may actually buy even more since it would be easier to browse the entire selection of SKUs so they would more likely do so each visit. Or, at least, see more of them than they would otherwise as I think most people don't traverse every aisle on each visit in the status quo setup. Stores know this now already and do things like put milk in the back since it's a frequent purchase and you'll buy more if you have to walk by more to get to it. A customer that just runs in for milk still is only seeing an aisle or two of product when they could walk by the majority of store's items on that same aisle if it was a condensed selection. On the Home delivery point. You're right free home delivery and narrow margins don't mesh. Yet, I have FREE home delivery options at dozens of stores/grocers in my area. I've never seen what I'd call hefty fees for this service. It's usually in the $1-10 range. They really compete for customers with this option; in my area anyway. Also, they push curbside pickup really hard now and it's always free. I've never seen that have a fee, yet someone in the store is being paid to walk around and pick your order off the shelves. We're paying for it somehow and this trend really took off during the same time as inflation ratcheted up, so my guess is it's being baked into prices and every customer is sharing the cost. In any case, I don't see why the in store shopping process couldn't be improved while home delivery coexisted. They each have their place and each customer has their preferences. Using myself as an example again, I do like pickup when it helps the logistics of my day or if I know exactly what I need and maybe I know it's heavy and want to be lazy.
- akira2501 2y ago
  > Yet, I have FREE home delivery options at dozens of stores/grocers in my area. Are you sure those aren't introductory offers? > I've never seen what I'd call hefty fees for this service. It's usually in the $1-10 range Is it being fulfilled by the store or Instacart? I'm referencing Costco which can charge $1 to $3 _per item_ for delivery, unless you order more than $75 in total. Those orders are fulfilled by the warehouse and not a third party. > They really compete for customers with this option They might just be outsourcing it and your subsidy is actually the third party investors. > Also, they push curbside pickup really hard now What does that look like? It's free, as you say, so what is the incentive, exactly? > They each have their place and each customer has their preferences. Which works as long as the cost of each preference is equal. Typically, it is not, which is my point. So you can set your expectations for the "future of grocery" around that, at least, until it changes.

kalleboo 2y ago

"Catalog stores" kind of like this do exist, such as Argos in the UK, and Kjell&Co in Sweden. They can stock a huge number of SKUs in a small footprint.

ajb 2y ago
The funny thing about Argos is that it was originally not a store, but just a collection point for promotional giveaways. There was a promotional scheme called "Green Shield Stamps", whereby shops gave the customer a number of stamps with each purchase, and then when you had enough stamps you could collect a gift from the catalogue. But eventually retailers decided that the promotion wasn't benefiting them enough, and pulled out - so the distribution network became a retailer instead. Unfortunately argos isn't very fast, so the customer experience is not necessarily better than a normal retailer. They seem to focus on lowest cost, which means that they skimp on operatives and waiting times can be long. And of course, it isn't automated!

rpeden 2y ago

An approach similar to what you suggest used to exist quite widely - at least in my part of Canada. We had Consumers Distributing, which was popular here and in parts of the U.S. You'd go in, find the item you want in a catalog, fill out a paper slip with the items you want, then hand it in and wait for your items to be brought out. Beer stores in Ontario used to be like that, too. You'd place your order and pay for it, and shortly thereafter, it would come rolling out of the back of the store on a rolling conveyor.