During the COVID-19 pandemic, we saw an increased need for safe, no-contact methods for consumers to acquire basic living necessities, like groceries. Now, with the end of the public health emergency, this need evolved into a desire for quick and convenient service in a digitally accelerated world, making data an integral part of modern grocery retailers.
Data quality for grocery retailers is defined as having contact data that is accurate, relevant, and complete. Safeguarding the accuracy of address, email, and phone data in their databases permits these businesses to communicate effectively with customers, determine their needs, and find effective ways to serve their customer base while staying competitive. In fact, our research shows that 86% of retailers agree that data quality is fundamental to the core of their business operations going forward. Below we’ll dive into the top benefits of data quality for grocery retailers.
Top 3 benefits of data quality for grocery retailers
1. Increase competitive edge
Becoming a data driven business gives your organization an edge over competitors in many ways. In today’s digital-first world, where the competition is tough, customer loyalty is scarce and the likelihood a customer chooses you over your competitor is only as strong as your incentive program and ability to reel a customer in.
Realistically, no one wants to overpay for groceries and the best way to save money is to join an enticing loyalty program. Offering a loyalty program with competitive rewards can help grocery retailers reap benefits like easier customer retention and longer customer lifetime value. That’s where data quality comes in. Whether it’s verifying contact data to better reach customers or enriching customer data to personalize marketing efforts and define which incentives will resonate best with each customer based on their interests and shopping behavior.
Leveraging high-quality customer data is key to an effective loyalty program. Data quality powers loyalty marketing campaigns by providing important insights that enable retailers to improve customer experience, understand customer behavior, and meet customer needs.
2. Enhance customer experience
The pandemic created an emergence of quick, grab-and-go methods like in-store pick up. Customers can even take advantage of curbside pickup by simply driving up to the retailer and have their groceries loaded for them by an attendant. Pretty convenient, right?
While these new processes pave the way for easy shopping, they also require meticulous operations to ensure that the experience is seamless. Being able to reach your customers for timely updates ultimately builds trust and ensures customer satisfaction. This starts with having accurate phone and email data to send the applicable communications like email updates and text messages related to order updates and stock notifications, allowing you to keep your customers informed about their purchases every step of the way.
3. Reduce unnecessary costs
Long gone are the days of navigating crowded stores for produce and standing in long lines to check out. Grocery shopping is now easier than ever. With new technologies like Instacart, Shipt, and DoorDash, consumers have a variety of ways to get their groceries delivered straight to their doorstep. While the convenience of these applications creates more sales opportunities, they can also leave additional margin for error and risk a clunky customer experience if your data isn’t clean. Validating your address data will save you costs on wrong or late deliveries.
Additionally, some of your customers may still rely on your weekly ad flyers in their inbox to keep up with your offers. Incorporating the proper checks in place to validate customers’ address data have long-term benefits, including saving time and money from hefty redelivery and address correction fees.
Integrate data validation to reap these benefits
More and more organizations are looking to invest in data quality with the goal of ensuring higher return on investment (ROI) and providing a seamless customer experience. In fact, 95% say improving data quality has had a positive impact on customer experience. As a grocery retailer, your database likely houses thousands of customer’s contact information including emails, addresses, and phone numbers. This information can translate to valuable insights in the direction the business should take to keep customers happy, but only if it’s accurate.
The benefits of good-quality data resonate across all departments. Data validation gives businesses the confidence and trust in their contact data and insight they need to make informed and timely decisions for the business. Our research shows that 84% say poor quality contact data for customers negatively impacts our operational processes/efficiency. Ensuring that only clean data enters your database and continues to be cleansed to remove duplicates, formatting errors, and typos will ultimately lead to long-term benefits like:
How we can help
At Experian, we believe that data lies at the core of better and faster decision-making. That’s why we help empower retailers like yours with the tools and solutions necessary for accurate and reliable data. Our contact data validation solutions ensure trusted data is captured at the point-of-entry, enabling your business to use actionable information to reach your customers quickly and personally, increasing your chances of being more competitive, delivering a better customer experience, and reducing costs.
