BIZ ASSIGNMENT
Problem
Many consumers waste time in grocery stores because they don’t know where their item is located.
Problem Statement: If you are unaware of where a product is in a store it can take over double them time to get groceries
Why this is a problem
Failing to find what you are looking for at the grocery store can cause two issues:
Spending time searching aisles and trying to find a store associate to help you locate a product is unproductive, a waste of time, and that time could be spent doing more important stuff
Instead of searching some times customers leave the store without the product they mean to buy because they give up searching or mistakenly think the store doesn’t sell what they were looking for.
Evidence
According to the Time Use Institute “The average shopping trip takes 41 minutes. If you multiply that by the 1.5-trip per week average, that’s over 53 hours per year you’re spending in the grocery store.” http://www.timeuseinstitute.org/Grocery16paper.pdf and http://startup-port.com/blog/interesting-facts-figures-us-grocery-shopping-habits/
Current market solutions & Other Solutions
When a product can’t be found in a store there are a few options customers have:
Ask a store associate. While this is a simple way to solve the problem, often times it is difficult to find a store associate and if there are multiple items you can’t find it is not practical for the store associate to walk with you during you shopping trip.
Download the grocery store’s app. Stores selling groceries such as Walmart, Kroger, and Meijer all have apps. Some even give some location detail of items in the store. However, they are inconsistent with the amount of information displayed and if you shop at multiple stores, it means you have to download multiple apps and then learn how each one works.
The “Shops” app currently available finds product location The downfall with this app is it only shows the store locations. Not specific item locations within the store
Just wonder the aisles hoping to find whatever product you came in to buy. This is a waste of customer time and usually ends in frustration.
NEW PRODUCT
Create an app that gives a visual layout of major grocery stores and shows where all items are located by a simple search.
By research of the problem, brainstorming, and identifying other possible solutions and their weaknesses, this new product idea was developed.
This new app is the solution to the problem because it can be opened on the customers smart phone, used whenever they want to, it will work in not just one type of store but across the major grocery stores, will allow the customer to see if a store even carries the product they are looking for before they even go to the store, and ultimately saves the customer time.
Product brands will pay to advertise on the app because it will allow consumers to find their products easier.
SUCCESS
For the app to be successful:
The major grocery stores (such as Walmart, Kroger, Meijer, Publix, Target) must agree to cooperate and put their store information on the app
A large number of consumers must download and use the app
National product brands will see increased sales from advertising on the app and continue to buy ads on the app.
Success will be measured by:
Profit achieved
Amount of people who have downloaded the app
How many items are searched on the app