The challenge
Countdown operates in a highly competitive and aggressive environment. The business constantly challenges itself to improve the customer experience as well as delivering sustainable solutions for how they delivered that experience.
When considering the key attributes that drive shoppers’ choice of supermarket, the key formula is a balance of Convenience, Price, Range, Quality and Service. Had Countdown placed too much emphasis on some attributes at the expense of others? Did customers miss some important messages within the journey? Had the move to improve efficiencies in fresh produce impacted the perceptions around the freshness of the product?
Client: Countdown
Countdown is Aotearoa’s leading supermarket brand, serving more than 3 million customers every week. Committed to providing customers with choice, value, and convenience, they operate 185 supermarkets across New Zealand supported by 21,000 team members.
What we did
Shopper journey review | Communication hierarchy | Sustainable POS solutions | Communications matrix x shopper zone | Store and signage recommendations | Customer journey enhancements | Produce department redesign + reset
The approach + solution
RX were engaged across two projects. The first to identify, ideate and deliver opportunities to provide stronger engagement of the core attributes of choice across the customers physical shopper journey. This included identifying solutions that could be delivered more sustainably in the long term.
The second was to apply the observations, findings, and recommendations for the fresh product department in selected prototype stores for analysis and costing. The result was the implementation of the recommendations and roll-out nationwide plus a seven-figure saving delivered through a sustainable solution that provided a win/win/win for the business, the internal team, and the environment.
What Countdown said
What we most value from this team is they bring to the table retail insights, innovative thinking and experiences that we don’t always have time to explore. That’s why they are experts at what they do, and we are experts at running supermarkets. They also worked well with our creative agency and were never precious about incorporating other people’s thinking to make ideas better. They are the right partner for you if you are looking for someone who respectfully keeps you focused on your end game, especially when your old habits start to creep in, and can call a spade a spade. Most importantly they are the team you want if you need to connect with customers better than your competitors along the shopper journey.
Jacques Losken | Head of Operations - Countdown