I’ve been intrigued by the Aldi Supermarket since they began to make inroads into the UK supermarket business. They have many innovations that have been well publicised, but the one you may not have come across is that their own brand packaging has numerous barcodes on every side.
Why? To ensure that it only needs one swipe across the reader at checkout time so you can push the shopping through the till far quicker than the customer can pack. That way, they need less staff at the checkout to keep their costs down. It also means that the checkout person can maintain eye contact with the customer, engage with them and ultimately cross-sell.
Aldi doesn’t do that, but you can.
Are your limited bar codes holding you back? Naturally, you don’t have bar codes; it’s a metaphor. Do you have systems that are holding you back from engaging with the customer? If so, think about how you can simplify these to engage with your customer, keep eye contact and cross-sell.
I wonder why Aldi don’t cross-sell?
