The modern consumer seeks more than just high-quality products; they desire an engaging and memorable shopping experience. Here are eight innovative strategies specialty retailers are adopting to enhance on-site customer experiences.
Automated Purchasing and Food Pickup
Fen Farm Dairy pioneered milk vending machines over a decade ago, allowing customers to purchase milk hands-free, 24/7. Meanwhile, Upper Dysart Larder in Scotland designed its farm shop around high-tech food lockers. These lockers enable customers to browse products, check allergens, and pay via cash or card, with lockers illuminating to reveal their purchases. This contactless, efficient system has expanded to include a range of products, from premium mashed potato products to cheeseboards, each individually housed and accessed from its own glass-fronted box.
Jessica Squires, co-owner of Upper Dysart Larder, describes the system as “an iPad on a screen.” Customers can flick through all the products, find out more about them, including allergy information and price, pick what they want, and pay. A new update ensures that after payment, only the lockers containing the purchased items light up, guiding customers to their goods. This innovative approach has proven successful, attracting a wide range of customers seeking convenience and ease.
Drive-Thru Convenience and EV Charging
Some retailers situated near busy routes are attracting both locals and passersby with drive-thru services and EV charging points. The Rhug Estate in Corwen, North Wales, offers light bites and EV charging, while Friday Street Farm Shop in Suffolk has replicated this model. By providing a quick and healthy option compared to typical motorway services, these retailers have seen an increase in visitors, with EV charging points serving as an added attraction.
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Managing director of The Rhug Estate, Amy Coleman, attributes the success of their drive-thru to its convenience. “We are off the A5, linking to all sorts of destinations, and people often don’t have time to go out looking for somewhere to eat and drink. We’ve become a part of their journey, selling organic bacon rolls to toasties, teas, coffees, and soft drinks.” The EV charging points, which are 24 hours, also contribute to the increase in visitors.
On-Site Baking
Otterton Mill in Devon has found significant success with its on-site bakery, which offers a range of bread and baked goods made from locally sourced ingredients. The bakery’s popularity drives footfall to the farm shop and cafe, with customers often buying ingredients to recreate their meals at home. Owner Chris Wright attributes this success to the demand for UPF-free alternatives to supermarket ‘plastic’ bread and the desire for ‘affordable treat’ moments.
The bakery, with its own mill for flour, attracts visitors from far and wide, who can’t get enough of the skilful bakery’s breads, including traditional loaves, Spanish varieties infused with olive oil, and even touches of the unusual, like crab buns fashioned into crab shapes. Hundreds of scones leave the ovens each day, lined up alongside brownies, Devon cider apple cake, and Coast Path cake, infused with the site’s own beer. Marrying the bakery with the cafe has proven very beneficial to the farm shop, as customers often buy ingredients to recreate their cafe meals at home.
