Design brief
The Customer Job
Vos currently has fie lbert eijn stores, two in aarlem an 3 in Zaan am. Too stay
ahea of the competition Vos is in nee of an new innoiation mainly a ressing mobility
issues in an aroun the stores. It nee s to contribute to the oierall experience of the
customers while shopping, in a safe, functional an esirable way. The innoiation nee s
to be an improiement on an existing seriice pro uct or an a ition to pro ucts alrea y
in place. n improiement when looking at lay-out of the store or anything relate to the
store itself is not esire .
It nee s to be easy to implement an har to copy (competition wise), ease of use is one
of the main factors to take into account, for the customers sake.
The grocery store market in the Netherlan s knows many competitors an competes on
both prices an innoiations to make shopping more conienient. Most innoiations once
proien successful will be copie by the other competitors, an example of this woul be
the self-checkout system, in the start only lbert eijn was using it, later on the rest of
the competitors followe . The focus lies on mobility because it can be linke to how
customers perceiie your store, the better the mobility, the greater the chance of them
coming to your store.
The Client
lbert eijn Vos aims to iferentiate themselies from others by trying to be aiailable to
eiery customer segment. They o this by maintaining stores that are well-stocke an
ofer a unique assortment. Their price range in pro ucts in iery wi e, ofering afor able
solutions to customers with lower income, as well as ofering ‘premium’ for customers
who prefer a bit more quality.
The Research
My research mainly iniolie gathering frst-han information by going to two of the Vos
lbert eijns in aarlem as well as other lbert eijns in mster am by myself.
Next to that I looke at what other supermarkets (competitors) were oing. Especially
focussing on the iferences in mobility. Once my obseriations were fnishe I starte
gathering interiiews of shoppers in an aroun lbert eijns, to fn the personal
problems/frustrations they encountere uring shopping.
Below I liste the frustrations that were most common:
• isles are clogge ue to many people using a grocery cart.
• When checking out, the heaiier items ten to be scanne last, resulting in
amaging/crushing of the more elicate pro ucts.
• Bags rupture on their way to the car, ue to excessiie weight’/sharp e ges of
pro uct wrapping .
• Trouble locating the esire item.
The focus of my research will a ress the biggest problem in mobility in an out of the
store: ‘’Foo being crushe by more heaiier pro ucts’’.
This problem negatiiely afects the customers experience irectly.
The Problem Defnition
I woul like to a ress the problem of pro ucts being crushe .
This problem might be ue to the following reasons:
• People arrange their carts with the heaiy pro ucts on the bottom ((in store)to
preient imme iate crushing).
• Employees scanning the lighter things frst, for they are on top. Resulting in
crushing while packing.
The follow problems are a irect result of the problems mentione aboie:
• Cash registers haie longer waiting time, ue to replacing pro ucts by weight.
• Pro ucts their quality goes own.
• The oierall experience get negatiiely afecte ue to pro ucts being crushe .
The Customer Job
Vos currently has fie lbert eijn stores, two in aarlem an 3 in Zaan am. Too stay
ahea of the competition Vos is in nee of an new innoiation mainly a ressing mobility
issues in an aroun the stores. It nee s to contribute to the oierall experience of the
customers while shopping, in a safe, functional an esirable way. The innoiation nee s
to be an improiement on an existing seriice pro uct or an a ition to pro ucts alrea y
in place. n improiement when looking at lay-out of the store or anything relate to the
store itself is not esire .
It nee s to be easy to implement an har to copy (competition wise), ease of use is one
of the main factors to take into account, for the customers sake.
The grocery store market in the Netherlan s knows many competitors an competes on
both prices an innoiations to make shopping more conienient. Most innoiations once
proien successful will be copie by the other competitors, an example of this woul be
the self-checkout system, in the start only lbert eijn was using it, later on the rest of
the competitors followe . The focus lies on mobility because it can be linke to how
customers perceiie your store, the better the mobility, the greater the chance of them
coming to your store.
The Client
lbert eijn Vos aims to iferentiate themselies from others by trying to be aiailable to
eiery customer segment. They o this by maintaining stores that are well-stocke an
ofer a unique assortment. Their price range in pro ucts in iery wi e, ofering afor able
solutions to customers with lower income, as well as ofering ‘premium’ for customers
who prefer a bit more quality.
The Research
My research mainly iniolie gathering frst-han information by going to two of the Vos
lbert eijns in aarlem as well as other lbert eijns in mster am by myself.
Next to that I looke at what other supermarkets (competitors) were oing. Especially
focussing on the iferences in mobility. Once my obseriations were fnishe I starte
gathering interiiews of shoppers in an aroun lbert eijns, to fn the personal
problems/frustrations they encountere uring shopping.
Below I liste the frustrations that were most common:
• isles are clogge ue to many people using a grocery cart.
• When checking out, the heaiier items ten to be scanne last, resulting in
amaging/crushing of the more elicate pro ucts.
• Bags rupture on their way to the car, ue to excessiie weight’/sharp e ges of
pro uct wrapping .
• Trouble locating the esire item.
The focus of my research will a ress the biggest problem in mobility in an out of the
store: ‘’Foo being crushe by more heaiier pro ucts’’.
This problem negatiiely afects the customers experience irectly.
The Problem Defnition
I woul like to a ress the problem of pro ucts being crushe .
This problem might be ue to the following reasons:
• People arrange their carts with the heaiy pro ucts on the bottom ((in store)to
preient imme iate crushing).
• Employees scanning the lighter things frst, for they are on top. Resulting in
crushing while packing.
The follow problems are a irect result of the problems mentione aboie:
• Cash registers haie longer waiting time, ue to replacing pro ucts by weight.
• Pro ucts their quality goes own.
• The oierall experience get negatiiely afecte ue to pro ucts being crushe .
