In a world where retail technology is rapidly advancing, consumers’ expectations of a hassle-free shopping experience are growing. Retailers are challenged with adopting technology at a rapid pace while balancing the prioritization of solutions that will allow them to best serve their communities.
With competing priorities for technology that helps offer the best experience, one critical function of the point-of-sale system was missing that stuck out as a priority for retailers in the CATAPULT® Community.
While this balancing act can prove to be a tricky one, conversations with retailers revealed a clear priority to address a glaring omission in current POS solutions. These retailers had loyal shoppers using EBT/SNAP funds to pay for their groceries, yet they lacked the ability to ensure those shoppers would have sufficient funds at checkout. The checkout anxiety felt by their customers prompted retailers to take action, insisting on closing this gap in functionality.
The response to retailers’ feedback
This unique challenge served as the catalyst for retail POS solutions provider, ECRS, to embark on a transformative mission: to create an inclusive, easy-to-use tool for SNAP recipients to use online and in-store. In pursuit of this goal, ECRS aimed to empower retailers to provide exceptional service and meet the diverse needs of their communities. The solution? Creating the industry-first, patent-pending feature, SNAP While You Shop™ — a balance management tool for EBT shoppers.
How it works
When SNAP While You Shop is used in-store, CATAPULT WebCart™’s progressive web app feature, Accelerated Checkout, allows store items to be scanned via shoppers’ phones, automatically adding them to a virtual basket. If the item is SNAP eligible, the user will see their estimated available balance change in real-time. If the item is removed from the basket before checkout, its value will be returned to the estimated balance.
The online experience is the same for shoppers using ECRS’ native e-Commerce solution, CATAPULT WebCart. SNAP-eligible patrons use the store’s e-Commerce site as they always have, and now have the ability to monitor their estimated SNAP balance while building their baskets from home.
Watch SNAP While You Shop in Action
Why it matters
Consumers need stores they can depend on to provide them with tools that give them peace of mind when they shop while retailers need a convenient way to enable their acceptance of a variety of tenders. SNAP While You Shop synthesizes these needs and elevates the customer experience by removing checkout anxiety with the shopper’s ability to easily check their estimated SNAP balance. This feature is the manifestation of grocery retailers’ commitment to providing an exceptional shopping experience for every customer.
