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Over the past few months—as people across the country sheltered in place—third-party food delivery became a vital channel for the restaurant industry. And while restaurant dining rooms are now starting to reopen, it’s clear the pandemic has impacted consumer behavior for the long haul.

As states take varying levels of action to reopen their economies, the safest way for brands to resume operations is to leverage the hard-earned lessons from essential retailers. We set out to determine what this next normal will look like...

Social distancing guidelines and COVID-19 regulations haven’t just led to the closure of restaurant dining rooms and strict in-store shopping procedures—they’ve created a surge in curbside pick-up for all types of businesses.

As people around the U.S. hunker down at home, the age-old question “What’s for dinner?” is more often being answered with the help of a food delivery app. Since March 11—when the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic and restaurants across the country shut down their dining rooms—many brands have turned to third-party delivery providers...

With the sudden rise in employees working from home, many organizations are navigating unchartered territory and adjusting to a “new normal” workday. This abrupt pivot is even more complicated when you consider factors like children at home and partners also in the household telecommuting for their jobs...

The current reality of food shopping has shifted, and grocery stores have stepped up to make item availability, health, and safety a priority for customers. With new information being released every day, consumer preferences are changing by region.

While businesses adapt to the new normal created by COVID-19, it’s imperative to keep pace with a quickly evolving customer experience. As the expectations for low-contact or contactless shopping shift, your digital touchpoints need to hit the mark.

Like you, we’re adjusting to a new normal, where all interactions—from collaborating with co-workers to purchasing products—are being fundamentally transformed.

Industries across the board are having to prove their agility to keep up with the ever-evolving needs and expectations of customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. In such uncertain times, it's the brands that remain responsive and adaptive that will win customer loyalty and stay ahead of the curve.

The retail industry is formulating a new normal for shopping, which means still putting the customer first—while also prioritizing the health and safety of employees and consumers.

As coronavirus (COVID-19) continues to have unprecedented global impact, your organization’s experience management (XM) strategy must be optimized to capture fast-changing feedback and provide rapid and actionable insight. Right now—when fear and uncertainty is amplified—empathy and transparency are key to earning the ongoing trust of your employees and your customers.

As shown in the first installment of our blog series on Gen Z and millennial food shopping trends, grocery scored second- and third-lowest in share of stomach for the age groups, respectively. But a low share of stomach is nothing to worry about—in fact, it only creates a greater opportunity for grocery brands to earn a portion of the $3 trillion combined spending power of the two generations.

The healthcare industry overwhelmingly recognizes the patient experience (PX) as a critical initiative—4 out of 5 organizations cite it as a top priority in the next three years. But that near unanimity doesn’t mean all healthcare professionals are on the same page about what the patient experience is or who owns it.

Restaurants have taken 21st century approaches to attract millennial and Gen Z consumers—but don’t worry, a branded TikTok account isn’t necessary for earning their share of stomach. And while they might be making an impact on the food landscape as we know it, keeping them satisfied doesn’t have to be complicated. Read on for three things restaurant brands need to know...

Today’s customers are more often using feedback methods like images, speech, and video to provide very candid, human experiences with the brands they encounter. Brands that are able to connect with these consumers and “bring the real voice of the customer front and center” will come out ahead.

With 72 million millennials in the United States and Generation Z nearing 91 million, restaurant and grocery brands have lots of hungry mouths to feed—but can’t expect the tactics used on previous generations to yield the same results.

SMG has been recognized as a Strong Performer in The Forrester Wave™: Customer Feedback Management Platforms, Q1 2020 report, one of the industry’s most thorough and detailed analyses of the customer feedback management (CFM) marketplace.

In 2010, everyone thought e-commerce would eventually make traditional touchpoints obsolete—so retailers scrambled to keep up with the new normal by focusing on improving their digital touchpoints separately from the brick-and-mortar experience. A decade later, CX data proves shoppers want their online and in-store touchpoints to not just coexist, but complement each other...

Customers expect interactions with brands across all industries to be convenient and customized—particularly when it comes to digital experiences. And not only do today’s consumers have less patience, they believe companies should understand (and anticipate) their needs.

“Visionary” was the name of the game at this month’s National Retail Federation (NRF) Big Show. We had the opportunity to join more than 40,000 people from around the world to get an update on current retail happenings...