Very Group and Gousto reveal CX investments

Content marketing, apps and finely tuned algorithms are the areas of focus over the next 12 months for the Very Group and food delivery retailer Gousto. 

Speaking during a Retail Week virtual event, held in partnership with Rackspace and broadcast later today from 3.30pm-4.10pm. The Very Group chief marketing officer Carly O’Brien said the online retailer will be investing in content marketing, the Very app and personalisation over the next 12 months.

She said the group’s mobile app sales grew 33% over the 2020/21 Christmas period and that the retailer is starting to challenge mobile web as a sales channel. 

“We’re seeing that our most loyal and engaged customers are enjoying using our app so we’re focusing on building out that experience to make it the best it can be”

Carly O’Brien, The Very Group

She said: “We’re seeing that our most loyal and engaged customers are enjoying using our app so we’re focusing on building out that experience to make it the best it can be.”

She added content is similarly important. “Over the last 12 months there’s been lots of growth of social channels and more time spent in those content spaces, so we’ll be leaning into the successes we’ve seen throughout this period and start building on that as we go forward.”

Stratospheric growth

At Gousto, growth has been stratospheric as customers flocked to its weekly meal deliveries during lockdown – chief technology officer Shaun Pearce said the company is four times bigger than it was at the beginning of the pandemic and has gone from delivering 2 million meals a month to 2 million meals a week. 

He said the focus at Gousto is tech-driven changes that create both efficiencies and customer experience improvements, and points to examples such as algorithms that plan its menus each week to have a balance of nutrients and cuisines.

Before, this was done manually by its team of recipe developers. “By automating that, we’ve removed that job for our recipe developers, and can produce a better experience and menu for our customers,” he said.

The teams at Gousto work on a cross-functional structure. Pearce adds: “My team, when they were in the office, were physically with marketing, operations and the food teams. They have shared goals, shared ways of working. This brings everyone together.”

 “All the technology we’re testing is highly measurable, whether that’s AB testing or data analysis, so we’re confident the investments we’re making are having a real impact on customers”

Shaun Pearce, Gousto

In addition, the company ensures every technology investment is measurable. According to Pearce: “All the technology we’re testing is highly measurable, whether that’s AB testing or data analysis, so we’re confident the investments we’re making are having a real impact on customers. We measure it through output metrics, things like customer NPS, and use that to guide investment.”

“We look at proxy measures as well for every new feature we make and most of it is AB tested. We want to be sure it’s paying off in terms of customer experience and business growth as well. This makes a big difference to the type of investments made.”

Nathan Hudson, global account director at Rackspace, said failing fast has never been more important for retailers working through the final months of the pandemic. “It’s all about agility. Being smart around business process and taking advantage of micro changes you can make that can deliver operational change.”