About the company
Cencosud Brasil is part of one of the most prestigious multibrand and multi-format retail groups in the Americas. The company is among the largest supermarket chains in the country, with over 20,000 employees and more than 300 stores across nine Brazilian states.
Overview
Imagine receiving your online shopping order and discovering that one essential item was out of stock. Now, imagine that the solution arrived before you even realized the problem: equivalent products were suggested to you via chat, and you could quickly choose and decide on the substitution. This is the reality Cencosud Brasil was able to create for its customers with the help of Weni by VTEX.
Selling grocery products through digital channels is nothing new for the company, which has already allowed purchases through unconventional channels such as WhatsApp. However, this great convenience for customers comes with significant challenges for the operations team, which must ensure excellence both in customer service and the post-purchase journey.
In 2024, the group set a new goal for its digital channels: improving the post-purchase experience, ensuring delivery speed and offering modern and efficient support to customers.
One of the biggest challenges in this journey was the substitution of out-of-stock products at the picking stage, which was manually performed, consuming precious time from the team and affecting the customer experience. Faced with this challenge, the teams at Cencosud and Weni set out to develop a solution that would transform this process: picking teams began recommending precise, real-time substitutions aligned with the supermarket’s actual stock, minimizing cancellations and enhancing the customer experience.
The Problem
Cencosud had already established itself as a retail leader long before the online grocery shopping became widespread. As the brands digitized, the challenges grew – and customer expectations did too. Given the need to coordinate multiple tools and a vast variety of SKUs, managing issues during the picking stage became a priority.
The approval process for substitution items was slow, impacting customer satisfaction. Therefore, it was essential to develop a solution that could ensure speed, accuracy, and a seamless experience.
The Solution: Automating These Processes with a CX Specialist AI
With a long-standing partnership with Weni by VTEX, Cencosud Brasil saw the platform as an opportunity to efficiently address its challenges by activating the product substitution module. This solution introduced an agent capable of handling post-purchase communication with customers, informing them of equivalent products for out-of-stock items, and offering support in natural language whenever necessary.
How the process works:
- When an item is identified as unavailable, the store picker selects alternatives to be suggested to the customer.
- After completing the selection, the logistics system sends this information to Weni by VTEX, which notifies the customer via WhatsApp, explaining the situation and presenting the substitution options.
- Once the customer makes a choice, Weni by VTEX communicates the decision to Cencosud Brasil’s picking system, ensuring that the order proceeds for delivery without issues.
Before automation, this process was manually handled by the picking team, which had to contact the customer directly, taking more time and resources. With the agent, in addition to speed, it is now possible to ensure that communication is more effective and structured, reflecting the brand’s identity.
The implementation began in September 2024 at Prezunic stores, and soon after, it was expanded to the Bretas, GBarbosa, and Mercantil brands. This process transformed the consumer experience: orders began to be completed without interruptions and with greater precision, resulting in operational gains and a more satisfactory shopping journey.
Results
After three full months of operation at the Prezunic stores, the results began to stand out:
- Fewer Cancellations: A 7% reduction in dissatisfied customers.
- Improved Customer Experience: 70% of customers rated the service as excellent, with a satisfaction rate reaching 94%.
- Revenue Increase, Even in Post-Sale: A 9,25% increase in average order value, showing greater accuracy in the process.
Among the qualitative results observed, we have:
- Operational Efficiency: The integrated suggestions eliminated time-consuming manual interactions and allowed the team to focus on more essential tasks.
- Revenue Maintenance: The solution allows maintaining the same order value level.
- Improved Customer Relationship: Quick and personalized responses reduce friction and increase satisfaction even in atypical scenarios.
Conclusion
The implementation of the solution, combined with the intelligent agent, not only modernized the shopping experience in Cencosud Brasil’s digital channels but also created a new standard of agility and efficiency in the grocery sector. The case demonstrates how the smart use of technology can positively impact both operations and customer satisfaction, reinforcing Cencosud Brasil’s commitment to innovation and excellence.
Want to see results like these in your company? Access Weni by VTEX and discover how to scale your company’s CX with high-end technology.
