Recently we started looking at different ways in which our members can get involved with our Co-op and share their opinions. Some examples of what members have supported so far are:
- Suggesting a favourite pizza topping
- Recommending a local ale to be sold in a Co-op Food shop
- Exploring Funeralcare pre-paid funeral plans
To get involved, members simply go to Co-op Membership and find something they’d like to join in with.
Not everyone is confident with digital channels and there’s a perception that it’s only young people who will embrace things like this. It would be a shame if that was the case, because the invitation to participate is open and relevant to all our members.
To make sure that we’re including as many our of members as possible we’re keeping an eye on the sign-up data. Using this we’re learning what we can do better.
This data is handled anonymously, sensitively and securely. This is about us using data for the benefit of our members to help us to be an inclusive Co-op.
I had a look at some of the data and plotted the following histograms of the ages of Members who signed up for the opportunities listed at the start of this post:
To me, this data tells us we’re attracting members from a wide range of ages. The different opportunities themselves are appealing to different ages too. There’s a lot more to be said about this data but I’ll leave it there for now and welcome readers to comment.
Alex Waters
Data Science
What it tells me is that the decline in response with age is a result of the risk we have taken in putting all our eggs in the digital basket. Many of our most loyal members and shoppers have been disenfranchised by virtually exclusive digital communication. Member communication in store has long been very weak and continues to be a wasted opportunity (the tiny little overcrowded carrousels, the uncreative use of the video screens).
I think the increase in the quality and quantity of digital communications should be mirrored by a similar sophistication in our use of other media for those who by age or inclination do not favour digital. Instead, we seem to writing off the other methods all together – these are not the actions of an inclusive organisation, Harumph!