TOM June 2020

Page 07 T O M
GUEST CONTRIBUTION
June 2020
Shopping Mall in the Living Room
Guest Contribution by York Friedrich Stahlknecht, Head of Retail at Drees & Sommer
„Hey, Siri, order this from my
grocery list...“ New technologies
make it as easy as possible
for consumers to have their
products delivered directly to
their living room. Providing
the appropriate digital offers
is a challenging and time-consuming
task for retailers who
have so far concentrated primarily
on stationary trade. Fit
for online - a concept that has
confronted retailers with difficult
decisions even before the
Corona crisis.
For stationary trade, the Corona
crisis is an existential challenge.
Some retailers are now forced to
expand their distribution channels
to online shops. Others,
on the other hand, recognized
the astronomical growth of online
retailing years ago and have
been focusing on digital activities
ever since. However, what
becomes a major competitive
advantage in the crisis can become
a problem in normal everyday
life: Many retailers have
invested extensively in e-commerce
platforms in the past, but
have ignored the fact that the
online shop alone is not enough
to ensure a positive buying experience.
Reacting to
customer wishes
with flexibility
Online or stationary? A successful
retailer should not ask
himself this question today, he
should ask himself: What does
my customer want? For most
consumers today, shopping is
primarily about speed, flexibility
and convenience. To meet
these needs, retailers have to
sell the goods or services in parallel
via more than one channel
directly to the customer. The
sensible use of new sales channels
and cross-channel presence
is known as a multi-channel
system. In this sales concept,
the customer can choose his
preferred channel and purchase
the products in stationary trade,
in e-commerce, via social media
or by catalogue. In contrast
to the single-channel principle,
in which there is only a single
touch point between customer
and retailer, the channels in the
York Friedrich Stahlknecht, Head of Retail, Drees & Sommer Germany
multi-channel system function
independently of each other. The
prerequisite: a well thought-out
online-to-offline strategy that
links both shopping worlds.
Online shops in city
centres
Not only enabling different
worlds, but also linking them
In trade policy, the omnichannel
principle is referred to as the
„royal league“: The customer
uses several channels for a purchase
transaction, whereby he
can use some of them simultaneously.
Here, shopping in different
worlds is not only made
possible, the different channels
are also linked with each other.
For example, the customer is
made aware of the product via
social media, places it in his
shopping cart in the app and
carries out the ordering process
in the online shop.
The added value of multi- or
omnichannel systems is often
countered by arguments such
as lack of personnel, cost factors
or respect for change processes.
What is often forgotten
here: The customer is king, and
the customer wants variety, entertainment
and convenience in
the shopping experience. The
more channels the consumer
has access to, the better he or
she can find out about products,
do errands on the go and compare
prices regardless of opening
hours.
Iwt is not only the customer
who benefits from cross-channel
shopping: Retailers expand
the availability of their products,
can offer certain goods
channel-specifically, suggest
better offers to the consumer
and thus develop long-term
customer loyalty. However, it is
essential for this loyalty that the
connection between retailer and
consumer does not only take
place in the digital context. In
the meantime, many large online
retailers are opening pop-up
stores or outlets in city centres
to offer their customers a live
experience with the products.
Some shopping centers now
offer augmented reality events
and virtual tools that allow customers
to bring the shopping
experience into their own four
walls and browse through stores
virtually. Whether new retail
concepts are the shopping mall
in the living room or the online
shop in the city center, it is safe
to say that the shopping experience
is not just a matter of the
shopping mall itself: In the future,
stationary or digital will no
longer be an either-or question
T
TOPS
O M
OF THE MONTH
Essential News About The Players In
The Retail Property Market In Germany
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