DIA News 08.2018

Digital in Retail – More than e-commerce

In the last article, we focused on challenges facing retailers and defined »smartness« as the success formula for the store of the future. It brings together all the factors relevant for long-term success. In the following, we will flesh out the potential that digitization provides stationary businesses and highlight technologies that can be used profitably alongside an online-offline symbiosis.

Personalized experience. »It’s all about experience« is, on the one hand, already a well-known fact, but on the other hand, it remains valid and is constantly evolving. The meaning of experience is becoming increasingly sophisticated and personal – technology is a significant contributor in this regard. Today, customers receive personalized offers if they have customer cards, and shop windows respond to their movements. Tomorrow, technology might know customers’ tastes better than they do, greet them personally and offer them customized experiences.

Will technology know my taste better than I do? ©Laurenz Kleinheider

Convenience & shopping assistance. Will the world of tomorrow be free of wasted time? Intelligent technology has the potential to prevent stressful, time-consuming activities and to put the time gained towards more meaningful activities. Retailers increasingly analyze the processes that customers go through in their stores and where inconvenience arises: For example, waiting at the checkout counter or endlessly searching for products both create dissatisfaction. Even dressing rooms don’t make for positive experiences for all customers. Digital technology will help elevate the word »comfort« to a new stage of evolution.

Technology creates convenience by preventing undesirable activites. ©Henrik Dønnestad

Product configuration. Personalization doesn’t only apply to experiences, but also to what the store ultimately sells: the products themselves. Digital systems could ensure that in the future we’ll only find a small selection of »basic products« in the store. Alternative designs, colors, patterns, and sizes would then be displayed on digital screens or projections without the product being physically available. Software solutions can also help select the appropriate outfit combinations for your individual style. Personalized digital design of your own garments with on-site 3D production processes could become the supreme discipline of product configuration.

Technology will help to select individual outfit combinations. ©NordWood Themes

Social Experience. When the first social media platforms emerged, no one had a clue that apps like Instagram would become one of the most important advertising machines. Not all retailers have yet recognized the lucrative possibilities that social media provides. But we believe that these will increasingly be seen in the store. »Social experience« could be a significant step in the further development of an online-offline symbiosis. The first examples we’ve already seen in this regard are Social Walls: Customers share their shopping experience, become a part of the store for that time while also advertising the store in passing. The ratings, descriptions and testimonials generated by social media in a smart and decentralized manner weave through the entire product range, for stationary businesses as well.

Two girls capture their lifestyle moment and share it via Instagram with the world. ©Elijah O’Donell

Virtual and Augmented Reality. There is much discussion around VR and AR. They are often dismissed as being temporary gimmicks and entertainment technologies. However, technological advances derived from gaming are constantly evolving. We believe that the possibilities in these technologies are in many ways underestimated, for example, the increasingly realistic option of being transported to a different world. It is quite possible that fashion enthusiasts would like to beam themselves to a fashion show, or that athletes would like to try out their latest achievements virtually in the wild.

Costumers can beam themselves to a fashion show to test the new garment in (virtual) reality. ©Kris Atomic

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