The major challenge for brick-and-mortar retail is to keep customers in the store and prevent them from buying online from a competitor - the aim is to counteract what is known as showrooming.
Every fifth potential customer leaves the stationary branch without buying anything* and continues the buying process online. Consumers go to the store, get extensive advice, test and compare products. However, they complete the purchase online at a later point in time after reading reviews and comparing prices from different online shops and marketplaces. The major challenge for brick-and-mortar retail is to keep customers in the store and prevent them from buying online from a competitor - the aim is to counteract what is known as showrooming. “When retailers create an efficient bridge between their online and offline sales channels, it can give them a significant competitive advantage. In this way, they can benefit from the interactions and also reach and retain the customer in the branch with appealing features from e-commerce, so that at best they complete their purchase there,” says Christian Jürs, Managing Director of the software manufacturer ROQQIO. Using ROQQIO technologies, retailers bring e-commerce functions to their stationary branches and upgrade them accordingly.
With e-commerce functions such as Click & Collect or Click & Reserve, customers can reserve, order and pay for their product online from home or on the go and pick it up in the branch. In the ROQQIO instore app, employees can find all information about the online order. As soon as the ordered goods arrive at the branch, the customer is automatically informed by e-mail or phone call and the order status is updated with just one click. They can also provide the customer with extensive information about the product and the current stock levels using tablets or other mobile devices. In addition, the store staff can have goods that are not currently available in the store delivered to the store via the in-store app from the online shop or from other branches. In this way, buyers benefit from the advantages of online shopping, which they can also use in the stationary branch, and an optimized shopping experience. These services set retailers apart from the multitude of competitors.
“Retailers no longer have to rely solely on passing and regular customers who walk through the pedestrian zone and occasionally, often by chance, enter the stationary branch. With the integration of modern technologies, retailers can generate new customer groups, lure them back from online shopping to the branch and bind them to them in the long term with attractive services,” says Jürs.
The ROQQER Talk with e-commerce expert Lars Hofacker from the EHI Retail Institute on December 8 at 10:00 a.m., to which ROQQIO is happy to invite, will also deal with the topics of click & collect, omnichannel and the in-store app.
*https://zukunftdeseinkaufens.de/jeder-5-online-kaeufer-fachhandel/
ROQQIO offers software solutions and concepts for the implementation of the customer journey in omnichannel retail. The portfolio includes systems for merchandise control, POS and the enterprise SaaS application ROQQIO Commerce Cloud. This manages different sales channels and controls complex backend processes, including order management, payment and logistics. The combination of these stationary and online technologies enables a seamless omnichannel experience. Processes such as Click & Collect or the exchange of goods bought online in the branch work smoothly. More than 1,500 companies already trust in the services and solutions of the commerce experts from ROQQIO.