Europe’s Leading Technology Trade Fair for Retail
maconda News February 2016
“Retail is change” – digitalization and technologization, informed and demanding consumers, and new business models present retail with new challenges. In the complex and dynamic retail industry, which maconda primarily serves, forward-looking, integrated retail concepts are required, increasingly characterized by technological development. In February, maconda visited Europe’s leading trade fair for retail technology, EuroCIS. The focus of this year’s EuroCIS was on solutions that support retailers in implementing their omnichannel strategies, i.e., dialogue with customers across all channels. This includes mobile solutions, for example, for interacting with customers’ smartphones or for implementing mobile payment, as well as topics such as business analytics, cloud technologies, RFID, and self-checkout. These technologies are becoming increasingly important for retail organizations.
“Retail is change” – dynamic technological development in retail
The use of technologies is intended to make the PoS more attractive for customers and to make retailers’ workflows more effective in the future – regardless of the specific industry. Functional omnichannel concepts and location-based services are particularly in demand. Using Bluetooth technology and transmitters (beacons), retailers, service providers with stationary outlets, and various B2B service providers can deliver information and offers directly to consumers’ smartphones at the PoS. This location-based interaction, as well as local services and advertising, can specifically activate and retain customers.
In addition to location-based marketing, omnichannel transformation is one of the central future topics for retailers. Omnichannel – meaning a seamless shopping experience for the customer across all channels, with fluid transitions and a consistent brand experience – represents the further development of multi- and cross-channel. Whether Click & Collect, Reserve & Collect, Return-to-Store, or In-store Ordering – there are several omnichannel functionalities that provide added value to the customer across channels. The integration into existing IT structures, above all merchandise management, ERP, logistics, payment, and CRM, is currently in the planning or implementation phase for many retailers.
Analytics and Big Data are also central topics for retail, where the potential is far from exhausted. The possibilities arising from increasing digitalization, the Internet of Things, or Big Data Analytics are unlimited. Intelligent “analytic tools” help to consolidate, condense, and virtually decipher data from various sources. In addition to a precise current overview, accurate forecasts about future scenarios can be derived. They enable optimal decision-making and provide new insights into customer behavior, market dynamics, and business processes. Predictive Analytics solutions based on self-learning algorithms can lead to increased sales, minimized warehousing, and reduced logistics and production costs.