Many people wish they could look into the crystal ball. Retailers would certainly also like to ask the occult prop a question or two: How will consumer behavior change? Will bricks-and-mortar retail remain important? And what role will digital services play? A study on retail trends is a reliable tool for obtaining answers to these questions.
Know and utilise customer expectations
A few years ago, the EHI Retail Institute, the German Retail Association (HDE), Kantar TNS and the auditing firm KPMG turned their attention to people aged between 16 and 60 and surveyed them as part of the ‘Trends in Retail 2025’ study The Germany-wide representative survey of 1,015 consumers not only provided a deeper insight into current shopping behaviour It also focussed on future expectations
This is because retailers are facing changes in the wake of digitalisation and rapidly changing consumer habits. Knowing the biggest challenges and at the same time utilising the resulting opportunities will ultimately give you a competitive advantage.
Digitalisation – the next steps
This means that the first hurdle has been overcome: increasing digitalisation. If this challenge is overcome, retailers will benefit from more efficient internal structures on the one hand. On the other hand, overcoming this obstacle offers numerous opportunities to win over younger society as customers, for example with digital services.
Omnichannel, as a cross-digital and cross-channel business model, was already a relevant topic for over half of those surveyed in 2015. In the future, the seamless integration of different sales channels will be even more decisive for a successful shopping experience, as will mobile payment and mobile applications, such as digital coupons.
What for a long time could only be observed in neighbouring countries is now also becoming increasingly present in German retail. We are talking about self-checkout tills and mobile self-scanning systems. These alternatives to traditional checkouts are being used in grocery stores, drugstores, DIY stores and furniture stores in particular to constantly optimise the shopping experience.
Big data. Big opportunity!
Artificial intelligence, big data and the Internet of Things (IoT) are also on the list of future topics. Although currently less implemented in practice, a good 35% of participants already attach great importance to these possibilities of intelligent data analysis. Ultimately, this will enable retailers to offer tailored customer service. For example, there is potential for employees at the POS to know more about the e-commerce purchasing behavior of their customers or for the data to provide information about stock levels.
Tip: A seamless and transparent warehouse does not have to be far in the future. With an efficient merchandise management system, the features can be brought about quickly.
Meaning of Cash
Despite the fact that consumers want modern payment systems, cash will not lose its relevance in the foreseeable future As an indispensable means of payment, retailers should look for ways to map the associated cash logistics processes efficiently, securely and transparently This is the only way to meet customer demands for both non-cash and cash payments – both in-store and in e-commerce
In order to keep pace, meet the changing requirements and at the same time optimize internal processes for greater efficiency, there is a promising starting point: digitalization at the POS – be it through modern checkout software, self-service kiosk managers or efficient cash logistics processes that run securely and transparently in the background
Conclusion
The changes show that retail remains important. For a good quarter of those surveyed, this shopping option will remain indispensable in the future. Although there are some aspects that need to be taken into account in order not to be left behind by the competition. After all, issues such as sustainability and transparency will become increasingly important in the future. The following therefore applies – now and for the coming year: openness to new ideas will pay off.
CTA: Are you keen to find out what simplifications are possible for you? Then let’s get talking!
