Benedict Kober, Spokesperson for the Board of Directors at EURONICS Deutschland eG

According to an old German saying, trade is change, and this saying is more pertinent today than ever before. The internet has had a lasting effect on customer behaviour and more and more people are deciding to make purchases online. The first round in e-commerce went to the so-called pure players, but consumers will become more demanding when it comes to the shopping experience, service and services they expect and that is precisely where brick and mortar retailers with local stores and staff available in store are in the better starting position.

According to many experts, the future belongs to the so-called cross-channel approach. It remains to be seen how exactly cross-channel works and which advantages it brings, and we are all sure to make our own experiences in this regard more and more in the coming years. One thing is clear, however: Customers can only be reached over all chanels if all channels are actually used, and one of these channels remains the local store. This is basically good news. However, we must face up to consumers’ changing shopping habits and cross-channel retail (CCR), meeting the demands of our customers!

On the one hand, we must offer the same capability concerning product range and shopping as customers are used to from the web. On the other hand, we must definitely play on our regional strengths: the shopping experience, during which goods can be appreciated using all senses, in direct contact with a competent adviser and with individual services being provided even after the purchase has been made. We at EURONICS have done our homework over the past months. For example, with our CCR concept we have created a high-performance platform providing optimum support for every individual member. However, the range of topics to be tackled is not finite, which is why we will continue to expand and improve our CCR toolkit.

This is why now is the perfect time to reinvent the POS. Some prerequisites must still be created on the ground by the entrepreneurs and sales staff must practice new habits and processes in daily business so long until they become second nature. There are also some topics which we have not yet finally discussed or decided on right down to the very last detail. One example is pricing. Is the customer willing to pay higher prices in store than online? Market research indicates that prices in brick and mortar stores should be a maximum of 3 to 8 percent above the prices generally available online if consumers are to accept the price.

It goes without saying that we still have a lot to learn in the future and in some instances all parties may indeed have to change their point of view considerably. With the correct framework, however, and last but not least the right attitude, we will also be able to meet these demands. I am thinking of issues such as ERP, master data maintenance, electronic data exchange, training for employees and kiosk systems as a virtual shelf, to name but a few.

The book by Dominik Brokelmann “The Connected Store” gives all EURONICS retailers practical insights and help for how to continue to be successful in future in the digital age. It shows a number of ways in which specialist retailers are set to be among the winners on the market, provided they make the best use of the CCR tools at their disposal.

The book “The Connected Store” with a foreword by Benedict Kober – Spokesperson for the Board of Directors EURONICS Deutschland eG.

I am convinced that we are already on the right track and - as is described in the book - brick and mortar retailers acting as local heroes offer the better package for the customer. Even though there is still a lot to do, I myself am looking forward to the exciting times ahead of us and hope you enjoy the read.

The book “The Connected Store” is to be published as a special edition especially for the EURONICS congress. My guest contribution is included as the foreword.