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Dare Yourself: More Courage to Digitize at the POS — DMS in a Talk With Norbert Hillinger.

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Conference room from inside

Der Trendforscher Norbert Hillinger im Interview: Warum sich Mut gerade jetzt lohnt.

What’s coming, what’s staying? What should we dare to do now? Trend researcher Norbert Hillinger shares his extensive know-how in an interview with DMS. An exciting talk about transformation, retail, storytelling and more — and about why WiFi in stores alone is not enough.

Digitalization is affecting all industries. What does that mean for traditional retail? First, you need to understand that digitalization represents a comprehensive transformation. These changes hurt to a certain extent. For retail, this means it’s not just about providing WiFi in the store, but about fundamentally rethinking how digitalization can be used. This includes everything from new skills for staff to storytelling at the POS. Technologies can be used to turn shops into real points of experience. Today, people often talk about the customer journey.

How can real shops connect digitally? Basically, there are two ways in which the so-called Bricks & Clicks come together. One way is choosing a product online and then picking it up at a nearby store. The other way is the opposite: people want to experience the quality of the product in-store through their senses and then purchase it online. Both are equally valid alternatives, and ultimately it is up to providers and customers to decide which version makes sense for which product type. In both cases, a seamless transition between digital and physical experience is necessary. In discussions on this topic, the terms "individualization" and "personalization" come up more and more often.

What Does that Mean in Practical Terms?

The more providers know about their customers, the more individual the consultation and pricing can be. In Asia, systems are already in use that identify people based on visual features such as age or clothing and then offer specific products in-store. In Israel, bars are cooperating with Facebook. Using facial recognition software, specific drinks are offered. At the Mammut flagship store in Frankfurt, for example, a beacon system is in use to help customers navigate to their desired product. Generally, Europe is still more hesitant. Here, people are afraid of making mistakes, rather than trying things out and seeing what customers really want and will accept. There’s still far too little known about that.

Traditional retail has so far been rather hesitant to embrace the possibilities of digitalization. Why is that? What hurdles need to be overcome? Apart from technological barriers that must be overcome, the industry is still relatively uncertain about how to assess the advantages. This is not necessarily determined by sales figures but by indirect effects such as the feel-good factor or the willingness to spend time with the brand and its products. Which international trends are you seeing? I tend to distinguish between two areas. The first involves the human factor: stores are increasingly turning into points of experience that invite customers to engage with products and content. In Berlin, Katjes offers the opportunity to produce specially designed fruit gummies using a special 3D printer. Another example is the showroom from Audi. Visitors can engage with Audi’s technologies around the clock without any staff pushing for a purchase. The second trend is the new technologies: one exciting area is Augmented and Virtual Reality — that is, the digital expansion of bricks and mortar stores. An increasingly important trend is the use of beacons or similar solutions to send location-based information to smartphones. And there’s now a wide range of technological solutions in the background that analyze data and automate processes. Robotics is already a major topic in retail.

Conclusion: there is a lot of new potential — and for those in retail, it’s now time to be courageous, take a leap, and embrace these tools. Customers are demanding more — and there’s much more that can be offered. We thank Norbert Hillinger for his insider knowledge and say: Wow! What an inspiring talk. And we now have an appetite for fruit gummies — even if they’re not personalized.