The hybrid revolution: shopping in two worlds

Anyone entering the Lego flagship store on New York's 5th Avenue comes out with more than just a few colorful bricks. Namely with something that doesn't fit into any shopping bag: a shopping experience that combines the advantages of a physical store with those of digital technologies in such an innovative way that customers are catapulted into another world for a short time: a brand world made of Lego bricks. Whether it's interactive displays that mimic every movement and even the facial expressions of visitors, minifigures that are personalized via a screen and printed in front of the customer's eyes, a Lego set made of 4,000 bricks with their own likeness or an interactive world in which their own buildings are brought to life: Digital technologies ensure a customer experience that not only amazes young customers. The store is now considered a real sightseeing highlight ("SO COOL", according to Trip Advisor) - but what visitors are offered there is increasingly becoming the norm.

In Switzerland, too, digital technologies are finding their way into bricks-and-mortar retail, which is becoming increasingly networked. DOOH panels, digital sales consultants, smart changing rooms, Bluetooth transmitters that know where customers are, product configurators, cashless payment options, shopping and brochure apps, digital shop windows and access to the online range in-store - the boundaries between analog and digital shopping are becoming increasingly blurred, and the opportunities this offers retailers and consumers are becoming more diverse.

World of experience with digital elements

And that is important, because "brands today want and need to be ever closer to their customers," says Damian Schärli. And according to the CEO of digital signage specialist JLS Digital, brands can achieve this above all by using technology to build a bridge from the analog to the digital world. One example of how this works is the Loeb department store in Bern, which has been around since 1881. JLS Digital has implemented almost 100 digital communication and interaction solutions for this traditional store to improve the customer experience and strengthen its public image at numerous touchpoints. For example, customers can request advice or order products at the touch of a button, the shop windows change depending on the time of day and the amount of merchandise on the sales floor is significantly reduced. This is because visitors can browse the entire range of brands on a digital screen and order directly, including items that are not available on site.

Added value for everyone involved: "Consumers can have an experience tailored to their needs, and retailers also have a wide range of options," explains Damian Schärli. "In addition to the classic reduction in floor space thanks to increased digital elements, the depth of the product range can be increased and product availability can be improved. For brands, this means that existing space can be used differently. The focus is on a world of experience with digital elements rather than product diversity."

Epoch change

The "E-Commerce Report Switzerland 2021" calls this an "epochal change". According to the study (commerce-report.ch) by payment service provider Datatrans and the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland (FHNW), there is no longer a meaningful distinction between bricks-and-mortar and online retail. "Today's customers want to shop in-store and online, even in combination, spontaneously and with maximum flexibility," explains study author Prof. Ralf Wölfle from the FHNW. According to the expert, the coronavirus pandemic has "reset" shopping habits, so to speak. "Consumers were forced to familiarize themselves with the range of online offers and accompanying services during the first lockdown, but now they no longer want to do without them," says Wölfle.

For retailers, this means rethinking in order not to miss the boat. "Retailers need to see their stores as a touchpoint in the networked world of supply," says the professor - but we are still at the very beginning. "In the networked world of supply, all information and processes are digitally mapped and available at various points for different stakeholder groups at any time in line with requirements" - but this, the expert adds, is currently a vision.

"The boundaries are merging and the opportunities this offers retailers and consumers are becoming more diverse."

At least for now. Retailers and service providers have no shortage of ideas on how to improve the shopping experience for consumers. Customers still value local shopping, but it must be able to compete with the convenience offered by e-commerce. "The pandemic has shown us one thing," says Damian Schärli. "Even though online retail has grown very strongly, it's clear that customers are now happy to go to the POS (point of sale) again. At the same time, technological development is advancing rapidly and the market needs to adapt to this." In the future, he estimates that the shopping experience will be "a highly digitized environment that will create an even more customer-centric shopping experience, especially with automation, data and analytics."

Networking along the customer journey

And this doesn't just take place in-store or in the online store, but along the entire customer journey - even when customers are planning their weekend menu on the sofa and scrolling through recipes on their smartphone. For example, anyone searching for a pasta recipe in the Bring! shopping app and being shown a new type of pasta can add it directly to their shopping list - and check the Profital leaflet app to see where they can get the pasta at the best price. Marco Cerqui, CEO of Bring! Labs, the company behind the Bring! and Profital app, calls it the "perfect match between supply and demand" (see interview below)and this match pays off for all sides. If the customer then sees the right pasta sauce on a digital screen at the POS while shopping at the weekend or receives a push message on her cell phone in the store when she is standing in front of the wine rack, the hybrid shopping experience is perfect. Without having to travel to New York.

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"The perfect match between supply and demand"

m&k: Shopping is becoming increasingly networked. What opportunities does this offer brands, retailers and consumers?

Marco Cerqui: The digitalization of shopping and our everyday lives in general enables consumers to experience services in an increasingly individual and personal way. They are shown information that is tailored to their needs and relevant to them at the current time. For brands and retailers, this means that they can address their customers in a very targeted manner. The result is the perfect match between supply and demand.

Bring! is the most-used shopping app in Europe and Profital is the market leader in Switzerland - what's the secret?

Our vision is to provide consumers with the best shopping companions to simplify and improve their everyday shopping. We want to support them in all aspects of shopping - from inspiration to planning to purchasing. One thing is particularly important to us: we consistently focus on the needs of our users and respect the context in which they find themselves.

Why are consumers so open to advertising in a format like Bring! and Profital?

Because we place advertising in the right context and at the right time: precisely when consumers are planning and shopping. And: the native advertising formats accompany consumers all the way to the POS.

Will digital technologies change shopping behavior in the long term?

We are convinced of this. Driven by digital technologies and the underlying data, our shopping behavior will continue to change. Today, new formats or services such as Quick Commerce, shoppable ads or native ads such as the advertising formats at Bring! and Profital define the everyday shopping lives of many people.