As the preceding white paper authored by the Institute for Commerce & International Marketing (H.I.M.A.) indicates, today’s busy, digitally enabled consumers expect retailers to offer technologies in support of the shopping experience that reflect the ease of use found in personal consumer technologies. The shift to a consumer-to-business (C2B) model in retailing is well under way with the consumer decidedly in control: They expect 24x7 self service and seamless connectivity across all channels and recognition of their individual preferences as they shop for goods and services. This shift in retailing toward personalized interaction based on a consumer’s preferences and their presence in a channel is defined as converged retailing, or NCR’s c-tailing™ solutions.
The 360o European c-tailing survey commissioned by NCR provided the data framework for the white paper, which presents the summary view of the attitudes of both consumers and retailers in France, Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom regarding converged retailing and key elements of preference, presence and personalization. The purpose of this addendum is to highlight the Germany-specific findings.
Brick-and-Mortar Stores Still Bring In Shoppers
Although 82% of German households have access to the Internet, the German consumers interviewed for NCR’s European c-tailing survey revealed that brick-and-mortar shopping remains the norm. However, there is a desire for convergence between online and brick-and-mortar shopping: 46% of German consumers said they would be more willing to make a purchase from a retailer online to save on shipping costs if the retailer offered an option for picking up the item in-store. Based on their interest in self-service technologies, the in-store portion of the merchandise pick-up should have a kiosk or mobile-enabled component.
The German consumers who participated in the survey made 30% of purchases online, 7% of purchases via catalog, and 2% of purchases using a smartphone device. Among the areas where German consumers stood out in their affinity for self-service technologies is in kiosks. Of the four countries surveyed, 13% of German consumers ranked in-store self-service kiosks as the primary factor that has the most influence on their purchase decision in a physical store; this was over 11 points higher than consumers in France, Italy and the United Kingdom. German retailers have an opportunity to increase the customer connection by deploying in-store services in the form of self-service kiosks. Another area of differentiation is the level of consistency that German consumers perceive in terms of communications from retailers. While consumers surveyed across Europe stated that 25% of retailer communications were always consistent, 52% of German consumers felt that retailer communications were always consistent. This level of performance by German retailers far exceeded the performance of retailers in other countries. Consistency of information (pricing, product descriptions, etc.) is a key enabler of NCR’s c-tailing; accordingly, German retailers appear the most advanced in this regard.
Connecting Across Channels
The German consumer relies on a number of means for accessing information to aid their shopping experience. For example, nearly half of German consumers reported asking family members and friends for recommendations, reading magazine or newspaper advertisements, and using in-store kiosks. However, they also preferred to have email communications: 44% of shoppers.
When asked which types of personalized information based on their shopping preferences they wanted included in communications from a retailer, 32% of consumers in Germany stated they wanted information about their preferred brands, while 30% were interested in receiving information about new product arrivals. Another 28% wanted to receive recommendations from shoppers matching their profile and 25% wanted to receive promotions about the products they usually purchase.
Germany is unique among the European countries surveyed in having promotions ranked fourth (in the other markets it ranks first). This lower ranking is likely due to regulatory constraints on promotions in Germany. German consumers also reported wanting to receive personalized communications from a variety of retailers. Fifty-six percent were interested in hearing from electronics stores, 43% from fashion stores, 41% from bookstores, 36% from hypermarkets, and 29% from department stores.
The data gleaned from the NCR-commissioned study presents German retailers with a compelling reason for providing a personalized shopping experience across multiple channels by cross-pollinating known consumer preferences with technology. The deployment of self-service technologies, for example in the form of in-store kiosks, is one powerful way that retailers can satisfy the consumer’s demand for a personalized, independent, convenient and speedy shopping experience.
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