The German interactive retail sector continues to grow steadily with an increasing combination ofonline and offline sales channels, according to the German E-Commerce and Distance Selling
Association (bvh).This year, bvh expects a further consolidation and integration of sales and marketingchannels in Germany. As a result, interactive trade is advancing to ‘Everywhere Commerce’ withcustomers deciding when, where and how they want to shop. Multi-channelling will remain a dominantissue in the industry with numerous innovations and challenges, bvh predicts.
“For customers, the channel and the time of their buying decision are becoming increasinglyrelevant. In addition to the traditional components, product, price and service, the omnipresenceof the providers will decide in future about a successful buying process,” said MartinGroß-Albenhausen, bvh e-marketing expert. “As a result, the increased flexibility of the customersleads to a growing complexity in trade. Companies are reacting to this development by linking theindividual channels.”
Mobile devices are also becoming increasingly important in Germany as a universal interfacepushing the integration of online and offline channels and thus represent a growth factor for theindustry. Today, scanning QR-codes is an adequate method to link on- and offline channels therebybreaking through the boundary between stationary trade, classical delivery and e-commerce.
“Mobile remains a dominant topic in the industry. On the one hand, the penetration rate ofmobile devices in Germany is growing continously. On the other hand, more and more interactiveretailers offer apps or mobile websites,” Ingmar Böckmann, e-commerce expert at bvh, commented.
The digitalisation of advertising has increased the focus on the internet and social media,bvh explained. However, many interactive traders use new forms of print products that areespecially appealing to customers. A prominent example is the ‘magalog’, a combination of magazineand catalogue.
“Through the combination of online campaigns and individualised printing products, companiesare creating a holistic appearance. Elements such as QR-codes ensure an on- and offline linkdirecting customers to an individualised landing page consistent with the ad,” bvh executivedirector Christoph Wenk-Fischer said.
The use of social media is also undergoing a strategic change with shippers caring less aboutbeing represented in all networks. What is of a much more strategic importance is an improvedappearance with sophisticated strategies and continous monitoring, bvh concluded.
