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How smart and digital can 24/7 Walk-in store concepts be?
The unmanned Walk-In-Store Concept is experiencing a boom in Germany. One of the first such stores, "Teo", opened already in November 2020 its doors in Fulda. Since then, many similar store concepts have been established across the country. These autonomous Stores are characterized by a wide range of products, from snacks and drinks to food and other Everyday Items. As a result, they offer a flexible shopping option for a wide range of customers - be it for those who want to do some quick shopping before going to the office, for students at university, for commuters on their way home or for residents in residential areas. Your 24/7 Availability makes it a modern and convenient solution for the daily needs of many people.
Where smart technologies are used efficiently
However, the true intelligence behind these innovative retail concepts comes from the use of advanced technologies, first and foremost software solutions such as Smartstore. Smartstore has transformed the shopping experience by making the entire retail space and its content directly to the user's smartphone. Through such technologies, the shopping experience not only becomes more efficient, but also more modern and user-friendly.
24/7-Walk-In-Store-Konzepte are much more than just a short-term trend
The 24/7-Walk-In-Store Concepts represent an innovative and future-oriented development in retail and are far more than just just a short-term trend. During regular business hours, for example, Monday through Saturday between 7.00 and 20.00 these stores can operate with reduced staffing levels, giving customers the option to pay at staffed checkouts at pay. But after these times, the concept enters a new phase: The store will become unmanned, and all shopping operations will be automated. This model offers significant advantages to dealers. You can provide an enhanced service and make your Store open even during periods of low customer traffic. So it's a win-win situation for both the customer and the for the retailer as well.
The Customer Centricity
In today's world, personalization plays an important role in retail, especially in 24/7 Stores, plays a crucial role. It's about, taking into account the individual interests and perspectives of customers and providing them with a tailored shopping experience. The beginning of this personalized customer journey is often the customer's account. Here, the main focus should be on creating a detailed customer profile, focusing in particular on a mobile-first strategy. A deep Understanding the customer is gained by gathering information about their behavior and needs. "Jeff Bezos" Emphasis, wanting to become the world's most customer-centric company underscores the importance of customer centricity. In this sense the focus of every company should always be on putting the customer at the center of all considerations and activities.
The salesroom
The salesroom of the future embodies a new, intelligent way of shopping. In this visionary shopping environment, there are no traditional opening hours anymore. Customers can shop in such a space at any time of the day or night, any day of the year. Here, the shopping process is made easier by the absence of staff and the ability to purchase products via a touchscreen or even the own cell phone, simplify the process. Contactless payment provides additional convenience. The shopping experience is rounded off by additional benefits such as digital credits and attractive voucher promotions, which are offered to customers in this smart retail space are offered. It's a shopping world that relies on convenience, speed and modern technology to make the customer experience more optimize.
The Online Shop
The online store of today places great emphasis on various aspects to optimize the customer experience. In relation to the Product management, the store offers a variety of features. This includes monitoring inventory levels, various Price modeling options such as tiered pricing and promotional pricing, and interactive content such as product videos. In addition sales promotion measures such as cross-selling and checkout selling are used, and there are special product types such as group products and Product Bundles. A special feature is also the multishop operation, which allows the operation of multiple stores from a single interface enables. In terms of payment, the store offers an impressive range of options. In addition to major payment services such as Amazon Pay, unzer, PAYONE and PayPal are offered through 100 other payment interfaces are supported.
Buy with smart self-service
Buying with smart self-service is revolutionizing the way consumers purchase products. The modern technology allows customers to choose from an impressive range of products. This ranges from staples like coffee to to more exclusive products like champagne, and from everyday necessities like blister plasters to specialized goods like Cuckoo clocks and spirits. This variety appeals to a wide range of customer segments, be it the ecologically conscious buyer, the animal lover, the spontaneous shopper or the gourmet enthusiast. The target groups are diverse and range from travelers and students to price-conscious shoppers as well as late risers and early risers. But smart self-service technologies are not just limited to the retail sector. They also find application in other areas, such as workplace catering, and offer innovative solutions for service stations. It's clear that these technologies are the MEGA trends and success factors for the future of self-service represent. With their versatility, adaptability and focus on customer convenience, they show the way for further development of retail and other industries.
Inventory up to date
Accurate monitoring and management of inventory levels in vending machines is now made possible through the use of innovative IoT and telemetry solutions. These technologies act as a central management system and create a link between vending machines, refrigerators and operators. Smart IoT plays a special role in this. It networks all vending machines, regardless whether they are positioned at one or several locations. For the operators, this brings the great advantage that they can use their smartphone to get a clear overview of the current inventory at any time. You can immediately see which items are sold out are out of stock and when the next maintenance date is for a particular machine. Through these technologies, the management of the vending machines much more efficient and operators can respond proactively and in real time to market needs.
Scan & Go* and more
Shopping with your smartphone has been revolutionized, especially by the "Scan & Go" system. Unlike many systems that currently available, our system stands out by not having a separate, native app. Customers therefore do not have to cumbersome downloads from the app stores, which not only reduces effort but also increases acceptance. This concept offers enormous advantages, especially for the store operator. It can access complicated and possibly error-prone processes which would otherwise be necessary for the connection to the ERP or merchandise management system. This also eliminates the costs associated with the development of an additional app would incur. To further optimize the shopping experience, our Smart PWA supports a range of retail workflows, including "Click & Collect", "Click & Meet" and many more "& Go" options. The target is to provide customers with a versatile and convenient shopping experience.
Smart MDM & Smart CRM
With Smartstore, companies can improve their business processes through efficient master data management (MDM) and customer data management (CRM) optimize. Smartstore's Smart MDM system allows all digital master data to be managed centrally in one application. The advantage is that companies can increase their efficiency by managing all their data in a central repository and using this seamlessly synchronize it with ERP or enterprise resource planning systems as needed. On the other hand, Smartstore's Smart CRM module offers. a platform for collecting and centralizing all customer data. Functions such as profile unification, customer data modeling as well as Real-time personalization and automation are integrated. With all customer data in one central location, companies can then Perform data personalization, data segmentation, and marketing automation easily and efficiently. Both systems taken together provide a coherent and effective solution for the management and use of corporate and customer data.
Cash register system for payment acceptance and sales tracking
The POS system provides comprehensive control over payment and sales tracking and is designed to meet the needs of customers, employees and also the requirements of the tax office. By combining matching POS software with devices such as a reader or terminal, payments can be processed smoothly, while at the same time sales can be tracked and inventory monitored. Any POS can be connected.
Digital Touchpoint - interactive information surfaces for the store
Customers today are used to getting detailed information about products on the Internet, including reviews and the Ensuring that an item meets their requirements. This online experience can now be replicated in physical stores through integrated digital kiosk systems. These systems allow customers to interactively learn about products in the store to be informed. What's more, they can even get online advice from a personal advisor right on the spot. This offers regional Retailers with the opportunity to showcase complementary products. If a customer can't find a product in the store, he can get it thanks to this system, he can order it directly to his home and have it delivered. This approach provides a seamless link between the traditional Shopping in physical stores and modern online shopping by intelligently combining both experiences.
Advantages of Grab & Go and Scan & Go technology with Smart Checkout
Smart Checkout technology offers two outstanding features: Scan & Go and Grab & Go. With these functions customers can store in an unmanned store by scanning products with their smartphone or placing them on marked areas. This enables a completely hands-free shopping experience, without camera tracking, and registered customers can leave the store without having to checkout at the pay. Another benefit of Smart Checkout is that it significantly improves the customer experience. The technology shortens the Shopping time significantly and offers multiple payment options. Customers can shop at their own pace and according to their own preferences. In addition, digital receipts are offered, putting an end to the hassle of paper receipts.
Cloud platform: More satisfied store customers thanks to loT sensor technology
IoT sensors and cloud platforms are proving to be key components in increasing customer satisfaction in branch stores. The Challenges that empty vending machines or thawed frozen products pose to customers can be overcome by these technologies successfully addressed. The solution is to attach IoT sensors to various devices in the store, including doors, Vending machines, freezers, refrigerators, shelves, cash registers and other relevant equipment. These sensors are on it specialized to continuously monitor the state of these devices. When predefined thresholds for certain parameters, such as. for example, temperature or inventory level, are fallen below or exceeded, the sensors transmit this information to a managed IoT cloud platform.
*Use Scan & Go with your own smartphone
Our Smart PWA is designed to provide all the functionality necessary to enhance the customer's shopping experience in the 24/7 Store optimize. Since the entire product range is presented as an online store, products can be scanned with a cell phone camera and added to the digital shopping cart. The purchase can be made either online or via QR code using the stored payment data be completed. Alternatively, a cashless and immediate payment at a payment terminal with a giro or credit card is is possible.
Conclusion
The introduction of autonomous supermarkets and 24/7 Smart Stores marks the beginning of a new era in retail. In a world where where technology and innovation take center stage, these concepts offer customers an unparalleled shopping experience and set new standards for the retail of the future. Advances in this area will undoubtedly help purchasing more convenient, efficient, and exciting, and retailers will continue to strive to meet their customers' expectations to exceed. The future of shopping promises an exciting journey through the world of technology and convenience.
Do you have any further questions about 24/7 Smartstore concept? Call us or send us an email. Our Smartstore Team is at your disposal will be happy to assist you personally!
Contact:
Email: info@smartstore.com
Phone: +4923153350
SmartStore Inc.
Kaiserstrasse 63-65
44135 Dortmund