Customer approach becomes more digital – and practical

Fresh ideas for retailing at the BMWI joint booth at EuroCIS

01.02.2016

Lifeless mannequins with whom customers cannot identify could soon be a thing of the past. At least, if it’s up to new entrepreneur Mesut Yilmaz. He has developed a digital marketing concept for retailer’s store windows which he will be presenting at EuroCIS.

Image: A customer stands infront of a shop window with a big screen; Copyright: Magic Schaufenster

An eye-catching system for store windows; © Magic Schaufenster

"According to last year’s 'Store Window, The Key to Success’ (‘Erfolgsfaktor Schaufenster') study, the most important medium for marketing in retail is the store window," says Yilmaz, Managing Director of Gesture Powered GmbH. This is why he offers his customers a different kind of digital marketing solution with MagicSchaufenster. In the future, passersby will have the opportunity to see themselves in store windows with the help of LED screens.

With a gesture controlled interface and augmented reality approach, they can first "try on" the products in 2D format before they enter the store. "It is as if you hold your clothes in front of you by the mirror at home. The idea is to envision what the product would look like," explains Yilmaz. This is already the third time he and nine other companies are exhibiting at the BMWI joint booth at EuroCIS to showcase his product to potential customers, to network and make new connections.

Each year, the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWI) supports start-up companies and gives them the opportunity to introduce their products at different trade fairs and also optimally market them abroad.

"I can only recommend that other new companies apply for this," says Yilmaz. The selection process is relatively simple. After contacting the trade fair, prospective exhibitors receive a standard application. "Various criteria are reviewed during the selection process, for instance whether the new company has been around for less than 10 years or what its sales volumes are," says Yilmaz. The company’s technologies are also meant to represent new developments or significant improvements to products, processes and services.

Image: Customer at a touchscreen with smiley faces on it; Copyright: SayWay

This benefits both the consumer and the retailer: until now, the customer either had to manually fill out a questionnaire or received an evaluation form per mail. The problem here is that customers rarely took the time to respond. The more modern and faster system is designed to prevent this. This way, the retailer is able to better respond to the customer’s wishes in the future. "At the core of our success is the simplicity that makes feedback possible and also very easy, exactly where it counts most: on location at the company site," explains Kleinert. SayWay wants to offer retailers comprehensive market research and analysis services.

A large variety of products is being showcased at the BMWI joint booth. The apiOmat by Apinauten GmbH is another example of this. The relationship between online and offline shopping in retail is illustrated by the digital click and collect process. "You can order groceries from the convenience of your own home or the office and pick them up when you are ready at the supermarket," says Lina Mohr, Marketing Manager of Apinauten GmbH.

Visitors of EuroCIS 2016 can find more inspiration and new ideas for the future of retail at the BMWI joint booth in Hall 09, Booth E04.

Author: Kilian Spelleken; EuroCIS
First published at iXtenso.com