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The blurring or complete blurring of the boundaries between online and offline trading with the advent of new shopping formats will become the main retail trend in the next five years, market participants state. "Today we see serious changes in the mentality of buyers,"they want to have access to up-to-date information about goods and prices, the ability to quickly make a purchase and pick it up in a convenient place," shares Stefan Zeiselmeier, CEO of ECE Russland. click & collect technology is a convenient compromise for those who, on the one hand, do not want to waste time shopping, and on the other hand, are not ready to buy things exclusively online with courier delivery, which often turns out to be not the most convenient. Technologies such as click & collect or click & reserve allow you to order several variants of clothing and shoes in different stores through the shopping center's mobile application, and then receive them, for example, at the information desk at a convenient time. At the same time, for shopping centers, click & collect technology is one of the tools for maintaining and increasing traffic against the background of growing competition with online retailers.

According to ECE Russland, in the UK, about 70% of buyers of clothing and household utensils prefer to pick up goods from the store. "In Germany, we are testing this technology in two flagship shopping malls and we see a high interest from users," continues Mr. Zeiselmeier. "Shopping center gift cards and household appliances are in particular demand." As for Russia, the main stumbling block for a mass launch remains the need to invest in development and implementation. "But owners in Russia are not very willing to invest in innovative technologies, since such investments may not bring the expected result," the expert notes. However, it must be remembered that it will become increasingly difficult to sell without using advanced technologies over time. It is no coincidence that today they are increasingly talking about the Big Data system, which allows you to collect and analyze large amounts of information, as well as Easy To Park, which simplifies the process of parking in shopping malls, and others.

According to Ipsos research, it does not matter to an increasing number of buyers in the world in which country they purchase goods if, in their opinion, the transaction is reliable and there is a modern pick-up point or representative office of the company. Brandon O'Reilly, Managing Director of Fashion House Group, agrees with the results of the study and believes that the format of the future for retail is providing customers with the opportunity to get the desired goods at any time and wherever convenient. "The Click and Collect concept is only part of this model, and certainly should not be considered as the only option to achieve customer satisfaction and, consequently, sales success," Mr. O'Reilly believes. In fact, we were the first shopping center in Central and Eastern Europe to open an integrated e-commerce platform in early 2016, while online stores have already proven their effectiveness for us. At first, many retailers feared that the development of e-commerce would damage the traditional sales channel of regular chain stores, as customers would stop going there and I would make orders via the Internet. But everything turned out to be wrong. Having opened an online outlet, we help our tenants sell online on our platform and see only positive trends: attendance at a regular outlet is growing along with online traffic.

However, it is more difficult to retain online customers than in a traditional channel, notes Mr. O'Reilly, and the company tries to motivate customers with mailings, special offers and maximum transparency between online and offline projects: customers who have ordered online and pick up the order themselves in the store, they receive the same high-class service as if they chose to buy on the spot. "Yes, the operational side of the business is always a difficult task, but we want to focus on the best work experience and are ready to go a longer way to eventually offer the same quality online service that we offer in a regular outlet," says Mr. O'reill and. Our online customers can try on and return purchases made in the online store, get a recommendation, stylist's advice or advice. Direct communication with the best brands plays an important role: buyers can safely purchase authentic items directly from brands through Fashion House Outlet Online.

To be continued.

Author: Ekaterina Reutskaya
Photo: Shutterstock.com