‍Doesstationary retail have a future?

Department stores are closing, entire shopping streets are being turned away, and even fruit and vegetables can be ordered online. The great age of retail seems to be over. But this appearance is deceptive. In 2022, the share of e-commerce business in the retail sector fell from 1.7 percent to 15.7 percent. At the same time, retail sales as a whole have fallen by around 50 billion euros.^[1] increased. Stationary retail has therefore recovered and is likely to continue to exist alongside online retail for many decades to come.

Why do customers buy from brick-and-mortar stores?

There are various reasons for this development. One example is higher prices for fuel and food. These are hardly ever bought online and have to be purchased in stationary retail. This naturally has an impact on sales.

But consumer behavior is also changing. Many customers want personal advice or to examine goods directly before buying them. It may be true that customers are strolling through the city center less frequently than in the past. But lovingly designed stores with a good range of products and personal service will continue to be successful. Just one example is our customer Leyla, who has built up a loyal clientele with her decoration store within a very short time.

Online store and stationary trade: the best of both worlds

Stationary trade or online store? Many founders ask themselves this question. We think so: You don't have to decide for or against one variant. Combine them with each other! This way, you can compensate for the weaknesses of the other concept. This has several advantages at once:

- New target groups : Those who sell their products exclusively online or stationary leave many potential customers to the left. That's a shame. It's better to offer your goods both online and in -store. This way, you give your customers the choice and reach new target groups that were not interested in your offer before. With concepts like local SEO, you can reach even more customers and make your store known regionally.

- Direct contact: More and more customers want a shopping experience. They want to enter a lovingly designed store, talk to the sales staff and see, feel or smell the goods. None of this is possible on the Internet. Online retail is very anonymous and hardly arouses any emotions. A charming, well-stocked retail store, on the other hand, stands for a certain value. This binds customers much more strongly to your brand and your company.

- More spontaneous purchases: Online you can also reach customers outside your city or region. In combination with a brick-and-mortar store, you can also attract the famous walk-in customers . This does not exist on the Internet. You can also make word-of-mouth advertising work much better for you by opening a brick-and-mortar store.

By the way: You already have a stationary retail store? Now you want to set up your own online store? Then we recommend this article.

Online retail and brick-and-mortar business: How can the symbiosis succeed?

Regardless of whether your web store is flourishing or you have just started online - if you also want to open a stationary business, you should build a stable foundation. The basis for this is always a modern POS system. After all, a digital POS system is not only used to account for sales. You can also manage inventory, call up sales statistics or send data to your tax advisor and the tax office. This means an enormous relief for you both online and offline. Ideally, your online store is integrated into the POS system and linked to it. Yes - this is also possible!

How do I integrate my online store into the POS system?

Digital cloud checkout systems like the one from LocaFox contain interfaces to various online store providers like PrestaShop or IONOS via which you can connect your web store with the stationary trade - and vice versa. An Open API interface for your own programming is also integrated. You can also transfer your product data and other information to our solution and thus get a digital POS system and a modern online store from a single source.

POS system and interface: Which criteria are important?

The functions and potential of the respective interface are not an unimportant detail. Our tip: Choose an interface that enables inventory reconciliation as well as price and product management. The interface should also prevent overselling. These can occur when your customer orders a product that is shown as available in your store, but is actually not available at the moment. An up-to-date inventory reconciliation prevents this problem.

Which is the leading master system?

The master system grants the so-called slave system the rights and resources so that it can execute all processes correctly. Which role the online store or the POS system takes depends on the respective solution. If you use PrestaShop, for example, the back office of the LocaFox POS system acts as the master system. With 1&1-IONOS it is the other way around. Here, IONOS itself acts as the master system and the products are created and managed in the IONOS portal.

Use our consulting for your success - digital and analogue

Which variant is ideal for you? How exactly does the technical implementation work and how we can support you in the establishment of your stationary business? We would be happy to tell you in a personal consultation - by phone, online or in your local store!

[1] https://www.iwkoeln.de/studien/christian-rusche-die-bedeutung-des-e-commerce-fuer-einzelhandel-und-weihnachtsgeschaeft.html#:~:text=The%20turnover%C3%A4tze%20in%20all%20retail,dropped%20to%2015%2C7%20percent.

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