Value chains, distribution, sales channels... do these terms resonate with you? Or maybe...not ?
No problem, that's what today's article is all about and much more:
- what is retail?
- what is the future of retail?
- How does digital and in particular the electronic signature play a role in this transition?
What is the retail sector?
Retail is an English term that refers to the sale or retailing of goods to a final consumer. This implies that the traded good is (normally) not processed before resale!
Retailers can therefore be shops, hypermarkets, franchised or independent, etc.
🔎 In the statistical sense, retail refers to everything that is not related to wholesale trade or services and covers sectors as varied as :
- Specialised food,
- non-specialised food,
- household equipment,
- personal equipment,
- medical goods.
The distribution of goods can be done through different usual channels:
- physical sales
The term "brick and mortar" is often used to refer to brick and mortar shops. - digital sales
or e-commerce.
When the brand does not have a shop where its customers can physically come to make their purchases, it is called a pure-player. An example of this? Amazon!
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PS: Let's put all quarrels about the legitimacy of e-commerce in the retail trade aside for now 😉✌️
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Towards a new retail era?
The new retail is a new way of doing retail, but which one? And above all: what is the role of the physical shop in our time?
All these questions lead to a paradigm shift: brands must reconsider their strategy to meet new consumer expectations.
☝️ For example, that's how click and collect has developed a great deal during the pandemic period, allowing online purchases to be made and collected in a local shop.
This is a win-win concept for retailers and consumers, based on the successive use of two distribution channels.
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According to a post-covid survey by Fevad, the French e-commerce and distance selling federation:
physical retailers are driving sales upwards with 53% of online sales against 11% for pure players
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BUT the evolution of retail goes far beyond this thanks to omnicanality, which aims to optimise a company's use of its various distribution channels.
👉Alright, let's explain ourselves: the consumer uses either successively or simultaneously the different channels created by the brand in its customer journey (website, application, physical point of sale, email, SMS, social networks...).
🎯 The objective for the brand is to respond to a need for omniscience on the part of the user who wishes to get "everything at once".
But you might ask: what changes with omnicanality?
It is the creation of a synergy between the different points of contact of the brand and its consumers thanks to a homogeneous discourse and a strategy entirely based on the customer experience!
Improving the customer experience through digital
In a previous article, we discussed the innovative approach of the DNVBs, Digital(ly) Native Vertical Brands, these digital brands born on the internet and skilfully using the codes of the millenials to offer incomparable experiences to their buyers.
An example of common practice in DNVBs? 👀
Combining the online experience with a pop-up store or physical flagship shop makes it possible to meet a customer need that the internet does not (yet) meet: the need to test, touch or smell the products. It is the emotional lever that is at work here!💘
To sum it all up: the physical shop remains a fundamental element in the relationship between the customer and the brand, largely because it helps to embody and concretise its UNIVERSE!✨
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The focus of the digital transition of retail is therefore shifting from the product to the consumer, combining user experience and operational excellence.
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What the electronic signature brings to the table in the retail market
The electronic signature represents an opportunity for any brand that wishes to include innovative SaaS digital solutions in its business strategy, it offers :
- a renewed shopping experience for your visitors/consumers,
- a modernization of the customer journey more generally,
- secure transactions,
- the possibility to focus on your core business: selling,
- a positive and (almost) immediate return on investment!
Shall I be more concrete ?
🏬 at the physical point of sale, it is the fast and secure signature of a sales contract or a subscription to a service from any medium;
🖥 online, it is the assurance of a better conversion rate and the reduction of shopping cart abandonment thanks to a purchase path boosted by the electronic signature,
💫 In omnicanality, the electronic signature, in addition to other innovations such as electronic payment, optimises the purchasing process.
About Yousign:
Our solution has the highest European certification levels and offers a secure electronic signature solution with real legal value.
