Germany, like most European countries, has been struggling to contain a third wave of the virus, with the government criticised for its slow vaccine rollout. Unsurprisingly, the continued lockdown has hit the retail industry hard, but it hasn’t stopped business operations entirely.
As a German-speaking Englishman who has spent many years living in Baden-Wurttemberg, Hessen and Nordrhein-Westfalen, I continuously monitor the country’s issues. With a particular interest in retail destinations due to my profession working for a tech company that creates personalised engagement and loyalty for customers. It’s also helpful that I like to shop.
Looking at what’s underway in Germany and having seen how our clients across the world have responded to the pandemic, I’d like to share my observations and tips on what malls and outlets should be doing right now to bounce back from lockdown.
Digitise your shopping centre
If your shopping mall is not allowing customers at the moment, everyday activities such as browsing, face time with your products and transactions are on hold. There is no better time than the present to implement changes to allow customers to view your brands via an online version of your physical shopping centre: The digital shopping mall.
The largest German shopping centre operators are rolling out this concept – so it looks like it is here to stay. Shoppers are becoming accustomed to browsing their favourite brands from the comfort of their home, with buy online pick up in store (BOPIS) and curbside pickup. During lockdown, most transactions are online, but as the world returns to normal, it will be essential to provide customers with a connected physical and digital retail experience.
Assure your shoppers that they are safe
Shopping malls remain a central point for communities and still serve as an important destination for customers. Due to the online presence of larger brands, shoppers can browse at their leisure without having to leave their home. As shopping malls and larger chains return to normal, shoppers must be aware of all the different safety measures such as cleanliness standards, space to move freely and the introduction of onsite Covid-testing. Some larger groups have also adopted the Luca contact tracing app to make shoppers feel safer than ever before.
Make it easy for shoppers to follow the rules
Shoppers visiting non-grocery stores have to prove that they are fully vaccinated or have received a negative result from an officially recognised COVID test centre. If that is the case, shoppers go to a line where they fill out forms verifying their status and register to join other customers inside. There are currently many differences in the way businesses are rolling out their rules depending on state and testing type. A digital app based shopper solution makes registering a negative Covid test result with a shopping centre a lot easier, especially with regional rule anomalies taken into account as well.
Communicate to your database – short term
Many shopping centres engage with their shopper databases to keep their brand front of mind when they reopen. It is a great time to send regular communications to your database advising them how you are making your centre safe, new experiences and rewards that await them upon their return. If a shopping centre doesn’t have a large database, it time to adopt an industry-leading customer relationship management (CRM) platform.
With Coniq IQ, the CRM enables you to create profiles for your shoppers and communicate with everyone who signs up. These profiles combine information like location data (where they went before and after visiting your centre), behavioural data (the time and day a shopper visits), and engagement data (the amount they spent). Use this valuable information to segment your customer database into ready to use groups for highly personalised customer communication.
Long term customer goals – time to define
Whilst many centre managers are tasked with leading their centre along a journey of digital transformation. There are many other long term objectives that you can be set right now. Such as, “How can I turn my website into an acquisition tool for my database?” and “How can I increase the footfall of a certain demographic of customers?” Many long term projects have been parked in the past. Now is a great time to use available resources to plan for your optimal future.
Turn Your Shoppers into Your Biggest Fans
They say absence makes the heart grow fonder. However, in these unstable and worrying times, everyone’s habits and behaviours have changed (maybe for good). Brands that have loyal customers find they need to do a lot more now to keep them invested in their product range. Additionally, shopping centres can no longer rely on a building refurbishment to make the shopper want to stay longer.
Show your shoppers some love by creating your very own centre customer loyalty program with rewards that your shoppers will love and talk to their friends about (back home via Zoom). Today, retail specific CRM and customer loyalty software are available to help your business understand what motivates individual shoppers, what rewards excite them, what drives behaviour that transforms the passive shopper into active customers, and most importantly, what makes them love your shopping centre back.
