This is what shopping 4.0 looks like: from at home or at the store, off or online, as long it is smart, convenient and fully networked. Shoppers are looking for the ultimate customer journey across all channels. This was impressively confirmed by EuroCIS from 24 to 26 February 2015.
Over the three trade fair days a total of more than 8.800 trade visitors from over 60 countries came to gather information from the 318 international exhibitors occupying 9,130 m² net exhibition space on the latest products, solutions and trends in retail IT. This means that EuroCIS boasts excellent results not only in terms of exhibitors but also visitors (compared to 2013: 235 exhibitors/ 6,912 m² net exhibition space / 7,059 visitors).
“A new chapter was added to the success story of EuroCIS. It is a unique event with its highly specialised ranges. This is also reflected in the high number for top-notch retail decision makers among the visitors. For many the annual EuroCIS dates in Düsseldorf are a fixture,” sums up Hans Werner Reinhard, Managing Director at Messe Düsseldorf, and adds: “We are especially delighted to note that this year’s EuroCIS also registered a marked increase in trade visitors from non-European countries.”
EuroCIS 2015 clearly reflected the fundamental change the retail industry is currently going through. Multichannel was omnipresent as a theme at the trade fair. “Most of the existing processes and structures are designed for physical retail operations, historically grown and often very heterogeneous. Making these fit for multi-channel business presents IT in retail outfits with major challenges. If retailers do not want to forego valuable turnover they have to address their shoppers across all channels,” explains Michael Gerling, CEO of the EHI Retail Institute.
This is also why the specifically installed Multichannel Area was received especially well at EuroCIS because here small start-ups, in particular, could present themselves with their latest solutions such as a digital size assistant for changing rooms or an ipad check-out system, which is not only used in-store but also serves to open up the store's own webshop at a click of a mouse.
A future-oriented trend that is set to cause a stir over the coming few years is the digitalisation of store fitting. Here IT will now also make inroads in the classic area of retail and this proves that design and IT do not exclude but can in fact brilliantly complement each other. This year a shop fitting company for the first time presented how store design and digital media can be innovatively integrated. Other store designers have already voiced their interest in EuroCIS 2016.
The coming EuroCIS will be held from 23 to 25 February 2016 in Düsseldorf.
Source: Messe Düsseldorf GmbH
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