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BEST PRACTICES & STRATEGIES

The machines will take over the helm

in future retail

In online and brick-and-mortar retail you can see this point that technological innovation meets a new
a tug-of-war for the customer's favor, but this customer need and poses major challenge for retailers.
battle only obscures one of the most important Because of the amount of data available, machines
future trends, the Internet of Things (IoT). As a also record the respective need for consumables and
result, retail is increasingly losing direct contact order completely independently.
with its customers, regardless of whether it is Dealers are under pressure from all sides
online or offline.
In short, the customer simply lets the IoT device do the
Digitization is advancing shopping. After all, the networked and intelligent ma-

chine knows best when it needs new coffee powder,
But it's not just shopping behavior that is turning 180 cleaning agents or batteries.
degrees with the triumphant advance of the Internet of
Things. According to Statista, around 20% of house- Thanks to “smart ordering”, the owner only has to con-
holds are already connected through IoT solutions and firm the order with one click on the smartphone, making
by 2023 it will be over a third. With IoT, household ap- the purchase quick and easy. The keyword is conven-
pliances suddenly become intelligent: dishwashers and ient shopping that comes in handy for the customer,
washing machines independently analyze the degree of who after all, barely wants to actively deal with shop-
pollution of their load and dose the cleaning agent ac- ping anyway and waste time in the supermarket or
cordingly, and vehicles monitor the degree of wear and online shop. For retailers, however, ordering via IoT
tear on brake pads or tires and, if necessary, schedule devices means losing direct contact with the customer
an appointment directly in the workshop. since the machines are increasingly becoming their
point of contact.
The key point is that IoT devices are already collecting
and analyzing huge amounts of data and can carry out So, the old story of online vs. offline has nothing to do
tasks independently based on them. It is precisely at with the trade of the future, and brings us back to the

October 2021: IoT in Marketing 13