How an online store can save your store

Retail is dying out - the oversupply on the market and online retail have been ensuring this for years. Brick-and-mortar retailers are finding it difficult to hold their own against the wide range of online products and the prices that prevail there, and terms such as "retail apocalypse" and "dying out of brick-and-mortar retail" are anything but encouraging for you as an already insecure retailer. Have you already asked yourself whether your company should also take the step into online retail? But don't know how setting up an individual online store can support your brick-and-mortar business? This article from EXWE will help you answer your initial questions.

If you walk through German city centers, empty stores quickly make you aware of how precarious the situation really is. The economic impact of the coronavirus pandemic has done the rest this year and significantly worsened the already difficult situation for retailers.
At a time when established companies such as Tom Tailor, Esprit and Galeria Karstadt Kaufhof are facing insolvency, you're probably increasingly asking yourself how bricks-and-mortar retail can still save itself. It is clear that concepts and processes need to be adapted - and this is where digitalization comes into play for you.

Digital change as a challenge and an opportunity

The year is 2020 and the question is no longer whether digitalization is good or bad, but how bricks-and-mortar retailers can best implement it. If you can't be found virtually, you won't be found in real life. So what can you do to make your store visible and interesting for customers? The first thing you should realize as a retailer is that digitalization is an opportunity for you and not your enemy. Greater reach, an expanded product range, national and international customers - these are all strong arguments in favor of digitally connecting your store.
Your customers expect flexibility, product variety, individuality and professional and personal advice. At the same time, they want to enjoy added value, experiences and emotions when shopping. Of course, convenience must not be neglected either, as consumers want to be able to store anywhere and at any time and - of course - at affordable prices. Doesn't sound so easy for you as a retailer, does it?

Cross-channel retail is the magic word

One solution to save your store is to link your bricks-and-mortar business with an online store. If your company uses multiple sales channels to sell products, this is known as cross-channel sales. Your customers can get information online and buy offline or vice versa. Shopware offers you a good and easy way to implement this with its Pickware merchandise management system.
With Shopware, you can create your own personalized online store or have one created for you. With the help of an iPad, cash drawer, receipt printer and scanner, you can use Pickware as a POS system and connect it to your Shopware store. What's special about the system is that your products and their prices never have to be entered separately into the checkout again, as all data is automatically transferred from your Shopware store once the Pickware app has been installed. Pickware thus creates the perfect interface between the online and offline world. Your stocks are also managed automatically - perfect for retailers with limited storage capacity. Other plus points include contactless payment, payment by cell phone and Pick & Collect - your customer can order in your online store and easily collect their purchase from your store.