How shopfitting makes it from smart tools and digitization
to profit.

Bad Salzuflen. (bre) Have you said goodbye yet? Have you already shelved your ideas for modern shopfitting? No? Why not? Stationary retail is dying. And investing in store fitting is a waste. At least, this is how it has been repeated over and over again in all media for some time now. Shoppers now only shop online. Everything is going digital. Or?

How does that feel to you as a shopfitter? They are sure to have creative approaches and ideas for tomorrow’s store fixtures. The challenge facing the entire shopfitting industry is to bring classic shopfitting into the digital age.

The digital world is omnipresent. Just quickly order a new sneaker — I can put together the design online and if I order today, the sneaker will be with me tomorrow. I can also quickly add pizza and after-work beer to my shopping cart with a single click. Simply pay by PayPal or credit card and delivery can perhaps even be set for a specific time. What does this mean for stationary retail and thus for shopfitting?

Touch and try…

One thing is certain: The market share of online retailing has grown rapidly in recent years. But does that mean the end for brick-and-mortar retail? Will shopping transform completely? No! It is true that shopping behavior has changed and will continue to change. But according to a Statista survey, 86% of customers rate the opportunity to sample products in person by touching or trying them out as the greatest advantage of stationary retail. Personal consulting is a close second. This is the opportunity that brick-and-mortar retailers can and should seize. Especially you shopfitting experts will agree.

The stage for products!

Haptics, visual stimuli and personal advice are the driving arguments that draw customers into stores. 84% of customers aged 18–64 say they prefer to buy groceries in stores. For clothing and footwear, the figure is still 45%. The survey makes it clear that not every purchase is replaced by online offers. Food can be checked for freshness and appearance. Taking the cold Coke from the shelf and perhaps spontaneously deciding to also try another variety because it just feels so good can only be driven by animation of the senses. Or feel the leather of the bag and check the seams for quality, works only directly on the object. For shopfitting and retail, however, this also means: higher demands in store design. Products must be presented in such a way that they can be found. If the
Product presentation
appealing, customers may reach for it two or three times. With the right presentation solutions, this turns any shelf into a real
Stage
for every product. In the best case, products sell so well that shelves need to be replenished quickly. The Shelf in this case provides the presentation area. But it is also possible to turn the classic into a modern information tool with the help of digital sensor technology.

What makes production in East-Westphalia-Lippe so valuable.

Bad Salzuflen. (bre) If it were possible to choose a buzzword for 2022, the word “supply bottleneck” would probably be at the top of the list. Whether it’s raw materials of any kind, foodstuffs or materials from various industries — everything is in short supply and delivery times for some goods are delayed by up to months. First the pandemic — then the war in Ukraine — the circumstances under which companies have to produce and make delivery forecasts have not been as unpredictable for a long time as they are now.

Months of delivery time

In a survey conducted by DZ Bank in April, around 77 percent of medium-sized companies in Germany said they were experiencing supply bottlenecks at the time of the survey. Medium-sized companies were the most frequently affected. Here, the figure was as high as 88 percent.

Anyone currently looking to purchase a new bike or game console should have a long thread of patience. For these products, customers sometimes have to be prepared for delivery times of several weeks or even months.

These problems can be attributed, among other things, to factory closures in Asia or reduced freight capacity in the shipping industry. Shortages of raw materials and precursors lead to delays in the delivery of end products. Globalization as a blessing and a curse?

More difficult general conditions

For years, production abroad has offered itself as the perfect alternative solution for many companies. More difficult framework conditions in Germany and a lack of skilled workers versus reduced cost burdens and sufficient personnel are the driving arguments for companies to focus on manufacturing abroad. In order to be competitive and not to deteriorate economically in comparison with other companies, Germany has lost some of its attractiveness as an industrial location in recent years. So why should a company buck the trend and opt for domestic production?

POS tips for retail
and the industry

POS TUNING as a competent partner for optimally equipped freezers

Bad Salzuflen (bre). Have you ever thought about your freezer? Probably not. The contents are usually more interesting. Is there still enough pizza and ice cream? And is there still room for the chips?

But it is actually worth looking into the history of the freezer, because this year there is a special anniversary: a proud 145 years to celebrate! In 1876, the German engineer Carl von Linde developed the first technical-chemical refrigeration machine with ammonia liquefaction. At first, the refrigeration technology was only used in dairies, breweries, slaughterhouses, chocolate factories and the food industry. But it was the starting signal for the unique path to success of this type of food storage.

But the road was not easy: initially, scepticism spread. It was not until 1955 that frozen food was introduced at the General Food and Drink Exhibition (ANUGA) in Germany. With moderate success. Nobody seemed to be interested in it. To give the new unknown “product from the ice” a bit more momentum, a year later 400 freezers were set up in Rhineland grocery shops in a field trial. This trial was called the “Cologne-Bonn freezer test”. The idea was to whet the appetites of particularly courageous customers for the new frozen food products. But the real breakthrough was not yet in sight. In 1960, the average consumption of food from the freezer was 400 grams per year. Today, per capita consumption is almost 45 kilograms a year. According to a study by the DTI (Deutsches Tiefkühlinstitut e.V.), Germans consumed an average of 89.8 kilograms of frozen food per household.

The fact that a lot has happened in 145 years of “freezer history” can be seen not only in the further development of freezer cabinets. In the beginning, there were big bulky freezers and chest freezers, which also had a hard time from an environmental point of view. The first models were cupboard-like containers on four legs and the gases that sometimes escaped were highly toxic.

Today, models are on a much more advanced path. Modern freezers and cabinets are energy-saving. They come in every conceivable size and design. For use at home, the choice is also versatile. In supermarkets, there are now long rows of freezers in addition to the familiar chest freezers. The products presented in them outdo each other in variety. Spinach, pizza and chips have long since gained some competitors in the hunt for the customer’s favour.

And the customer is happy to take advantage of this variety. Fish, meat, poultry, fruit and vegetables and all kinds of baked goods are only part of the wide selection. With the variety of products, the way the products are presented has also had to evolve. The times when a freezer cabinet resembled a “rummage table” in a department store are over. The customer wants to be able to find his products quickly and reach them without any effort. Crouching or tiptoeing to find the product in the far corner is no longer an option.

So it is not only the freezer that has changed over the years, but also the customer and the way they shop. Refrigerated cabinets must be designed in an environmentally friendly way and offer space for the variety of products, sometimes in a limited space. The perfect interior design is the key to success.

With its solutions, POS TUNING is a competent partner for optimally equipped freezers. It doesn’t matter whether it’s a freezer cabinet or a chest. POS‑T lift systems bring products in the freezer right to the top and thus into the field of view and reach in a way that promotes sales. This makes it easier for the customer to remove the products and also minimises the amount of maintenance required by the staff. The clear and tidy appearance increases the impulse purchase rate and thus also turnover.

Product presentation in freezers can also be perfected with POS TUNING’s push feed systems. All products are always in the front row. The customer no longer has to search long or stretch for his product. This shortens the door opening time and saves energy. But there is also less risk of products getting stuck in the back of the cabinet. The feed systems are designed to keep the risk of icing as low as possible. Shelf gaps are also detected more quickly and out-of-stock situations can be better avoided.

145 years of the freezer — part of the story is behind us. What can we expect in the future?

Technology will continue to develop, because the demands for climate protection will also increase. Demand for space-saving refrigeration solutions will probably increase, because mini supermarkets are becoming more and more popular. This also means that product placements and presentations will have to make do with less and less space. So only mature and innovative ideas that create more space in a small area can help. POS TUNING has already developed solutions for this. For example, a stacked presentation of ice-cream cups so that two facings can be accommodated in one space. So it remains exciting. But whatever happens — POS TUNING will “Make. Shopping. Simply. Better.”