From 16th to 20th February, Düsseldorf saw the latest trends in the retailing world. In 16 exhibition halls of Messe Düsseldorf, exhibitors from 57 countries placed 2,300 stands. We were there, too. The event brought together an impressive number of 94,000 visitors, who travelled to Germany from 142 countries of the world to see the direction retailing solutions are taking. Such strong interest indicated the global dynamics of the retail world and the reputation that EuroShop enjoys as an economic driver.
EuroShop: to be or not to be in the retail world
EuroShop is the most important retail event. Over many years, it has gained recognition among all companies offering retail solutions and products. EuroShop gives a unique opportunity to exhibit an offer to a great audience offline; it is also a challenge for exhibitors who want to stand out among hundreds of similar service providers or manufacturers. Everything is happening at the stands – it’s not the organizers, but the exhibitors that provide knowledge and attractions. The global standard allows visitors not only to see product novelties, but also to establish contact that will help exchange experiences and lead to long-term business relationships.
From whole to part
Everyone sees what a store is like. EuroShop is a complexity. At the fairs, we will find equipment items that are necessary for functioning, but also products that can make the sales point more attractive and help to increase or facilitate sales. This is why there is no shortage of equipment at the fairs: visitors have the opportunity to compare the smallest elements such as doors, floors, furniture, cables, shelves or mannequins, to scales, cash registers, gates, air conditioners or refrigerators up to RFID digital signage solutions or robots. The attractively arranged surroundings of the store and various improvements to it are conducive to consumer purchasing decisions, which result in an increase in the retailer’s profit.
The driving force of innovation
Retail digitisation is the driving force used by policymakers to develop. Innovations are future-oriented solutions, but they are challenging for retailers, who face the choice of options that affect the attractiveness and quality of services at their sales facilities. Maciej Halbryt, Director of Sescom Innovation Lab, talks about how innovations were presented at EuroShop 2020:
“In this year’s edition of EuroShop, it is not easy to find something ground-breaking. It is difficult to find a solution that was not here before. It can be seen, however, that currently the dominant motive among the presented innovative solutions is automation leading to the transformation of outlets into self-service facilities; the second area is related to artificial intelligence, which allows to analyze data, e.g. track the movement of the customer in the store. Comparing the current edition of EuroShop to the previous one, it can be seen that over the last 3 years exhibitors have changed – some exhibit here once again and others have disappeared from the map, which shows that the market is alive and it verifies the effectiveness of the offered solutions”.
At Sescom, we follow trends on a regular basis, and the attractions presented on the EuroShop do not impress us that much.
“This year I saw fewer exhibitors in the field of Digital Signage compared to the previous edition of the fairs: exhibitors focused mainly on structural elements such as frames. Sescom was able to stand out as an integrator – we are successfully implementing DS projects with our comprehensive approach – we can identify customers’ needs, find solutions and independently choose the product and software that best meets their expectations” – says Sabina Kozan, Coordinator of the Audio-visual Solutions Department at Sescom.
In the world of transformation
The retail market is going through a series of transformations; events like EuroShop help to track them and plan the prospects of the company’s growth not to fall behind the competition. As Sławomir Kądziela, Chief Business Development Officer at Sescom, notes,
“Participation in EuroShop fulfils two goals: to strengthen the company’s image in the eyes of the sector and the customers and to follow trends. Participating for the second time, we decided to focus on relationships. We have created our space for dedicated meetings and aimed at providing comfort to our guests. That was our distinctive feature. Trade fairs enable effective networking, and this can affect further development of the portfolio of services dedicated to the industry”.
Powered by advertising, consumerism drives sales. Brick-and-mortar stores turn into smart stores. Self-checkouts and smart shelves are just a minor thing, and still not all retail facilities use these simple solutions. The perspective of exhibitors and visitors to the world trade fair is different. Sescom examines the market and continuously checks the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of deployment and maintenance of technologies in stores, banks or restaurants. At the same time, it strengthens its offer and takes care of its development, e.g. in terms of RFID implementations or through a complex range of Energy Efficiency offers.
Outsourcing – the key to improving efficiency
Comprehensive services for stores, design works, construction, equipment or only improvement of their standard and ongoing maintenance are essential elements for their operations. However, they are not an important source of income. It is no secret that outsourcing allows you to significantly accelerate and improve processes that are not the basis of your revenue, but are needed anyway. That is why Sescom comprehensively arranges the retail store, cares about its ongoing maintenance, services and even does stocktaking, which can be greatly accelerated. At EuroShop, within just a few days you can see how wide the offer for retailers is. However, the choice of products, which at first glance seem similar, is not always easy. As an integrator and expert in services and retail improvement equipment, Sescom supports or serves its customers at every stage, dealing with the selection and installation of solutions that meet their needs. In this way, retail managers can focus on running the business.
EuroShop – not only virtual future
For Sescom, EuroShop was primarily a place to research the market and to network. During the fairs, we had the opportunity to exchange knowledge about the latest solutions. We would like to thank all our guests for their time, talks and meetings; we believe that this was a fruitful time. EuroShop 2020 has shown that the retail market is doing well, and shopping offline is still one of the activities that, although it is a necessity, can become faster and more pleasant thanks to the activity of companies like Sescom.
In the age of the Internet, retail does not die — we aim to balance online and offline purchases. Efficient sales systems, avoiding queues, and take-and-go models allow you to serve more customers and double the sales of your products. For the first time in history, there are as many as six generations of consumers. Only a part of them feels like a fish in the water in the digital environment, which makes retailers invest in omnichannel. At the same time, online shops never make brick-and-mortar stores unnecessary.
As the leader of integration in the Facility Management market, we are pleased to have participated in the fairs; they have confirmed our belief that the quality of the services offered and the portfolio of solutions that we provide to our customers fits very well into the trends and the real demand.
