Throughout our media channels, we’re bringing forth conversations, testimonials and projects with our partners to reveal what retail looks like across the globe.
For this Q&A, we connected with Andy Rottiers, Axel Hellemans and Roland Linting of Resatec in Netherlands and Belgium. Resatec has been partnering with InVue since 2010 and supports customers across the Benelux region.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
The global pandemic has undeniably had a big impact on retail both with the types of innovations they are investing in and the speed at which they are putting them into place.
Stores that did not have much of an online presence before are implementing e-commerce and services like buy online, pick up in-store. The old product roadmaps that took two years are now being adopted over two months.
In a lot of regions, customers aren’t allowed to touch the devices in-store, so technology like QR codes help them learn more information about the device in a contactless way. On the other hand, retail is being impacted by increasing theft, so there is a continued focus to help them deliver the security they need while preserving the customer experience as much as possible. We see that there’s still money in retail for the right solutions that focus on customer experience — should it be brand experience, self-check-out, or product display — but they are considered more and implemented faster than they used to be.
There are a few but the first is how to provide a full customer experience. As shoppers spend more time online, the time they do spend in-stores is especially important — and they want a full brand experience. Retailers are asking us how to show their product to the customer in an ideal way – fully charged, visually engaging and not locked down to the table — so the customer can truly engage in what the brand is putting out there.
And when they do find the right solution that fits their needs, it’s about the support they can get locally. They want faces they recognize and can trust.
They need to understand and be asking themselves ‘what is most important to me?’ For example, is the primary goal to avoid losing phones? Or do they value data and insights just as much as preventing theft?
You can easily find a low quality, low budget solution. But there are high-quality solutions that also give you the data you need to evaluate your sales effectiveness and help steer your organization.
Personally, I’m very proud on our Rituals project; Rituals is a well-known, Dutch company having 750 stores worldwide. They sell parfums, shampoos and other beauty and health related products. Rituals developed a shop-in-shop concept where a customer can put together a shampoo by him or herself. Convincing the customer was challenging, but persistence wins; all 50 Rituals Hair Temple shop-in-shops are equipped with InVue OnePOD stands and Apple iPad Pro tablets. Hopefully more to come this year.
— Roland Linting
Resatec has always been in front of finding new industries to work with, whether it’s hospital systems, banks, etc. One interesting installation project was working with a large retail customer who sells hearing-aids. They were thinking of a new concept for their stores and came to us for help. Finally, they started using our tablet solutions in their waiting area to help customer get informed about their way of working, promotions, as well as a tool to do hearing tests. We see tablets popping up everywhere and that brings us a lot of new possibilities.
— Andy Rottiers
Working with big consumer electronic brands is always an interesting project because of the timelines they are up against to launch a product or shop and the limited time they have. Thankfully we partner really well with these brands whether it’s from their headquarter contacts to the regional and local stores. We must maintain tight communication and be on time for launch.
— Axel Hellemans
Are you a retail business in the Benelux region? Continue the conversation with Resatec using the contact information below:
Website: https://www.resatec.be/ or http://www.resatec.nl
Email: info@resatec.nl or info@resatec.be