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Omnichannel was a fashionable word in the retail a few years back and in 2014, 71% of the
retailers had engaged in an omnichannel strategy and 24% were working toward it (Oracle
retail, 2014) : the phenomenon keeps growing rapidly. Nowadays, the customers require to
have a flawless experience throughout all the channels, whether it is for information research,
for purchase or any others actions the customers may want to take with the retailers. And
those who would not satisfy their customers might lose them forever.
Moreover, the eCommerce and digital technologies steadily take a greater importance in the
retail world. In Belgium, 61% of the 16-64 years old own a smartphone (Digimedia, 2016).
We might therefore think that eCommerce and the mobile devices, to a lesser extent, would
completely replace the traditional brick-and-mortar shops and that those would eventually
disappear.
But it is absolutely not the case : people still love physical stores and the mobile is not their
main tool to purchase and it is not indented to become so. People are social creatures and love
face-to-face interactions. They also want to touch, fell and try the products when buying a
product. This is where the concept of in-store digital experience appeared : the use of digital
technologies inside a physical store.
This concept can delight every consumer : there is still the physical side for the most
conservative ones but they can also use their smartphones inside the store to help them in the
purchasing decisions. This technique improves consequently their in-store experience and
then, the customers tend to buy more. Indeed, improved shopping experience can grow
revenue by 5% to 10% over a span of three years and 75% of people have spent more with a
company because of a history of positive customer experiences (VisionCritical, 2016).
MediaMarkt asked me what they would have to do to develop their mobile strategy and this is
the conclusion I reached, especially in the consumer electronics and home appliances sector
where the customers still shop in store the most. Moreover, MediaMarkt will be the first to
develop its mobile strategy and improving its in-store experience compared to its Belgian
competitors who do not even have a mobile application. With this development, MediaMarkt
will confirm its position as a leader in the Belgian market.

omnichannel --- mobile strategy --- click-and-mortar --- in-store experience --- mobile-in-store --- MediaMarkt --- customers’ expectations --- smartphones --- shopping journey --- digital technologies --- physical stores --- Sciences économiques & de gestion > Marketing