Retail expert believes physical retail is underutilizing the opportunity to keep track of all visitors in stores

The Retail Expert Michael Lemner is visiting Sweden. After 35 years abroad in retail at companies such as H&M, New Look, Bally, Polarn & Pyret, Jules, Pimkie and LolaLiza, in both operational roles and as a board member, he has followed retail development both in Sweden and internationally.

When he met BizLabs senior advisor Christian Bönnelyche He is very clear.

“Physical retail needs to start focusing more on the customers who don’t convert to purchases and see how they can influence them more. With margins under pressure and consumer behavior changing, retailers need more data on every customer in store. In Europe, we often talk about the customer with the behavior "look, look, look don't buy"Now it is possible to both collect more data about non-buyers, and find new ways to influence them to actually buy, through new technology. Retailers should take advantage of that opportunity. It is no longer a question of cost but an approach to the entire sales process in stores,” says Michael.

“We know that 50–90% of store visitors do not convert to purchases, of course depending on location and industry. With the right technology, you can analyze customer flow in real time in terms of gender, age, time of day, weather but also how long the customer stays in the store. A few percent higher conversion can mean profitability instead of bankruptcy" says Michael Lemner.

By knowing the age distribution of visitors, you can adapt your assortment and campaigns. An example from a well-known jeans chain showed that some stores had a different age distribution. After adapting the assortment, sales increased.

“Today there is technology, for example BizLab Flow, which allows merchants to collect GDPR-compliant data on all visitors – without identifying individuals – and directly link campaign exposure to actual sales. The same technology can show the correct message for the right target group – when it has the greatest effect,” adds Christian Bönnelyche.

“The store becomes not only a sales channel, but also a media platform with measurable reach, where every screen becomes a channel for targeted advertising,” continues Christian.

At the same time, a new forecast from eMarketer shows that retail media in-store, although it still accounts for a smaller portion of the total media budget, is expected to account for a whopping 55.9 trillion won of growth in digital out-of-home (DOOH) by 2027.

“I have always been obsessed with numbers and data, which I believe is the key to being successful in retail, of course, alongside the product. Thanks to technology, it is now quick and easy to collect data, which means that almost all the work can be put into analyzing and acting on it. Here, retailers must put a lot more focus than you do today.” concludes Michael Lemner who is happy to be in Sweden at regular intervals. “Despite 35 years abroad, Sweden still feels like home,” says Michael from sunny Ekudden in Djursholm where he grew up and founded what is now FC Djursholm. But that is another story.