“Amazon is a role model when it comes to measuring and optimizing”

According to André Roitzsch, digital pioneer and CEO of SHOPMACHER, it no longer works to carry out a website relaunch and then sit back and relax for three years.

ITD: Mr. Roitzsch, the Corona crisis and the associated temporary business closures have given e-commerce a real boost. How important is online shopping for German consumers in mid-2021?

André Roitzsch: Thanks to Corona, online shopping has now reached all target groups across all sectors. In addition to growth in sectors such as fashion and electronics, which are already strong in e-commerce, sectors such as food, FMCG, etc. that tend to be more online-averse have also recorded strong online sales to date. It doesn’t matter whether it’s lunch from Hello fresh or toilet paper from the discounter: online shopping has become part of everyday life.

ITD: What is particularly important to customers when shopping online?

“AR or VR try to close the gaps that occur due to closed sales outlets or purely online retailers,” says André Roitzsch from SHOPMACHER.

ITD: Which tools and solutions can be used to improve the customer journey here?

Roitzsch: From the customer’s point of view, the biggest pain points are unclear product availability or delivery times. Basically, I do believe that customers can cope with somewhat longer delivery times and accept them. However, what is not accepted are unclear statements about availability and delivery. The more transparent the process from interest generation to purchase to delivery, the more rounded the customer journey and thus the more satisfied the customers. Good ticket systems such as Zendesk, Freshdesk and/or clean order processing help. Individual and relevant shipping communication also ensures more perspective and satisfaction. There are specialized providers for this, such as industry leaders Parcellab, Paqato or Shipcloud.

ITD: What role do data and artificial intelligence (AI) play for better personalization in web shops/on portals?

Roitzsch: The potential is gigantic. Even with comparatively simple means, remarkable insights can be gained. An example: We found out the following for one of our fashion customers: When buying online, the probability that someone buys a complete outfit increases significantly if the purchase starts with a pair of pants. If the start is a shirt, it often stays with a product. This knowledge can then also be used for advice at the PoS. At the PoS, on the other hand, we can use an RFID chip that is integrated into the label of a piece of clothing, for example, to track how the product is moved in the store. This way you can measure which products go into the fitting room together and which are then bought and which are put back. This in turn can be used online to reduce expensive returns. The big challenge for many retailers is the conceptual and strategic use of the data that can be collected. I have to know what data I can collect, I have to have an idea of what I want to do with it, and I have to work every day to determine connections and derive concrete actions from them. In an industry study for furniture, we recently determined that 80 percent of those surveyed have implemented Google Analytics, but of this 80 percent more than half could not name anyone in the company who is responsible for the analysis. There’s still a lot to catch up on…

Read the whole interview

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