The behaviour and expectations of French consumers with regard to shops

The shop remains the No. 1 point of sale, even though the French have changed the way they shop. With digital technology and the internet, everything moves very quickly. We live in a world of immediacy, of real time, here and now. Faced with this fast-moving world, the various marketing departments of different retailers are trying to find the most relevant sales media. There is no denying that it is now necessary to use new technologies to support the act of buying. An act of buying that is more spontaneous, more emotional, like today’s consumers…

Currently, 65% of French people prefer to shop at retail outlets rather than online, and this trend is growing year on year. The average shopping basket is 208% higher in these outlets than in e-commerce outlets. Lastly, 93% of French people spend more at a point of sale, which makes it easier for them to make their purchases… Retailers have understood that these new digital services are putting the power back in the hands of consumers. So they are surfing this trend, trying to find the best interactive media and, above all, adapting as closely as possible to the expectations of today’s shoppers.

What interactive media are used at the point of sale?

Interactive concepts are media that can be used to enhance information by easily integrating a large amount of data. Interactive kiosks, connected sales assistants, tactile window displays, virtual fitting rooms, interactive sales books, 3D images, 360° virtual tours, etc.

Today, 81% of the French are interested in interactive terminals, 79% in connected sales staff, 74% in touch-sensitive shop windows and 67% in virtual fitting rooms. Interactive media also help to simplify the act of buying. 90% of consumers believe that these aids help them to find their way around a sales outlet more easily. 83% even believe that these aids help to save time. Finally, 69% of these same consumers believe that interactive displays make a shop more attractive. It’s true that these terminals appear to be fun in the eyes of shoppers. However, retailers only have a few seconds, 3 at most, to attract consumers. So the first approach has to be the right one. If the French are receptive to all these point-of-sale media, it’s also because 92% of them do research online before buying in-store. So they’re already used to the digital world… Touch is fashionable, it’s part of French habits, and it’s still easy to use.

Today, interactive “furniture” is reinventing the act of buying.

After years of trying to counter e-tailers, brands are learning to enhance the value of their products and their physical networks, using all the interactive media at their disposal.

The real world and the digital world are being reconciled, to the delight of all their customers!

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