Whether online, at point of sale or mobile: as of 22 October the Metro Group, eBay and Paypal are testing a new omni-channnel concept in which all sales’ channels are interlinked. Until mid-January 2015, customers and traders can try out this new commercial solution in “The Inspiration Store” in the recently modernised and extended Weserpark shopping centre in Bremen.
This pilot scheme focuses on how the advantages of point of sale, online and mobile trade can be combined, and how purchases can be simplified in practice by innovative payment methods. It was announced that numerous eBay traders as well as the Metro Group marketing brands, Media Markt, Real and Galeria Kaufhof, will contribute to the product range at The Inspiration Store. The product range is planned to change fortnightly.
According to a spokesman, various proven technologies from different manufacturers and service providers will be used in a new combination in The Inspiration Store. The customers can select from a range of products from different traders. This range will change fortnightly and will be decided primarily by the seasonal calendar in tune with certain themes such as “Beautiful home”, “Gifts for the Christmas season” or “Health and wellbeing”. For each theme, an attractive range of around 400 products will be selected from those proposed by the participating traders. Customers will be able to purchase the products either directly in store, via digital displays in and outside the store, online using a computer, smartphone or tablet, or on www.ebay.de/the-inspiration-store and www.the-inspiration-store.de. Customers can also decide how they want to pay for and receive their goods. As well as paying for purchases the conventional way, mobile transfers will also be possible. This works via the PayPal app with the “Paypal check in” function or the Paypal QR shopping app.
As Olaf Koch, chairman of the Metro AG management board, formulates it, the idea is to cross-link the shopping experience through omni-channel trade. “Our customers are increasingly demanding an integrated shopping experience, using all the different channels: offline, online and mobile. They want to be able to select the channel depending on the situation, jump from one to another, and combine them seamlessly. This exciting partnership project with eBay and Paypal provides us with an opportunity to provide a cross-linked shopping experience, while also taking the integration of our bricks and mortar stores with our online activities to a brand new level.”
