With more than 10 ongoing partnerships, 70 projects and 150 specialists in the team, our Retail expertise positions Accesa as a partner of choice in enabling businesses to increase customer satisfaction and drive business growth. We ensure that our data-driven IT solutions bridge the gap between the evolution of the industry and customer business goals, through tailored approaches that create value over time.

EuroCIS, covering the main drivers shaping the Retail Industry 

Recently we had the opportunity to share our Retail expertise at EuroCIS, the leading Trade Fair for Retail Technology in Europe, which took place in Düsseldorf last month and covered three major themes: Artificial Intelligence, Smart Stores and Customer Centricity. Joining 500 exhibitors from 37 countries, and over 14,000 trade visitors from 95 nations, we were excited to join the conversation on the main drivers shaping the Retail industry.

Together with our long-term partners, MediaMarktSaturn and bofrost*, we took the stage to share insights around two of this year’s major themes: Generative AI and Customer Centricity. Covering both strategy and technology, together with our partners, we shared how collaboration is essential to customer centricity and how we’re able to provide an enhanced customer experience by designing solutions that integrate seamlessly into our partner’s business. We also talked about how we can have a unified, end-to-end approach to customer experience, and most importantly, how we can follow - while also disrupting - industry standards.

AI-Driven Personalisation, Customer Engagement, Intelligent Retail Automation and Supply Chain Optimisation are some of the topics that our Retail experts discussed with business leaders at our booth, addressing challenges such as lack of omnichannel integration and rising cybersecurity threats in Retail. Our team also had the chance to gain first-hand insights into current Retail technologies by attending sessions on topics such as Creating Value with AI, Electronic Shelf Labels, Smart Stores, Digital Product Passports, and Cybersecurity.

Gen AI and Customer Centricity in the Retail Industry 

Our IT solutions help retailers make informed decisions and optimise their operations. By leveraging real-time analytics, personalised shopping experiences, and efficient inventory management, we enable retailers to increase customer satisfaction and drive business growth. Friendshoring in the Retail Industry enables us to develop long-term partnerships that create sustainable value and engineer solutions that deliver unique customer experiences for the leading brands we work with.

^{Photo credits: Messe Düsseldorf / C. Tillmann}

As a partner of choice for the past 12 years, Accesa works with MediaMarktSaturn to shape the future of Retail, through technologies like Generative AI to accelerate innovation. And what better place to share our joint experience on the topic, if not the EuroCIS Stage - where Felix Meyner, Platform Owner Customer & Marketing at MediaMarktSaturn Technology and Nicoleta Retegan, Senior Client Partner Lead for Retail at Accesa, in their talk onExperience Digital Transformation – MediaMarktSaturn’s approach to GenAI detailed:

How the Interactive Instructions Manual developed with Accesa offers an enriched consumer experience and a better understanding of the products consumers buy.

That, while Gen AI has the power to revolutionise Retail, increasing consumer acceptance of AI solutions in terms of privacy and security remains a challenge. Leveraging demographic data such as country and age will accelerate the adoption of AI solutions, keeping in mind that building trust and solving a real problem is essential.

You can find out more about our approach to Generative AI here. Take a deeper dive into the subject and download our whitepaper exploring consumer attitudes & acceptance of AI solutions in the Retail sector here.

Customer Centricity: Beyond the Cart: building long-term customer relationships

While technology and AI play a key role in every industry, we know how important it is to keep a human touch in every aspect of a business - especially when it comes to the Retail world Focusing on Customer Centricity: Beyond the Cart: building long-term customer relationships, Dennis Bülow, CIO at bofrost* and Marius Cadar, Senior Client Partner at Accesa talked about how:

A customer-centric approach has been at the heart of bofrost* success for almost 60 years and is still the key to turning one-time-shoppers into lifetime customers, even as technology continues to shape the Retail industry. Therefore bofrost* uses technology to support its sales team and continuously enhance the customer experience.

Customers expect brands to deliver a tailor-made experience which tackles their need for human connection, while also building trust and providing solutions to their problems. This is why the bofrost* success story stems from its long-term, personal relationships between salespeople and customers. Technology can support this advanced personalisation through integrated features at the point of sale, real human support via telephone, E-Mail or live chat, convenient delivery schedule or a hassle-free payment experience.

Direct access to experts means customers receive tailored assistance — whether they need product recommendations, troubleshooting help, or guidance through the buying process.

The conversation continued at our booth, where our Retail experts engaged in thought-provoking conversations on the main challenges that business leaders in Retail are facing today. From struggling with integrating their online and offline channels, leading to fragmented customer experiences, to difficulty in understanding customer behaviour and rising cybersecurity threats in Retail, we shared our expertise on how optimisation and automation in Retail processes can help a business thrive.

Our take on the future of Retail  

EuroCIS was a great opportunity for us to connect with customers, partners, exhibitors and visitors for insightful discussions on the latest technological trends shaping the future of Retail. Together we can leverage our knowledge and build strong solutions that fit any business objective and increase competitivity, all while maintaining the highest standards of security and compliance.

 “Looking back on how the Retail market has evolved in the recent past and given the current business reality and the upcoming future, there are two main pillars on which the retailers will need to focus on. One is customer experience, and the second one is operational efficiency and effectiveness.

Naturally, technology will play a crucial role in this. From my point of view, the main drivers will be AI machine learning, in very close connection with customer and customer-related aspects; another driver will be seamless checkout, followed by a very strong acceleration of digitalisation of processes, and finally connected retail.”

Adina Suciu, CO-CEO Accesa

Find out more about our expertise in the Retail industry.