Why more and more online brands are going offline

Urlaubsguru led the way, with Mister Spex and a number of online retailers following suit. But why are more and more online companies going offline? Trend or isolated cases?

The omnichannel trend is gaining popularity and various online stores are catching up. Having its own brick-and-mortar store can have several benefits for a business. Does retail have a chance after all?

Perception of all sales channels

Jens Peter Klatt of Mister Spex confirms: “The stores strengthen brand awareness […]”. Very good examples of this are Amazon, Zaland and mymüsli. They have used the business stores for themselves before and with success!
As a result of digitization, brick-and-mortar retail has already had to take a beating. But despite the many advantages offered by online retailing, the origin remains in store shopping.
Every company is looking for the unique business model to differentiate itself from the market. Online and offline optimize each other and ensure that both channels grow. In addition, this strategy provides an excellent option to differentiate the company from the competition.
When online companies use the opportunity to present themselves in several sales channels, this leads to brand growth and can have a positive effect on their own reputation: “We have tested the added value for our customers in the first showrooms in Berlin and Vienna and are looking forward to the fact that our customers from the Rhine-Main area can now also try out our collections before buying online,” confirms Home24 board member Marc Appelhoff on neuhandeln.de.

In online commerce, there are already an infinite number of ways to market yourself or advertise. But not every target group shops online these days.

Attracting new consumers

The advantages of online retailing are by no means controversial: opening hours around the clock, various payment systems, delivery to the doorstep and simple return conditions. It can be as simple as that. Online companies offer customers greater freedom of choice; they can determine for themselves which offer suits them and make comparisons. But in some cases, an individual offer or consultation is more efficient for the customer and removes their skepticism and lack of trust from new customers.
Stationary stores increase the credibility and trustworthiness of the company, as the company is now visible and accessible. The customer has direct contact persons on site and his questions are answered with a lot of time and with individual advice. Here the customer builds trust again through another side. Customer loyalty is created. The online company gets even more information from the customer that remains undiscovered despite the surfing and clicking behavior and can thus optimize its offer even better.

Cost and effort

The combination of online retail and brick-and-mortar stores also brings with it new expenses. There is rent, equipment, new staff and other costs. Things that an online company does not need to finance additionally. In addition, regular opening hours must be guaranteed here, where the customer can find competent staff.

Book your dream vacation now at the Urlaubsguru Store in Münster, Germany

Urlaubsguru – one of the strongest travel brands in Germany with over 7 million fans on Facebook.

After the successful opening of the first store in Unna, the second store was opened in Münster on 01 December 2018. Schwarz+Matt accompanied Urlaubsguru from the first concept of the “travel agency of the future” to the second new opening. It should stand out from classic travel agencies and appear in a new flair. In just six months, we opened two stores in Germany with a prefabricated store design, construction coordination of the various trades and 3D visualization. Urlaubsguru provided more than 30 travel consultations a day in its first year at its offline store in Unna, adding a variant to its business.

Conclusion: Offline trading brings new options

Offline trade is an ingenious tool for making your own products or services better known. Different sales channels enable companies to achieve higher sales figures and awareness of the product. The customer also takes advantage and gets individual face-to-face advice. So, when online retail goes offline, these are by no means just isolated incidents!