In no industry is the customer’s shopping experience as important as in retail. This means, for example, that the merchandise must (also) be available online. One reason why is that small businesses account for a large proportion of retail enterprises – and the level of digitization is low among SMBs in all industries. Thirty-six percent of retailers shy away from the cost of digitization, 30 percent have IT security misgivings and 29 percent say they simply don’t have the time. In day-to-day business with long opening hours and overtime they have little time in which to think about suitable digital solutions.

Internet of Things offers many benefits for retail – with simple, upgradable solutions that don’t require heavy investment. A digital order button, for example, reports empty shelves in the clothing store, full reverse vending machines in the supermarket or defective beverage dispensers and refrigerated counters. Digital price tags tell the customer more about the product, such as where it is grown, production conditions or ingredients. They enable pricing to be made flexible in the course of the day by means of discounts and special offers and guide the customer to the right shelf by means of an app. Free in-store WiFi is inclusive, of course. By scanning the QR code on the tag, customers can order missing sizes and colors, have the goods delivered to their home, or pay immediately, thereby avoiding the checkout line. And if the shopping carts are connected, the customer’s route round the store can be tracked, enabling products to be placed in a more customer-friendly way.