Brick-and-mortar chains are catching up with e-shops.

Already 80 % of the largest brick-and-mortar chains in the Czech Republic sell their goods on the Internet, another 4 % at least allow the reservation of goods in store. This is according to traditional research from the consulting company Acomware, which was published today at the Retail Summit conference. Chains are also improving every year in the range of services provided on the Internet. On the contrary, they lose in the use of new technologies.

In the last 5 years, the number of brick-and-mortar chains that use the Internet to sell their goods has increased by almost half. "It is the right decision, because for 56 percent of Czechs it is important that the chain has its own e-shop. In areas such as sports goods, books or household goods, all the most important sellers are already present on the Internet. There are reserves for groceries and drugstores, but the number of e-shops for them will be rather slow," says David Vurma, CEO of Acomware. Especially with so-called fast-moving goods, people's habit of shopping in brick-and-mortar stores is strong: according to research by Acomware, almost half of Czechs like to shop there. In the case of food, for example, they are discouraged from shopping on the Internet because they cannot choose the product or they are afraid of its freshness.

According to research, domestic brick-and-mortar chains make good use of the advantages given to them by an already existing network of stores. "They can better connect their stores with the e-shop. More than 60 percent allow you to pick up goods from the e-shop at one of the branches and then possibly claim or return them at the same place." explains Vurma. On the contrary, with e-shops, it is more common to request that you send the claimed goods by post or courier. "It's a big topic for customers, 89 percent of people want to claim or return goods physically, for free. Fortunately, the fee is more of an exception.” complements.

Since last year, the number of brick-and-mortar stores that use delivery points of other entities, such as Zásilkovna, Uloženka or pick-up points of courier companies, has more than doubled. When it comes to new sales channels, such as social networks Facebook or Instagram, which allow you to advertise goods, sellers practically do not use this option yet. "This applies to brick-and-mortar chains as well as e-shops. Most profiles are not intended to sell, but rather to promote a brand. The young generation confirms in our research that they increasingly prefer social networks, for example for customer support. Its importance will therefore grow,” thinks Vurma.

Chains, on the other hand, lag behind in their technological maturity compared to e-shops. "Among the largest e-shops, they are all responsive and good for mobile shopping. The same cannot be said about brick-and-mortar retailers. E-shops also use mobile applications more often and work with advertising tools in the Internet environment," adds Vurma. Some of the technological innovations that sellers are introducing, but customers can't yet appreciate. An example is a so-called chatbot that automatically answers people's questions. In practice, only 11 % customers prefer it. More often than not, people will prefer live chat or email.

This year, Acomware's research focused on the nation's 192 largest retailers. Specifically, there were 164 brick-and-mortar stores and 28 e-shops. Together, these companies annually earn more than 700 billion crowns and operate over 12,000 stores throughout the Czech Republic.

MEDIA CONTACT

Kamil Gric

kamil.gric@acomware.cz

+420 737 289 527

ABOUT ACOMWARE

Acomware is a specialized consulting company for e-commerce and digital marketing. Since 2002, he has been helping companies achieve the best possible results in his environment. It increases sales, builds new brands or improves customer care. The company's services are used by retail chains, e-shops and manufacturing companies.

The Czech e-commerce scene is a home for Acomware, which it is actively trying to develop and cultivate. He participates in the development and implementation of new tools and technologies, trains experts and enthusiasts. On the website www.acomware.cz publishes unique research and studies. He is the organizer of the Performance 2020, Emailing 2020 conferences and the Eshopista discussion cycle.