French Retailers Shift Toward Digital Screens

Digital Touch Screens

New research from Samsung Electronics France revealed that more physical stores in France are opting for digital screens to help enhance the customer experience.

According to the study, 60 percent of the 301 physical retailers surveyed said they already has used display screens in-store and another 15 percent expressed plans to do so.

Touchscreen displays or interactive kiosks are offered by more than half (53 percent) of larger retailers and 36 percent of their smaller counterparts, Emarketer reported. Thirty-six percent of respondents said they provided their in-store employees with connected devices in order to help improve the service they offer customers.

But many retailers said they were still just beginning their digital journey.

While just 4 percent felt they had reached “digital maturity,” another 43 percent perceived their understanding and implementation of digital options as “weak” or “very weak.”

Many retailers (54 percent) cited their biggest reason for installing digital devices was to help make the store more attractive and drive foot traffic. Other reasons included wanting to put some “magic” back into the shopping experience (42 percent) and to collect data from customers’ interaction with the screens (30 percent).

“While the digitization of distribution has clearly progressed, especially with regard to the rate of equipment, there is still a long way to go before actors can take full advantage of digital transformation. As the study shows, most of them are aware that their digital maturity remains low. The implementation and review of indicators for monitoring the performance of installed devices could, for example, enable them to improve the customer experience — a goal that appears [to be a] priority according to the results of the first barometer,” Gary Guillier-Marcellin, director of display division at Samsung Electronics France, said in a translated statement.

“The store of the future is taking shape before our eyes. Thanks to digitization, it should offer a personalized customer experience, to improve the rate of consumer satisfaction. Another trend is mobile payment. If only one store has four today or will soon have mobile payment solutions, one in three is developing a project in this direction,” Guillier-Marcellin concluded.