Consumer’s path into the store becomes more and more individual and unique. The smartphone delivers relevant insights pre-store, in-store, after purchasing and attends the consumer while using the product during the whole lifecycle. Beside the optimized purchase journey the relationship to the customer becomes a snowballing role. Consumers expect much more than a working product. They are looking for individual services, a direct communication with the brand and – across all channels and touchpoints – a seamless unique experience.

By 2020 customer experience will be the „key brand differentiator“ and will push aside price and product. 86% of the consumers will pay more for an enhanced customer experience (Walker Customers 2020: The Future of B-to-B Customer Experience) .

The biggest challenge for brands will be a seamless experience across all touchpoints.

To turn a „Maybe I should have bought this…“ into a purchase anytime and anywhere– brick-and-mortar or online – will be an additional value of a digitalized customer journey. It needs extensive data to realize this. And customers are willing to provide these for a better experience.

And for all this you need proximity solutions. Technologies, such as NFC, beacons, GPS/Geofencing or QR, complement each other, provide a seamless experience and massive insights for further development.

Bundesverband Digitale Wirtschaft e.V. with his Focus Group Mobile released the guide “Proximity Solutions – Smart Technologies to create digital touchpoints” which explains how retailers and brands can use proximity solutions to gain mobile data and create a meaningful experience for the consumer.

To read the full BVDW guide “Proximity Solutions – Smart Technologies to create digital touchpoints” (German) complete with case studies, click here