anybill and Snabble have a common goal: to revolutionize stationary retail! Therefore, we jointly launched a qualitative survey in our Linkedin communities in November 2021. Our goal was to get to know our communities even better and to get their insights and opinions on various topics from the digital retail industry. With a total of 3600 followers of anybill and Snabble, a broad audience could be addressed with the multiple choice questions. Are you ready for the latest trends in digital retail?

Does your company have a digitization strategy for the next few years?

Digitization and the 21st century are firmly linked. We wanted participants to become aware of the extent to which digitization and a strategy for it already play a role in their company. 67% of respondents answered that they already have a strategy, 22% said they have a rough roadmap, and 11% do not yet have a digitization strategy at all.

This sentiment clearly shows that digitization already plays an important role and will play an even more important role in the future. anybill and Snabble rely on digital solutions at the point of sale - which represent an important component of a successful, forward-looking strategy for both customers and retailers.

In which form will digital services become better established in stationary retail?

Almost 90 % of respondents were certain here: "As an embedded service". Only one in ten respondents thought that a single-app solution would be better established. Snabble and anybill are focusing on an embedded service solution: Snabble's core function, the Scan & Go function, can be integrated into existing apps as an SDK (Software Development Kit). Likewise, anybill's SDK can be integrated into existing apps to offer digital receipts via the partners' application. The advantage of embedded services is obvious: it is not necessary for customers to use an extra app for each digital service at the POS, but rather to be able to use all digital services in parallel in one application.

What is the maximum number of digital services you would offer in stationary retail?

As providers of digital receipts and scan & go, anybill and Snabble already offer two different digital services in stationary retail. However, there are many other offers, such as the smart shopping list, Wi-Fi in the store, real-time information while shopping, or bonus programs. We asked ourselves and our community: How much is perhaps "too much"?

The most popular answer, 63%, was: "As many as possible. This is also confirmed, for example, by the E-commerce magazine in an article from 2020, in which they reveal that almost three-quarters of German Internet users would like to see more service provided by digital technologies when shopping in stationary retail outlets. So supply and demand match.

We can add to this that in our Linkedin survey, 19% each voted for "Maximum 2" and "Maximum 5" digital services in stationary retail. The desire for digital services is therefore there. The number of services that should be integrated should always be adapted to the individual situation. Our motto is, of course, "the more the better", since digital receipts and scan & go solutions can already increase customer satisfaction and optimize and speed up the checkout process.

What problems arise when implementing digital services at the point of sale?

Some are still reluctant to implement digital services for various reasons: 48% of respondents voted for the option that "too little know-how" was a problem here. "Too much hardware" was the decisive pain point for 21%, and "legal issues" for 17%. Only 14% of respondents voted for "Too high costs".

Tobias Gubo, CTO and co-founder of anybill, explains: "POS systems are mostly B2B products that are designed for the optimal handling of customers at the POS. Here, we deliver the sophisticated B2C solution for digital receipts without having to open up the new subject area around the end customer. So we support all merchants with our know-how to make the implementation as easy as possible."

Snabble and anybill act not only as a simple service provider, but as partners with holistic solutions and a common goal: to digitize the point of sale.

What requirements does your POS system need to meet in order to offer digital services in your store?

There is only one correct answer here: "It must be expandable". This option was also chosen by 86% of the respondents. After all, no extra hardware is needed, but this was what 10% of our participants thought. 5% voted for "The POS system must not be a handheld", but this assumption is also incorrect. The decisive factor is the expandability of the POS system, because if this factor is given, the implementation of digital services is not a problem. Snabble can function as its own checkout system, as well as be integrated into the existing checkout. The digital receipt with anybill can also be booked as an additional module. With an expandable checkout system, digital services can be seamlessly integrated, providing customers and retailers with a better shopping and sales experience.

Do you want to learn more about our "Digital Retail Survey 2022"? Then jump over to Snabble for the second part which ist about the relevance of sustainability at the POS or the maximum time required to implement digital services!

The Digital Retail Survey 2022 by anybill & Snabble is not representative. It merely reflects the opinion of the Linkedin communities of anybill & Snabble.