In our digital life, we are almost always surrounded by them. From mobile alarm clocks to payment apps and instant messengers to online shopping – microinteractions are used to improve our user experience. But what exactly are these small interactions between humankind and machines? And how are they used effectively?
E-commerce is booming. Yes, it is also booming in Germany. About 60 per cent of Germans have already ordered something on the Internet. One out of three even places orders several times a week via online platforms and shops.
For years, the industry has only known one direction: upwards. And the last year has once again put a smile on the faces of retailers and manufacturers. We take a look at the figures and show who was able to enjoy 2019 the most.
The word migration usually does not arouse much enthusiasm, mainly because of the great effort behind it. However, this does not change anything about the fact that it is necessary. It is also true that the shop migration should be seen as an investment in the future – despite (or even more so because of) its often gigantic extent – since the migration is an excellent opportunity to modernise the existing commerce solution, which had reached its limits, in a competitive and future-proof way.
And if a provider removes a solution from its portfolio, you have no choice anyway but to deal with the topic and make the best of it – just like everyone whose shop has been based on Magento 1 so far. Because it will soon be a thing of the commerce past. Once and for all. From June 2020, Magento will no longer offer support for Magento Commerce 1, Magento Open Source 1 as well as older Magento Commerce 2 versions. So, dear shop operators with old Magento versions: migration is no longer optional, but obligatory.
For those who want to continue using Magento, we have summarised all the important information and tips for a successful shop migration in this article. Obviously, switching the provider is also an option worth evaluating, but this is a topic for another article 😉
The first two weeks of the new year are over. Enough time to develop first business ideas, set the first goals for the year and have the most important digital trends on the radar. In digital business, everyone is aware of the fact that (tech) trends alone cannot create innovation. A clear symbiosis between humankind, space and technology is THE success strategy par excellence.
In the first part of our double feature, we showed which strategic trends in 2020 have a clear human-centred focus according to Gartner. In this second part, we will focus on the trends that have a major influence on the spaces and environments where technology and humankind meet.
However, it should be noted that these two types of trends should under no circumstances be considered separately. Each company has to find its perfect mix that suits the company best in order to keep growing.
A new year is always a chance to open up new horizons, implement new business ideas and develop innovations. In order to fulfil these resolutions, it is mandatory to identify the technologies that have development potential and to understand which effects they can have on the digital economy and society.
For this reason, we have already published an entire series of articles on Handelskraft, in which we discuss key topics such as artificial intelligence, marketing, SEO, user experience, social media, customer relationships and product data.
(Tech) trends alone do not create innovation. The symbiosis of humankind, space and technology is what makes a digital strategy successful. This is why we will present and explain in our Handelskraft double feature which strategic tech trends are the key to digital success in 2020 according to Gartner and how people can use these for their respective field of application.
Digitisation is not a megatrend anymore, it has become normality nowadays. It determines both our private and professional daily life. In particular how people spend their free time has changed enormously in the course of digital change in recent years. The best example is the way sport is done nowadays. Thanks to digitally connected devices, more and more people train more specifically and more consciously. This way, they can constantly check their vital signs and their fitness level.
But not only that. The way in which classic sports are consumed has also changed significantly. Furthermore, the improvement of network connections as well as the increasing popularity of smartphones have contributed to completely new sports being created, for example League of Legends (LoL).
The progress of technology has already turned well-known gaming competitions into huge global events and thus ultimately brought e-sports into our daily lives. The number of spectators in e-sports is rising. The corresponding turnover and the number of companies that make investments is increasing as well. The most recent example is Bayern Munich. Together with its partners Telekom, Allianz and Siemens, the tradition-steeped football club announced its participation in the eFootball.Pro league.
So the question is: Why could e-sports as a marketing instrument be interesting for your company?
E-commerce just keeps growing – not only in Germany: even in our neighbouring countries, the shopping mania via desktop and smartphones only knows one direction – upwards.
A good reason to take a closer look at a neighbour who is particularly interesting for German retailers.
Consumers still want to go shopping, see products with their own eyes, touch them and interact directly with brands. Offline is far from being dead, it is currently experiencing a boom instead – whether it is pop-up stores, events or eventful product demos. Digital brands are positioning themselves quite quickly and vehemently in the physical world in order to meet customer requirements.
With such stationary concepts, the product itself has fallen behind. It is important that the customer feels comfortable, has good memories of his visit and ultimately passes these on through word-of-mouth or »social propaganda« so that brand fans become enthusiastic customers – and vice versa.
For this reason, a type of marketing that promotes interaction between customer and brand in order to permanently strengthen customer relationships is becoming more and more important. We’re talking about experiential marketing! What is it all about and why is it so important for retailers, manufacturers and brands nowadays?
Two weeks after the spectacular Singles’ Day, it was time for the next online shopping mania: Black Friday and Cyber Monday – and they did not disappoint. Consumers and retailers enjoyed a week full of special offers and made millions of transactions. Similar to #Double11, this e-commerce mania far exceeded all forecasts.
Black Friday and Cyber Monday which have their roots in the USA have already established themselves as the most relevant sales events of the year in Germany (and throughout Europe).
Not only do they shape customer behaviour, they also revolutionise calendars as well as price and marketing strategies. Everybody wants to take part. But how should retailers, manufacturers and brands approach these huge sales events so that they constantly make a profit from them?
The development of the Internet of Things is nowhere near slowing down. Quite the opposite: by the end of this year, presumably 4.8 billion networked endpoints will be used in the enterprise segment and car industry. According to a forecast by Gartner, this figure will even rise to 5.8 billion by 2020 which is equivalent to an annual growth of 21 per cent.
Two forces are driving this development forward: speed and size. On the one hand, companies use an improved broadband connection to make real-time analysis and on-demand intelligence possible. In B2C as well as B2B, several use cases have already shown their potential. On the other hand, sensors – an essential component of the Internet of Things (IoT) – become smaller and smaller and more and more sophisticated.
In this context, Gartner states that companies will use physical space to interact with their customers through these tiny sensors. Smart Cars, Smart Cities, Industry 4.0 or Smart Farming are familiar terms surrounding a phenomenon that covers way more – for example the next stage of the IoT technology called »Smart Dust«, which currently attracts a lot of attention.
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