Digital in Store – Enhancing Customer Experience

Sure you’ve heard about the “Staff digitalization” process that Dufry has embarked on. But what’s the reach of the project and how is it taking shape?

By Jonas Rensfelt, Francisco Gomez-Martin and Paloma Torres

The digitalization of our staff is part of the overarching E-motion strategy. E-motion is about the ecosystem that creates a multichannel 360° experience for our customers and assures that our customers come first. The different elements of this 360° view are: customer experience in store, immersive digital communication, Reserve & Collect, RED loyalty program, social media and finally, staff digitalization. Having this holistic view gives Dufry the platform for partnerships and innovation leading to global impact.

The sales tablet is part of staff digitalization and provides a hub where staff members can find information to assist them in their role. It is also a tool that can be used by our staff to better sell to and interact with customers. The sales tablet enables our staff to provide customers with more detailed and personalized information and experience. While in its early phase, we are constantly working on improving the sales tablet and developing it to better meet the needs of our staff and customers.

The ultimate objective is twofold: on the one hand, improving the customer journey from beginning to end, by giving personalized service and ensuring that we convert passengers into loyal customers. On the other hand, providing tools for sales staff to work more effectively and with more information, resulting in increasing the average ticket and total sales. This initiative is a perfect example of the ONEDUFRY philosophy: Better employee experiences that drive improved customer experiences that drive business results.

Content is king

The question then is: what’s on these tablets that can help our staff do their job better? The most important element inside the tablet is the store assortment. The tablet is a direct reflection of what is sold in store. A significant element is the “enriched” assortment, meaning product images, descriptions, and videos. The information is available in six languages, thereby overcoming the language barrier.

Akeneo, our product information management software, feeds the information into our sales tablet, integrating the different platforms and expanding our database. The focus is on Dufry’s four core categories: P&C, li-quor, food and tobacco. A select number of countries also include sunglasses.

Rather than static product information, the tablet offers staff a functionality for upselling and cross-selling by giving suggestions within a product page and hence increasing the option of getting a higher value ticket. This feature prompts staff, giving suggestions on how to get a higher value ticket by showing the same product with a higher volume, comparable products that might trigger customer interest, or showing staff the products that complement that which the customer has selected. The tablet also includes easy access to all novelties, exclusives and promotions in store. Global and local campaigns that are live in store at any given moment can be accessed quickly and easily. In selected locations these devices now include Mobile Point of Sale (MPOS), a feature that turns the sales tablet into a cashier and permits the customer to complete the transaction on the tablet. This feature gives our staff additional flexibility to move around the store and help more customers – as the selling process starts and ends with them. The goal is to roll out the MPOS feature globally. In the event the customer prefers to postpone the purchase, an additional tablet feature permits sending the selected basket to the customer’s email address with a link to our Reserve & Collect service.

More than product information

Training is another cornerstone of the digitalization project. In collaboration with the HR team, the tablet includes a number of training modules, easing the access to non-desktop staff (staff with little or no access to computers in the work environment). To ensure quick and easy adaptation to the technology, training videos on the tablet explain the different elements within the tablet and how it works. This section includes a link to Dufry TV, facilitating staff access to the latest developments and releases within our company.

One of the latest releases on the sales tablet is a functionality called Task Manager, an application that maps all the duties performed in a store each day and each shift, permitting the store manager simpler and more visible tracking of the store operation. Constantly developing this tool means it will evolve from being just a sales assistant to a HUB where any need can be addressed to make our store teams more efficient. An example of this is the upcoming features of the sales tablet. Responding to feedback, the division and sales staff worked together to include the sales incentive program. It is used so staff members can track their sales, which are linked to their income scheme. The tablet will track the sales made by an employee and link it to the sales incentive program. The RED feature makes it possible to tailor the experience of the loyalty member by using their previous purchase history to help the staff member guide their next purchase. It also allows for new members to be signed up to the loyalty program.

Where is this available?

Tablets are already available in 75 stores in 30 countries, mainly in Duty Free and larger departure walkthrough stores, with plans to extend the availability of tablets to more countries and stores. In the first three months of 2019, over 100,000 customers were supported by tablet-equipped staff. The divisions are currently in the midst of training programs to help staff understand sales tablet functionality. Mexico has been one of the first countries to fully embrace this new tool to improve customer interactions. Finland, which conducted a training in February, is gaining speed and giving very positive feedback. Spain is another example of an early adopter of the new technology and has seen good results.

“It is an extraordinary tool for our sales staff because of the additional information. We like it because it is a very complete tool. It facilitates the staff’s work by giving them extra knowledge about Dufry’s products. It helps subscribe more customers to RED by Dufry. In addition, the tablet makes trainings accessible. In other words, it helps us to provide excellent service to our customers by applying the policies and procedures of the company.” Paola Villela - Digital Marketing Manager, Mexico. Considering we are still in the early stages of deploying this tool, it is premature to quantify tangible results. However, preliminary observations are that it instigates vastly improved customer service and engagement. Every member of our staff now has the potential of being a brand ambassador and a product specialist at the same time. We make our customers feel special by providing a unique shopping experience. The language feature on the tablet makes it possible to show product descriptions and information in the customers’ preferred language. The customs allowance button helps staff inform customers exactly what the customs limits are at their final destination, thereby helping them avoid surprises on arrival.

Insights

A major impact on our business that comes with the digitalization of staff is our ability to precisely measure many factors impacting sales in store. These insights on the behavior of Dufry customers can lead us to insights on many other aspects of the business in general. The platform now provides us with analytics on what items are selected. For example, knowing that the most popular item that was clicked vs the item that is purchased the most. We will have measurable data on what cross-selling and upselling suggestions are more popular by geography and by language. It will also provide us with insights on what features our employees find most useful. With this new tool we will have visibility on what trainings are most popular as well as a store-by-store comparison of how daily tasks impact store performance. The tool will provide data on which stores use features such as visual merchandising and if that correlates with store performance. These insights and many more will be measurable rather than based on perception and generalizations.

The broader picture

The introduction of sales tablets cannot be seen as an isolated initiative, but as part of a larger marketing strategy focused on serving our customers better. This is another piece of the marketing puzzle that we now have and which enables us to improve customer service by better engaging with our customers.

The the New Generation Stores (NGS) and initiatives such as RED by Dufry, Forum and Reserve & Collect are interlinked and complement one another. The tablets are a bold initiative that facilitates our staff’s work. As with the other initiatives included in the digitalization of Dufry that started a couple of years ago, it has transformed and will continue to transform Dufry into a more agile company by speeding up response times and putting the company in a stronger position to cope with future challenges. Our vision is to create a base for a truly connected employee who on the sales tablet has access not only to a commercial tool, but to their daily performance vs objectives, tasks and shifts. It is a place where they can find trainings. Dufry staff can also benefit from the RED loyalty program while understanding the consumer better and adding the advantage of giving better service. There are many more advantages to the tablet and it will keep growing and improving.