The right observations lead us to customers

The challenges of retail sales are changing as customers are demanding better and more personal services and communication than ever before. Customers are “footloose”, and they will not necessarily form a close relationship with a given store. According to Accenture’s Migge Hoffmann the demands can be met, provided that the sellers get to know their customers.

There are many different ways of collecting customer information and there is a lot of information available. The shopkeeper of the grocery store next door, Mr Jones, knows his customers’ ways and habits, since he sees them regularly. A shopkeeper can also build a relationship by talking to a new customer, like a kiosk attendant whom Ms Hoffmann had met in Helsinki; after just a brief conversation, he had been able to offer products tailored to the needs of the newly met customer.

”The key is to find relevant and smart information.”

Ms Hoffmann presented statistics showing that three people out of four would be willing to give personal data to receive tailored services and purchasing recommendations; and 77 percent had made additional purchases on the basis of recommendations. However, just two percent of the respondents had felt that the products offered to them had been designed for them on the basis of their purchasing behavior.

Hoffmann said that one of the future challenges for lotteries is to find young people and to learn to speak to them. As the operating environment changes, we will also need to detect the best ways of operating and to adopt them as part of our business.