The highlights and key takeaways from this yr’s occasion. 

March 2024: Business leaders, knowledgeable audio system, and panelists from all corners of the Technical Client Items market convened in Berlin to share their most vital insights and predictions for 2024 on the tenth annual TCG Summit, the premier worldwide suppose tank for the TCG retail trade, showcasing GfK’s worldwide experience.

As the only real perception accomplice for greater than six years operating, GfK performed a pivotal function in guaranteeing the success of this occasion via the availability of key trade insights and knowledge. Utilizing superior analytics and state-of-the-art platforms, GfK gives a holistic retail learn and complete client insights into the TCG market, facilitating a deep understanding of customers’ shopping for conduct and the dynamics impacting markets, manufacturers, and media developments. 

 

This yr, GfK’s International Strategic Insights Director, Namrata Gotarne, delivered her extremely anticipated keynote tackle: Influence and alternatives amidst worth centric markets. 

We requested Namrata for her tackle this yr’s occasion and a more in-depth take a look at the important thing factors of her presentation.  

 

Which audio system or displays have been highlights for you from this yr’s summit? 

Vincent Gufflet, COO of Fnac Darty offered how they’ve successfully reworked their enterprise mannequin. I actually appreciated how they’ve targeted on driving sustainability conduct amongst their customers by creating an ecosystem to scale their subscription companies (for repairing units and home equipment). That was a wonderful instance of how one can meet client expectations and on the identical time create further income streams. 

One other spotlight was Olivia Reid’s presentation in regards to the influence of Generative AI on companies and types. Olivia, who’s the Lead Strategist at Journey, targeted on the way forward for AI enabling hyper-personalization and enhancing hyper-customization.  

 

The rise of the value-centric buyer was a key level of your speak. How is the notion of worth altering for customers within the electronics trade at present? 

In an unsure financial surroundings, worth sensitivity amongst customers has elevated, resulting in extra conscious buying. Regardless of this worth sensitivity, worth continues to rule as customers stability their cash spent and worth acquired. The notion of worth, nonetheless, goes past worth; customers anticipate retailers and producers to ship value-based innovation in addition to experiences which have a optimistic influence on customers’ lives. So, services or products which might be handy, sustainable, and even one thing that may assist them save prices in the long run.   

How are TCG retailers adapting their methods to regulate to evolving client conduct? 

The pursuit of assembly customers’ expectations of seamless buying experiences continues; Omnichannel technique nonetheless is on the forefront for all retailers. Diversified paths are being adopted to finally supply the very best of ‘phygital’ buying throughout totally different areas. There’s an elevated concentrate on operations to supply comfort to customers. This additionally allows them to optimize their prices. From implementing self-checkout kiosks to rethinking retailer codecs and areas to utilizing shops as achievement facilities. Retailers are additionally investing to both launch or revamp their loyalty applications to interact customers to supply unique entry and VIP perks throughout promotions. 

 

You shared knowledge displaying that promotional occasions have gotten more and more vital to customers. How can promotions be used to ship worth in 2024? 

Promotional occasions have been used as an efficient device to drive gross sales and supply an ‘further push’ to customers to make purchases, drive demand and win cost-conscious customers. This yr, customers are marking their calendars to schedule their purchases. Retailers and producers want to make sure these promotions are tailor-made to client expectations to domesticate recurring client relationships. Thus, creating a possibility to interact customers and providing worth that goes past worth cuts. This contains: the precise assortment, wealthy buying expertise, and a concentrate on high quality of service like cost strategies, installment choices or just quicker supply and a simple returns course of.  

How a lot of a precedence is sustainability for customers within the TCG trade? 

The significance that customers all over the world place on sustainability has endured, whatever the competing urgency of the pandemic and the present cost-of-living disaster. Almost three-quarters of individuals all over the world see “International local weather change / international warming” as a really or extraordinarily severe difficulty. It has risen to be the #5 prime client concern at present. Shoppers’ expectations listed here are increasing. To be perceived as genuinely eco-friendly, producers and retailers are more and more anticipated to have the ability to level to every little thing from the suppliers they work with to their merchandise’ materials, packaging, transportation, sturdiness, and recyclability, to their assist of environmental or humanitarian causes.  

 

What have been the important thing takeaways from the panel dialogue following your keynote? 

For me, I believe there have been two essential takeaways. The primary is that innovation has slowed down significantly within the TCG house. The foremost incremental innovation is occurring inside small home home equipment, however every little thing else has form of slowed down. We want the subsequent iPhone second to entice customers to purchase new merchandise. The second level is that on the identical time, innovation is occurring — however it takes time. As Mehmet Ragip Balcioglu (CCO Arcelik ) talked about there’s plenty of money and time being invested into analysis into main home equipment to supply larger efficiencies. To see ultimate outcomes, it’s going to simply take time.  

In your opinion, what are among the essential developments that may form notions of worth and client conduct sooner or later? 

Shoppers are looking out for nice or wealthy experiences from the merchandise they buy and the retailers they buy from. They’re on the lookout for services that allow versatile dwelling or price financial savings in the long run or designed particularly for his or her distinctive wants. Clear use circumstances that ship worth for the additional cash they’ll spend will likely be essential. High quality of service is a well known buy driver which is now regaining its prominence whereas making buy selections or selecting a specific retailer to buy from. It’s typically ignored and regarded easy; the truth is, customers usually tend to return to buy or buy from a retailer in case such a optimistic expertise was dropped at life.