LET'S DOIT - Austria's first omni-channel specialty store

With LET'S DOIT, a forward-looking retail concept was implemented that combines the advantages of brick-and-mortar specialist retail with the possibilities of e-commerce. Together with syreta, an omni-channel solution was created that offers customers a convenient shopping experience across channels while simultaneously setting new benchmarks in Austrian specialist retail.

The challenge

The goal of the project was to seamlessly link the online shop and the brick-and-mortar specialist store. Customers should be able to access the same information, products, and services regardless of the chosen sales channel. To achieve this, digital processes and stationary retail structures had to be intelligently connected.

Store 4.0 – what that means in concrete terms

The LET'S DOIT specialist store in Wels is no ordinary DIY store. The concept is based on customers finding the same information and prices in the store as in the online shop – and vice versa. Products that are not in stock in the store can be ordered directly at the terminals and delivered to customers' homes or picked up in the store. Inventory information is synchronized in real time so that neither online nor in-store outdated data is displayed. For syreta, this meant developing a technical infrastructure that treats the online shop, checkout system, and merchandise management as one system – not as three separate solutions that are linked afterward. That this approach works was proven by the successful opening on March 14, 2019 in Wels.

The solution by syreta

Together with LET'S DOIT, an omni-channel platform was developed that объединяет various sales channels into a seamless customer experience:

• Interlinking of online shop and brick-and-mortar specialist store
• Consistent product and inventory information
• Cross-channel customer communication
• Optimized purchasing and service processes
• Integration of digital services into the in-store shopping world
• Foundation for a modern omni-channel retail concept
• The result

With the opening of Austria's first omni-channel specialist store, an innovative retail model was successfully put into practice. The combination of digital and brick-and-mortar retail creates a consistent shopping experience and offers customers more flexibility in information, purchasing, and service.

Pioneer for connected retail

The project shows how brick-and-mortar sales areas and digital sales channels can successfully complement each other. Together with syreta, a solution was created that meets the requirements of modern customers and lays the foundation for sustainable further development in retail.

Services: Omni-channel commerce, e-commerce, retail digitalization, process integration, customer experience, digital services, brick-and-mortar/digital connectivity.

What makes this store special: online and in-store are no longer separate worlds, but a seamless shopping experience. Anyone who researches online will find the same information in the store. Anyone who buys in the store can reorder online. Virtual Shelf and Lift & Learn counters bring the digital assortment directly onto the sales floor – more selection without more storage space. This is Store 4.0 in practice: not as a concept on paper, but as a real shopping experience for customers in Wels.

On March 14, 2019, Austria's first omni-channel specialist store opened its doors in Wels – a milestone for domestic retail and the result of many years of collaboration between LET'S DOIT and syreta.