Multichannel Interfaces in Banking and Retail

A multichannel strategy is essential to retailers and banks competing in the marketplace. Today’s customers expect to have the freedom of choosing when and where they will shop and bank and want a personalized experience – regardless which channel they use.

Importance and development of the marketing and sales channels

Stores and Branches
Without a doubt the bank branch and retail store remain the most important delivery channels. In the USA, 63% of bank customers visit their bank branch at least once a month. According to research, more than 40% of all retail banking products will be distributed to bank branches in the future[1]. In retail stores the Point-of-Sale (POS) has become the Point of Truth[2] (POT). That means that customers make purchase decisions within or outside of brick-and-mortar stores. Around 60% of customers researched a product online before buying in-store.This shows that the retail store and bank branch will remain the heart of customer contact in the future.

ATMs and self-checkout terminals
Self-service has gained high importance for customers. Half of all Germans complete a banking transaction at an ATM at least once a month. No other point of contact is used as often for transactions. This suggests an increasing trend towards the self-service channel as a resource to address customers. RBR forecasts that by 2016 the installed base of self-checkout terminals will be 325,000, which will be a mix of self-service automation including full scan, weigh and bag units, as well as self-pay terminals and mobile self-scanning systems[3].

Mobile and Internet
Customers are more mobile than ever. There are currently 5.3 billion mobile phone subscribers world wide, that’s a total of 77% of the world’s population[4], 2/3 of mobile users are smartphone users[5], and 85% of new handsets sold in 2011 are internet-capable[6]. The use of mobile phones and the internet increasingly changes buying behaviour. Customers shopping online typically spend between 50-100% more than those shopping in a store based on US statistics[7]. To handle their banking transactions, one in three customers within the EU has used online banking in 2010.

Multichannel software solutions for banks and retailers
All of these numbers show: retailers and banks need an effective multichannel strategy in order to provide customers with individual campaigns on all delivery channels and meet their quality and service demands. All delivery channels must be interlinked to each other to achieve seamless processes and a holistic look and feel. Together with process optimization and cost efficiency, retailers and banks can not only secure their competitive advantage over other competitors, but also maintain an effective company image and customer satisfaction.Therefore, Wincor Nixdorf offers the necessary software architecture to banks and retailers for their multichannel needs.

The PC/E Retail Banking Solution Suite contains different software products that service all delivery channels in a retail bank. By its service-oriented multichannel approach, the PC/E Suite guarantees the reusability of functions and services across all delivery channels. Therefore individualized marketing and sales campaigns from first customer address right through to the conclusion of a contract across all its delivery channels are becoming reality.

For retailers, Wincor Nixdorf offers the TPApplication Suite which brings all retail processes together in one comprehensive software solution.The software can be customized to meet retailers’ individual needs and can be deployed across all retail business channels, from traditional checkouts to mobile shopping.

We help you to constantly stay in contact with your customers, regardless which sales channel they prefer.

[1] ZEW 2008, estimated for 2013,
http://www.google.de/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=1&ved=0CCAQFjAA&url=ftp%3A%2F%2Fftp.zew.de%2Fpub%2Fzew-docs%2Fdocus%2Fdokumentation0801.pdf&ei=F6aWTv3OGM6j-gaYkoSxBQ&usg=AFQjCNFxzxyyEU3jP7Hc6JJzlgaQ-xR2Dg
[2] http://mobithinking.com/mobile-marketing-tools/latest-mobile-stats
[3] selfserviceworld.com http://www.selfserviceworld.com/article/186441/Study-Self-checkout-is-mainstream
[4] http://mobithinking.com/mobile-marketing-tools/latest-mobile-stats
[5] http://www.fipp.com/news/Global_smartphone_use_growing_rapidly
[6] http://mobithinking.com/mobile-marketing-tools/latest-mobile-stats
[7] IDC Retail Insights Multichannel Retail Strategies for Profitable Growth