Studies and White Paper

During the lockdown, many consumers were forced to shop online. Many made a purchase online for the first time in their lives, while others ventured into completely new product segments that they had never purchased online before. In this study, we investigated how German consumers experienced shopping during the crisis, which products they purchased and whether they were satisfied with the shopping experience.

This study shows that the consumer continues to put pressure on the German retail sector. Only companies that skilfully combine online and offline will remain successful in the future. Currently, only a few German providers are able to do this. The trend is towards new digital services and omni-channel offerings. The customer-centric omni-channel business of the future networks all business processes and systems along the entire value chain with the help of new technologies.

More than ever, it is critical for retailers and brands to understand the dynamics impacting retail shoppers. No single event has had as profound an impact on shopping behaviour globally as COVID-19, increasing the demands on retailers and manufacturers to better understand the direct competitive forces, the cross-channel interplay between online and brick-and-mortar shops, and the certainty of how behaviour will normalise post-pandemic.

The impact of the pandemic: optimism is rising. But business model innovations often lay fallow. Is the upheaval coming now? 255 experts explain why the need for business transformations is even higher now and which measures stand for long-term success.

Even before the crisis year 2020, fashion manufacturers and fashion retailers in Germany were under considerable pressure: sales were declining and consolidation in the industry was advancing. The Corona pandemic has now hit the German clothing industry even harder. We have examined trends, challenges and possible solutions in the German fashion market.

Probably almost everyone in Europe would like to see a return to normality, where we have achieved herd immunity, infection numbers are controllable and Corona restrictions are lifted. However, when we reach this normality, it will be a new normality. The Corona pandemic will permanently change the way we work, live and consume, and retailers will also have to find their way in the new world after the acute shock of 2020 and 2021.

What driving forces and trends are shaping digital trust until 2035 and what are their implications on our digital future? Digital transformation is characterised by high degrees of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA). In this environment, digital trust is key - it affects the economy, politics and society to increasing degrees. It is thus paramount for private and public stakeholders to engage with and act upon the factors impacting and shaping the future of digital trust. Using our Future Foresight approach, we identify driving forces and trends for digital trust, draw out key implications and pinpoint strategic impulses on how cybersecurity can become an enabler for a trusted digital future.

The pandemic has trapped millions of people in their homes and disrupted every part of the transport system, but leaders cannot simply wait to see how tomorrow's redesigned mobility ecosystem evolves. We present four possible scenarios for the future of mobility.

The pandemic hit the economies of most countries and many industries hard - especially because consumer behaviour changed drastically. Due to the lockdown and economic instability, consumers were forced to adjust their behaviour from one day to the next.

How will the car salesman of tomorrow sell ride-sharing and autonomous vehicles to his customers? When the future of mobility arrives, car manufacturers and car dealers may have to rethink their traditional sales to appeal to customers who are looking for individualisation and connectedness. Hardly anyone finds this in today's car trade.

The study provides information on central topics of consumer behaviour - from mobile shopping to the role of social media in retail - and examines these trends in a global comparison.

Focus on innovative retail concepts. Retailers should see the digitalisation of our everyday lives as an opportunity to inspire consumers and thus secure market share. By "digital fitness" we mean that a retail company invests specifically in technologies along the value chain and continuously expands them.

Research reports of the Department of Economics at the University of Applied Sciences Düsseldorf, Kommunikationscontrolling von Digital Signage: Wahrnehmung, Nutzung und Wirkung von Point-of-Sale- Bildschirm- medien.

As part of the international study "Navigating the New Digital Divide", Deloitte Digital also looks at German in-store shopper behaviour and the use of digital media, and provides concrete recommendations for action on how to profitably and optimally merge retail shops and online presence.

The more cars are bought online, the more customers miss out on seeing the showrooms. OEMs need to take their offering to the next level both online and offline.

McKinsey has combined existing insights on global trends with research on customer preferences, automotive industry insights and the experiences of other industries. Through this analysis, we have identified three key trends that will significantly change automotive retailing as we know it today.

The automotive industry is losing track of the evolutionary, revolutionary and disruptive key trends that all need to be managed simultaneously.

The smartphone has become an indispensable part of German shopping behaviour: 38 percent of consumers make mobile purchases at least once a month. And the next trend is already in the starting blocks: Digital innovations, such as artificial intelligence or conversational agents (chatbots), are revolutionising the retail industry. These are the findings of the study "Total Retail 2017".