Retail sales are still the main way people shop in the Czech Republic. According to the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ), retail sales rose 0.1% month-on-month in July, and for the third month in a row, Czechs are shopping more. 39% of people shop exclusively in brick-and-mortar stores and it takes them around 20 minutes to make a regular purchase. In addition to technologies that simplify shopping, retailers are also using smart people counting, which can determine age, gender or where customers are most often within the store.
According to data from the Czech Statistical Office, 39% of people still shop only in brick-and-mortar stores and still avoid shopping online. Fashion accessories, health and beauty products, footwear and medicines are most often bought online. The Czechs got used to using e-shops especially during the covid pandemic, when a significant number of shops selling these types of goods were closed, and even after the restrictions were relaxed they stuck to the more convenient option of shopping from home.
However, shoppers are still returning to bricks-and-mortar stores for their groceries, but they are visiting them less frequently, but their purchases are larger and retail sales have been rising cautiously over the last three months. According to CSO data, retail sales rose 0.1% month-on-month during July, the third consecutive month-on-month increase. The Czech retail sector is thus slowly recovering from a long period of austerity among Czech households.
Online shopping is taken for granted by most customers, especially among the younger generation. The retail environment must therefore necessarily respond with new ways to make the store visit more attractive and easier. “Ten years ago, if you wanted to buy something from a health food store, it was one small shelf tucked away in the back, today these goods are at a premium position. Five to seven per cent of stores are renovated every year,” says Tomas Prouza, president of the Union of Commerce and Tourism (SOCR). According to Adam Miszczyszyn, head of the LIDL chain, the average shopping time in retail stores is around 20 minutes.
Maximising the sustainability of stores has become a significant trend in shopping modernisation. This includes upgrading refrigeration facilities, energy-efficient lighting or reducing the use of paper for price tags and receipts. The Albert supermarket chain, for example, invests hundreds of millions of crowns a year in sustainable measures, according to SOCR.
The clarity and layout of stores is also a significant factor in enabling customers to shop more efficiently. If customers find their favourite products easily and in their preferred order, they spend less time in the store and, as a result, are more likely to return. Customer convenience is also enhanced by limiting the time spent in checkout queues, so that store management must keep enough checkouts open at all times to accommodate the current number of customers. Simplifying the store layout and streamlining operations are now often helped by smart solutions, such as camera systems using a neural network.
“Our sensors can monitor customer behaviour in stores with individual accuracy. The retailer thus has a complete overview of which places in the store customers like to use the most and can prepare the most desired goods for them, prevent queues from forming or effectively evaluate and set up marketing campaigns,” says Kateřina Máchová, sales manager at iC Systems.ai, which supplies smart sensors to retail stores, office buildings, shopping centres or industrial complexes. This allows retailers to easily assess the number of customers in the store, including demographic data such as gender or age. Adjusting the layout of merchandise within a store space can now be done more efficiently than adjusting e-commerce websites.
Source: ČSÚ, SOCR and CTK
