Digital Business · use a gamification platform to keep them motivated. The majority showed an open mind even though most of them doesn’t know what gamification is. Well we do try

Digital BusinessEntrepreneur

APPERITIVO

Belgian beerA new way to buy beer.

“Life never tasted so good”

JosefinasFrom Portugal to the world.

The most famous flat shoes startup

Up! StartThree examples of successful startups around the world

InterviewGregory Gillis

Tips & Buzz

The future of retail stores Media Markt strategy

01 Retail - October 2017

-How to Start a Business With No Money;-”Ghost” Shopping Carts. Why?; -Amazon Go!-Openbazaar-Walmart Robots

GamificationThe next digital business big word

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Contents

Inside View: JOSEFINAS08

03 Interview

Gregory Gillis, sales department manager

at Media Markt.

Features Topic

07

12 TIPS & BUZZHow To Start A Business With No Money; ‘Gohst Shopping Carts’ Why?Amazon Go!Openbazaar Walmart Robots

16 Start Up!Groover, Showroom and FindMine are shaking the digital business in retail.

06 Gamification

Heineken ‘Star Player game

APPERITIVO Belgian Beer Everywhere!

Digital MarketingHow To Promote Your Business Through Social Media;

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3

GREGORY GILLIS“The mobile commerce is a priority for brands”

Media Markt has been adapting his business into digital. As the technology has been

growing and evolving, Media Markt has shown that its persistence and presence in the business world is a strong statement for their competi-tors. Gregory Gillis, sales department manager of Belgium’s Media Markt, explains how this brand embraced the digital and used it at their favor. To promote their brand and engage their staff to their cause and purpose, Media Markt has showed how gamifi-

cation is the simple answer for better and faster results. In an exclusive interview Gregory Gillis has a different approach about physical and online stores. The bel-gium’s practice is “too different from the rest of Europe. Belgian people are afraid of buying online”, claim Gregory. Media Markt is one of the most larger electronics retailer around the world and it has more than 600 stores. The digital market, in Belgium, only repre-sents 9% of gross sales.

Media Markt Department Sales Manager, Gregory Gillis, has a different approach about the phsysical stores. According to him , Belgium people “are afraid to purchase online”.

Media Markt was founded in 1979 in Munich, Germany. With more than 30 years of existence, is the largest European electronics consumer retailer.

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“We prefer talking to them to see what we can do to promote a good work place for them”

D.B.E.: How did Media Markt adapted to digital?“I think our moves are the same as our competitors. We have an ecommerce platform, we send newsletters and our social networks are prepared to com-municate with our clients”In digital business the lastest engage-ment trend is gamification. Does Media Markt have used any gamification platform? How? We have made a partnership with SO-PRANOSapp, a music app that integrates spotify, deezer and youtube in one app. With this app the user was questioned about music and he was awarded with coins when he answers correctly. Those coins could be exchanged in a media markt store to buy some product. In 2016, we realize how much effective gamification is. The sales went up and we were able to attract a new audience. A younger audience. How does Media Markt applies gamifi-cation to their staff? With our staff we do prefer talking to them to understand what we can do to promote a good work place for them. We have gather all of our employees and told them that in the future we will use a gamification platform to keep them motivated. The majority showed an open mind even though most of them doesn’t know what gamification is. Well we do try that some products and brands can be a priority in terms of sales. The last strategy that we adopt was to offer a voucher to the best sales man in our stores. For the customers, we were raffling a new iPhone 8. That kind of activity can bring us more sales, more customers and our staff keeps motivated to sell more and more.

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D oes your platform sells more than physical stores? Well, in Belgium the trend is not the same

as the rest of the world. We know that online sales are growing but in Belgium our customers still afraid to purchase online. Our online sales are just 9% of the whole sales, including the physical stores. The prices that we practice online are not the same as the physical store. Online the same product can have a lower price. This happens to convince the costumer to buy online. We know that our number is not that high but in a near future, online stores will represent the majority of gross sells. What do you think will be the future of physical stores? I think physical stores will not end. They just need to adapt to this new reality of using technology in every move. In Belgium the process will be slower but I do believe that in the future stores will have more interactivity in-stores.

What do you think will be the digital retail busi-ness trend for the next three years? In the next years i think all the retail process will change. The mobile commerce is a priority for brands that are using an ecommerce platform. Should be easy to the user to visit and purchase any product through any device. I think our de-vices, like our cellphone, will have all of our data, which already has, and will be able to connect our social networks and search preferences informa-tion to suggest us some products and show us where to buy them. This will be the next step. What is the challenge these days? For us, media markt, is definitely the price. But is not easy to decrease prices or to exclude the shipping prices, for example. So, our advantage is to give to the user a total new experience. The way our staff connect to the audience through our help services and the way our website is designed, for now, is our advantage.

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S ince 2011, gamification is one of the favorite concepts that brands

are adopting to gain users trust, increase their engage-ment, increase the brand and product sales and to attract new users. The idea of using a non game platfrom to implement games to interact with clients has been resulting in more profit and revenue for the brands. The Dutch beer brand, Heineken, has been associ-ated with the soccer world. It sponsors the champions league, which is viewed by over 700 million people every year. In 2017, Heineken and adver-

tising agency AKQA, created a platform where users and soccer fans can guess the match result, in specific moments, in real time, ‘The Star Player’ game. Once the user guess the outcome, he will be awarded. And when a user earn a certain number of points, he will be awarded a badge, which would then be displayed on social media as a mark of achievement. As Star Player was imple-mented, mentions of Heinek-en increased 78 percent over other Champions League sponsors on social media. 63 percent of all users returned at least once after their first Star Player experience.

Let’s play a beer?

The first “gamified” beer has adopted the non-game based strategy since 2011

Heineken ‘The Game’

Heineken has been adopting some creative strategies to approach their consumers and build a worldwide com-munity.In 2008, they created ‘Heinek-en. The Game’. A board game that could be played between 2 and 6 players. Known for being a brand who promotes friendship and soccer in their adds, the game was , in fact, a purpose

to start to communicate with their target in a funny and interactive way.The game was similar to Monopoly but the goal was to collect 6 Heineken stars as fast as possible. The players were challenged to answer to some questions about the history of the beer and about Heineken.

GamificationHeineken “Play Star” game

Jean-François van BoxmeerCEO of Heineken beer

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“ Life never tasted so good” is what APPERI-TIVO has to offer.

The goal of APPERITIVO is to provide Bel-gian beer brands that worldwide consumers cannot find in every grocery store. In APPERITIVO platform you can have all the beer information and choose the best fit for you, with their help The Belgian e-commerce project will connect to the public through gamification. Once you

bought it you’ll have the possibility to win prizes with their game strategy. APPERITIVO will also give to their clients discounts to use in their app or website. Belgian e-commerce platform will be launched this November and will add a mo-bile app and a few exclusive physical concept stores. Portugal, Luxemburg, Belgium and Italy are, for now, the chosen countries to embrace this project.

APPERITIVO is a drinks and beverages ecommerce platform especialized in Belgian beer. The website will be launched this November.

Belgian Beer Everywhere!

The best beer is the one you share

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INSI

DE V

IEW

: JOSE

FINA

S

JOSEFINAS IS A PORTUGUESE HANDMADE SHOES BRAND. WITH A PHYSICAL STORE IN NEW YORK AND GUIMARÃES, PORTUGAL, THIS FLAT SHOES BRAND IS CONQUERING THE SHOE INTERNATIONAL MARKET.

J osefinas was founded in 2013 bySofia Oliveira and Filipa Araújo.

With just three years, Josefinas is now a reference in ‘flat shoes’ market all over the world and conquered the luxury market. Their handmade shoes honor the women and their important role in society and business world. Produced in São João da Madeira, Portugal, by master shoemakers, Josefinas are designed by Filipa Araújo and the materials are carefully thought

and used to personalize, a fragil but somehow strong, down to earth woman. Olivia Palermo, Chiarri Ferragni and Sara Sampaio are some personalities who are fans of Josefinas. A pair of Josefinas can be bought between 100 and 1000€ (limited editions). In an exclusive interview with Sofia Oliveira, CEO e co-founder of Josefinas, we show you how this Portuguese digital platform won the shoe market.

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Inside View

JOSEFINAS

How JOSEFINAS was born? S.O.:“Josefinas was founded in 2013 by Filipa Júlio and myself. We met at a kind of a Portuguese Shark Tank edition – Filipa was pitching and I was in the jury. We kept talking over time and eventually materialized and developed what was the initial idea.” Do you have any background in business or retail? S.O. :“Before Josefinas, Filipa was an architect. I have a Business and Manage-ment background. None of us knew the shoe industry.” Why Josefinas? S.O. :“Josefinas was baptized in honor of Filipa’s grandmother: Maria Josefina. Grandmother Josefina always took Filipa to her ballet lessons and taught her important values like perseverance.” Who or what was your inspirations? S.O. :“For Josefinas, my mission is to help and inspire women to pursue their dreams and goals. I need meaning in my life – personal and professional.” Who helped you raising this brand? Investors? S.O. :“The bootstrap way has always been Josefinas’ investment philosophy. By the end of 2015, we raised a Seed round.” Josefinas is known for this style ‘sabrinas’ (ballet flats). Did you ever think in adding high hills to your collection? S.O. :“No. It’s not that we’re against high-heels, but we believe a woman doesn’t’ need high-heels to feel beautiful, empowered or respected. It’s something so wrong that’s rooted in our society. We want to help defy it” In terms of business, what makes a Josefinas’ ballet flat different from the others? S.O. :“Besides being a beautiful handcrafted shoe, Josefinas represents the wom-en empowerment movement. It’s all about believing in yourself and believing that you can do whatever you put your heart and mind into. We aren’t just creat-ing pretty shoes; we’re creating a movement: #ProudToBeAWoman. “ They are handmade. How’s the process? S.O. :“Each pair of Josefinas is handmade by master shoemakers in Portugal. It’s a very detailed craftsmanship process.” There are several influent bloggers and personalities who wear Josefinas. Now that you are a reference, what’s the next step? S.O. :“It’s to keep Josefinas a reference. Heidi Klum put it really well on Project Runway: “in fashion one day you’re in; the next day, you’re out.” We can never settle or think we’re good enough.” Josefinas is connected with some causes. The Partnership with WFWI (women from the world) is an example. Do you thing women in business should help each other a little bit more? S.O. :Without doubt. We need to support each other, help each other; we need to be women for women. If it wasn’t for that Josefinas would even exist. When women come together extraordinary things happen.

In 2016, Josefinas has opened their Flagship store in Elizabeth Street, New York.

Sofia OliveiraCo-founder of Portuguese shoe brand Josefinas.,

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T he digital gave to Josefinas an engagement that probably with a physical store in Por-

tugal couldn’t have this kind of visibility. Do you think turning business into digital should be the answer? S.O. :“Ican’t say it’s the answer for everyone, but digital is undeniably a must-have in a business. We are always logged on our phones and comput-ers. You can’t fight it anymore…” The majority of brands opens physical stores and then turns them into digital platforms (e-com-merce platforms). You did the other way around. Was a strategy? S.O. :“As a digital-first brand we think digital first. The store was based on an omnichannel strat-egy: we were taking Josefinas physically to an important market – already for the brand and in potential. “ Josefinas has only one store, in New York. Why? S.O. :“Why not New York? New York is one of Josefinas’ most important markets besides being capital of luxury and fashion in the world.” What’s the best thing of having a digital busi-ness? S.O. :“I guess it’s being able to be anywhere; that’s the beauty of digital: you’re already available to the world. “ And a store? S.O. :“Our store was a great experience but Jose-finas was always a digital brand – our strategy is based on being and growing digitally. The store accomplished its purpose: take Josefinas further within one year. This doesn’t mean we won’t open

another store in New York, or any other place in the world. We’re actually dreaming of another one, but with a revolutionary concept. “ For those who are starting a digital business what do you think is the most important thing? S.O. :“For those starting any business the most important thing is passion. That’s what keeps you going in difficult times. “ What do you think will be the future of physical stores? S.O. :“I think physical stores will have to adapt to the new consumer trends. The will need to provide experiences. We’re seeing these tradition-al retail luxury brands closing stores and opening ones that are coffees, or restaurants. People don’t settle for product anymore; they need a deeper feeling that only an experience can bring.” What about mobile commerce? S.O. :“We’re on our phones 24/7. The development of mobile commerce should be a priority for any ecommerce businesses.” What’s the challenge these days? In terms of retail and the amount of offers with digital plat-forms? S.O. :“The challenge is getting your message seen by the right people. Now we suffer from information excess so how to make your message relevant.” In your opinion, which is the best retail startup in the last years? S.O. :“I have many favorites, but in retail I’d high-light Everlane and Reformation. “

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F irst you need to choose the right platforms for your business. Facebook, instagram, Pinterest,

Twitter, Google+ or Youtube, your target should be connected with some of these social media platforms. You need to know your audience and their social media behavior. Depending on your business, these platforms can attract an audience in different ways.

T he communication should also be targeted according to your audience. Do they are busi-

ness people? So your communication should be straight, factual, numeric, and it has to add some value to their business.

A nother way to connect with your audience is to appeal them to some call to action initia-

tives. Be interactive with them. Make a post asking a question for them to answer. This will also build your community and a strong group of followers.

M ake your own content. These days the content is really important for a communi-

ty. Your content should be creative, original and has to add some value as well. That way you can invite an audience to your content and for your products.

Digital marketingHow to promote your business through social media

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Tips & Buzz

Trendy movesR egardless of what we might think, the most successful

businesses in the world started with close to nothing. Apple, Google, Amazon…they are a reference in the business atmosphere and they all have this particular thing in common. First, if you want to start a business but you don’t have that much money to spend, you need to focus on your detail. That little thing that can distinguish your product from the others. You can start by creating an online platform to sell your prod-ucts or services. You can also re-sell your products or services and you always have the option to join some established company. For instance, if your business is to make some hand made pieces you can join a photography company, for example, and propose them to make personalized frames to help people customize their favorite photo creatively. You don’t have to pay rent; you don’t have to offer photography equipment to take the photos. You can just contributing with your work in a win-win situation.

How To Start A Business With No Money

D oes your analytics is showing that people are filling in your online shopping carts and then giving up? There are some

points that you have to consider to get people to purchase. The buying process should be simple. Don’t use long register fields, don’t ask too much information and most important of all, your platform should be mobile friendly. According to some research companies, like Experian Simmons, Forrester Research and ComScore, there are other reasons why people give up. When shipping costs are just revealed in your last step, and usually this happens because the price is not that attractive, people feel they were cheated, so they just go away. Try to get the best shipping cost or, at least, give to your customers this information before they start to fill in the cart. If your ecommerce website is not that big or known, try to get the best and most complete information about your products. Invest in your platform design, as well, to not look that much amateur. This will bring to your website more trust and confi-dence while your users are surfing your website.

“Ghost” Shopping arts. Why?

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AmazonGo! The Latest Retail Digital Business The retail business has been suffering some transformations as the rest of businesses

who have adopted digital as their modus operan-di. In 2017 there’s no exception. The retail chains are having some innovations to engage their customers. Whether they are online or offline, the challenge is to keep up technology and use them for your own business. The perfect example? Amazon Go! Amazon Go is the first store with no waiting lines, no payments, and no worries about whether you have money on your wallet or not, and no check-outs. The new technology developed by the biggest online retailer in the world, Amazon, allows you to enter their store, grab what you want and just walk out. How? Based in Seattle, in Amazon store you swipe their app to enter the store, for them to have your register. Then you just need to pick up your

shopping list and start shopping. Their technology is so advanced that everything you pick up, even if you change your mind, will be automatically added to your virtual shopping cart. The process of recognizing all the items that customers are collecting is enabled by RFID (Radio Frequency identity). This kind of technology allows Amazon to charge the exact products you have purchasing. The only thing you need to do is to have an Ama-zon account and its mobile app to make sure you’re the one receiving its charge. Amazon claims to use computer vision, deep learning algorithms and sensor fusion, the same similar technology used in self-drive cars. With this sensors all combined and the RFID help, Amazon Go! can provide you the latest retail technology available in the market.

AmazonGo! The Latest Retail Digital Business Innovation

Tips & Buzz

Amazon Go! Enter the store, grab the products and leave! How? Amazon has created a new grocery store concept.

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Tips & Buzz

Openbazaar No transactions, no monthly fees, no listing fees and no bank required. Welcome to Openbazaar 2.0

O penbazaar is an e-commerce platform without middleman in the process.

Created in 2016, this new way of purchasing online provides to the users, with a peer-to-peer system, exchange between them all types of products. The process is simple. You download and install Openbazaar program and it allows you, directly, to connect with other people who are looking to buy and sell products with you. The fact that this system is not controlled by any identity makes this exchange easier for the users.

But how does it work? With bitcoins. This digital payment system consents all the trans-actions with no additional costs, taxes or any other extra payment for the product you want. In 2017, Openbazaar has released its beta version with more features than the previous version. Now Openbazaar includes inventory tracking, expanded shipping options, a new of-fline functionality, which allows you to receive and order without being online.

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I n big retail stores, like wallmart , out of stock items are always a problem. The human resources are,

most of the times, not immediate solving this issue. They have to multiply themselves to be present and effective in other store sections that sometimes the stock management is only made when the store opens or closes. Wallmart , the world largest retail chain, had solved this problem with self-scanning robots. Using data and vision technology, the robots check stock and identify missing and misplaced items, incorrect prices and mislabeling. The goal of Wallmart is not to replace human workers but to make them work together for a better performance.

The robots work with store employees who then stock the shelves and fix errors. The company claims that robots are 50 percent more productive and more accurate scanning the shelves than their employees SStar ted in Pennsilvania and California, Wallmart is now testing these robots in 50 additional stores across Unites States.

Tips & Buzz

Walmart robots Self-scanning robots can check stock and identify miss-ing and misplaced items, incorrect prices and mislabe-ling products

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G rover is a berlin-based electronics consumption startup that allows to consumers to try their products by renting

them before they buy them. This new strategy allows the customer to have a full and established experience about a product before he owns it. Users can extend their rental experience up to one year, paying a monthly fee for holding on to the device..

Start to Shake Things Up!Grover, Showroom and FindMine are shaking the digital business in retail.

This New York based fashion startup is a cloud-based platform for omnichannel retailers that gives ideas to the shopper to complete their outfit look. With their fashion-centered algorithms the app suggests their users what pieces of clothes matches with the one they are purchasing online and shows where they can buy them.

StartUp!

T he Warsaw-based e-commerce platform, Showroom, allows independent designers to publish and sell their

clothes. Once they have done, and they’ve been approved by showroom team, consumers can purchase those items.The brand has established itself as an important sales channel for independent fashion designers and today over 500 carefully selected designers with 25.000 products are selling via in the platform..

Grover

ShowroomFindMine

Phone: +352 661 840 378

Website: digital-business-entrepreneur.blog

Email: [email protected]

/ entrepreneur.digital.business company/digital.business.entrepreneur / digital.business.entrepreneur

The Digital Business Entrepreneur founder claims that gamification can help digital businesses to connect with their audience or their staff in a creative way.

Gamification has a commercial purpose hided in a fun and creative process to give customers an opportunity to engage the brand without even realizing. The new generations, millenials particularly, are more able to use their mobile devices to purchase and to go online. They also need more visual stimulus and different experiences to make their choices with all what the market offers. Gamification is the best way to engage the younger audiences by drawing their attention for certain brand or product. For millenials, mobile shopping is the third advan-tage to having a smart phone (59%). Right after the second reason, with 67% millenials using their phone to Gaming. The winner, with 73% of millenials using their phone to looking for a location.

67% of “Millennials” and 56% of “Gen Xers” prefer to shop on online rather than in-store. eMarketer estimates that total online retail sales will top $27 trillion in 2020.

D avid Iachetta is a Belgium entrepre-

neur with 17 years of proven track record in Enterprise Mobility.

“Millenials are the majority of online buyers. In fact, 80% of millenials go online through their cellphone. I think gamifica-tion is the best response to retail business challenges”.

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