PIM the digital transformation gas pedal at Covid

While the subject of omnichannelity has been at the heart of corporate and digital strategies for several years now, the Covid crisis in 2020 will have made it unavoidable.

This unprecedented health crisis of confinements, deconfinements and other curfews has indeed changed consumer habits. 1 in 3 French people say they shop in shops and online at least once a month according to a Harris Interactive/budgetbox study.

However, between March and June 2020, no less than 12,000 businesses closed. It is of course impossible to say that the lack of digitalization is the only explanation for these closures, but it remains undeniable that digital transformation has been a way for businesses of all sizes to find new ways to get through the crisis while minimizing losses - and not be part of these 12,000 closures.

Covid has therefore had a direct impact on accelerating the digital transformation of businesses, and has made it indispensable. But why? What needs does it meet? How does PIM/DAM contribute to this acceleration?

Changed consumption patterns

French consumers (but also worldwide) have changed their consumption habits since the first containment. Online shopping has become a reflex in all areas of daily life: food, garden, home, clothing, etc. However, the food sector has been the most affected, as only supermarkets have never been banned from opening since March 2020 in France. Thus, the food drive increased by 150% during the first containment !

We have seen to the advent of the omnichannel consumer A consumer who is used to mixing on and off-line in his or her shopping journey. While consumers have favoured the big stores for convenience, many customers have supported their local shops. The latter have therefore also adapted to the new demand by offering drive, click & collect or local delivery after taking orders by phone or internet.

According to the Harris Interactive/budgetbox study, consumers now expect more from omnichannel: more online promotions, more respect for the environment, more product choice. The digitalization train has definitely started and consumers do not seem ready to see it stop.

Why is digitalization essential to boost your sales?

Transforming to survive the crisis, sustainably

What is the impact of these changes in consumer habits on digitalization? It's simple: it makes the digital transformation of companies more essential than ever. Covid has indeed made everyone, including VSEs and SMEs, aware of the need to transform, adapt and innovate thanks to digital technology.

Because even if they do not necessarily make the entire purchase process online,consumers expect and choose convenience. The accessibility of their offer and products, speed and flexibility are therefore key for retailers if they want to meet customer expectations and survive the crisis. They need to reinvent their business by bridging the gap between off and online, not to stop sales in shop but to bring in new customers and/or retain existing ones.

This is especially true as consumers have modelled their new habits on what the big retailers offer, but now expect the same level of service and digital customer experience from other retailers. And this will not be limited to the crisis context, but will become the new norm in the post-Covid world as consumers seem to want to keep their new habits.

Transforming to innovate and stand out

Accelerating the digital transformation is also essential to quickly find new sources of growth. It is therefore not simply a question of maintaining business but of developing new opportunities through digital - establishing a true omnichannel strategy. Administrative closures and health regulations have drastically reduced in-store traffic. For retailers, it is necessary to open new sales channels to make up for this shortfall and capture the attention of customers who will otherwise take their business elsewhere. Digitalising the business also means spreading the risk by multiplying the opportunities: the company thus becomes more resilient and capable of adapting to new crisis situations.

Finally, it is clear from this health crisis that businesses that are not visible online are the most at risk. They are depriving themselves of a great potential since consumers have a digital reflex that is faster than their shadow: a simple search on the Internet without results can be enough to convince a customer to go to the competitor who has a web shop window. Be careful, however, because the digitalisation of companies does not only, or always, consist in creating a website. We are talking here about digitising the offer, the services, the processes, to meet the needs of the customers. However, only the retailer is in a position to know the expectations of his customers and to choose the digital levers that are relevant to him. Strategic choices, therefore, which will help them to stand out from the competition by making them more agile and visible.

Why and how does the Product Information Manager help companies to accelerate their digital transformation?

The impact of PIM on business

To transform digitally, choosing the right tools is crucial. This is where PIM/DAM comes into play By facilitating the management of content and product data, it simplifies processes, saves time and money. The resulting reduction in costs and increase in sales will have a medium-term impact on the ROI of PIM. The advantage of PIM is therefore its almost immediate return on investment, at all levels.

But it is also a real paradigm shift in the management of the product catalogue, resulting in a reduction in the company's Time to Market. Indeed, the acceleration of processes and the fluidity of cooperation made possible by the PIM at each stage of a product's launch can only have a favourable impact on the launch of new products or the opening of new sales channels.

Sales channels can be multiplied much more easily by using Product Information Management. Whether it's your own channels, marketplaces, or resellers, PIM makes it easy to distribute your product offering over as many channels as you want. And therefore, to be present where it is needed, when it is needed.

Ease of implementation of PIM

Accelerating your digital transformation can become a challenge when it comes to getting down to the nitty-gritty of the subject: the lack of technical, human and financial resources can have a major impact on the deployment of tools designed to support digital development. However, the magic of the PIM solution lies in its ease of use: available in Saas modemode, it does not require a dedicated technical team to be deployed. It is thus implemented in a few weeks and is quickly operational to help you propel your company on the rails of its digital transformation. Because if the digitalization train is not about to stop, it is necessary to get on it quickly to have a place in it.

Covid was a totally unprecedented upheaval in the history of mankind, but also in the history of companies. It has allowed new initiatives and practices to emerge among entrepreneurs, illustrating the resilience of companies to survive. But it is not enough to think that digital transformation is necessary to get out of this crisis: it is necessary because uses have changed, consumers have gained more digital maturity in one year than they have in the last five years, and there is no going back. The implementation of the PIM is therefore one of the essential building blocks for accelerating the digital transformation of organisations and responding rapidly to the new challenges of the market. The medium-term future of our companies depends on it.

Discover a concrete example of digital transformation through the company Stokomani which accelerated its digitalization thanks to the PIM by watching the replay of our webinar.

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