According to information from the LZ, the Click & Collect model will be expanded by the dm. To this end, pick-up stations will be set up in 200 stores where customers can contactlessly pick up purchases they have previously ordered online. The concept has already been tested in 14 branches and received positive feedback. If it is successful across the board, other shops should also get the pick-up stations. Shelf space should not be lost as a result.
Unlike many other retailers, dm was able to generate growth of 6.5 percent in the 2020/21 financial year. Nevertheless, the drugstore giant is planning some changes that should provide new impetus in the future, as has been known since November. The market is also planning to further develop the store appearance – both visually and conceptually. This should ensure a more comfortable atmosphere in the shops.
The fragrance, beauty and photo areas in particular are to be given a complete makeover. “dm modernizes a number of stores every year. But the time has come for further conceptual development,” says one supplier. According to the information, dm wants to proceed piecemeal and is said to be planning the first newly designed test markets in Germany. These can probably be expected in the course of the next year.
Dm plans: Express delivery is also to be expanded
In addition to the automated pick-up stations, another pick-up concept is being tested. The customer holds a QR code for his order in front of a scanner in the entrance area of the branch and confirms that he would like to pick up the goods. An employee in the warehouse then receives a message and takes the purchase to the customer.
In addition to the new branch concepts, dm will also expand its express deliveries. In the 2020/21 financial year, every fifth online order was processed using the service. This is now to be extended to Berlin and Munich.
In general, dm’s plan is to win back customers and set itself apart from the competition in categories where the industry is stagnant. Beauty products, for example, performed significantly worse during the pandemic – this is now to be reversed by new brands and products. For example, they want to assert themselves against their big competitor Douglas on the perfume market. The newly launched make-up brand Artdeco, with almost 400 items available online, is supposed to make this possible.