Cdiscount, from digital to physical stores

Last updated:

Cdiscount, known as the reference market in France, has also been developing its physical presence in recent years. An evolution that seems to go with its time. A far cry from the online sale of used CDs that made the Bordeaux company known when it started in 1998. Having drastically expanded its offer, Cdiscount now offers nearly 60 million products. A subsidiary of the Casino Group since 2000, the online sales platform takes advantage of the group’s physical sales outlets as much as it benefits them. Also, since 2010 and even more 2017, Cdiscount has been opening corners in the Casino Giants; showrooms and concept stores. Where the whole market swears by e-commerce, physical stores would always have a role to play.

Cdiscount, the phygital to rethink retail

Already at the heart of discussions for many years in the United States, the phygital has made a big arrival in France around 2017. Along with cross-channel and omnichannel strategies to improve the customer experience and conversion rate, the phygital is about bringing digital into physical stores. Thus, Cdiscount is part of the trend by opening the 4 Casino in October 2018. Showroom of 150 square meters on the Champs-Elysées, the shop is equipped with connected mirrors and interactive kiosks (1).

Worthy heir to Amazon Go (2), French version, the showroom is full of technologies that enrich the customer experience. The programme includes the geolocation of products; Creating routes to navigate the store Access to the full catalogue despite space constraints or cashless payment.

For an e-commerce company, opening physical outlets is not a confession that the store is better than digital. In reality, it is an expression of complementarity. Which serves both the brand and its customers. And for good reason, occupying a physical place allows us to impose themselves as a fierce competition from traditional stores; to boost sales of these brands. Far from being contradictory, this approach depends on the strategy adopted. In the case of Cdiscount, the opening of Corner in Giant Casino stores allowed hypermarkets to make a profit from their appliance and high tech departments, for example (3).

It is also an opportunity for Cdiscount to generate traffic on the site. Since the physical store has its storage limits, the integration of digital allows the shop to open on the entire catalog offered by the brand. A way to make a connection in the process of buying and thinking, without losing its prospect to the competition.

A social laboratory for the customer experience

In addition to improving the buying process in the service of commercial performance and brand awareness, the phygital extends the playing field of the brands that use it. Already benefiting from very comprehensive data on its digital sales, Cdiscount is now acquiring a better customer knowledge thanks to the retail know-how of the Casino Group. With some 9 million customers, 3 million visitors per day, 60 million products and services, all collected in a qualified database, the online shopping journey is no longer a secret. On the other hand, it is not as easy for stores to know the profile of their buyers. Just as it is not easy for Cdiscount to convert a customer who prefers to go to the store.

customer in a store using digital and phone for optimal customer experience
Integrating digital into physical outlets improves customer knowledge and customer experience.

Also, combining the experience of physics with the immediacy of digital technology improves consumer experiences both online and offline. A good use of the tools then allows the brand to take advantage of the commitment potential offered by digital.

Thus, the strategy of a physical implantation for a pure player is not always the notoriety of his brand. Sometimes the point of the manoeuvre is quite different. So much so that Cdiscount doesn’t always choose to display its brand. This is the choice made for the opening of La Nouvelle Cave in the Marais in Paris. Opened in December 2019, this wine cellar, spirits and beers draw on the lessons learned from these years of testing. Offering for sale the best rated bottles of the marketplace, the shop completes its offer. There is then a digital sommelier, masterclasses of oenology or tastings before purchase. Again, if the store limits its selection to about 600 bottles, screens allow access to the 7000 references sold on Cdiscount.

A new generation store that takes care to remember that with Cdiscount, the Casino Group is today the leader in online wine sales. It has no less than 4 million bottles sold in 2018. (4)

Cdiscount, at the heart of trade innovation

Cdiscount is a regular in investing in innovation. Although not necessarily a precursor to the technological divide between the most advanced countries and France, the marketplace nevertheless ensures that it works with innovative and reputable companies and supports the development and commercialization of new solutions. The brand has therefore surrounded itself with partners of choice for the opening of its shops and in particular the 4 Casino (1). Artificial intelligence, augmented and mixed reality, mapping and routes, digital labels, online sommelier or even energy recovery to heat buildings, Cdiscount has not deprived itself of anything.

In terms of developing innovative solutions, the brand complements its Parisian coworking with a whole programme to support retail start-ups. Thus, Le Lab by Cdiscount focuses on testing, evolving and bringing to market solutions for trade and marketing (5). The opportunity to share the data from the marketplace with supported start-ups, as well as to stay on standby about the technologies that would allow Cdiscount to maintain a leading position.

Sources

(1) “The Casino Group inaugurates “Le 4 Casino”, a new store concept, near the Champs-Elysées in Paris. October 3, 2018, Casino Group

(2) François DESCHAMPS, “Physical Stores: Amazon Places Its Pawns in the United States and Europe,” February 7, 2017, LSA Conso

(3) Stephanie MUNDUBELTZ-GENDRON, “Why Cdiscount opens a showroom deco in Paris, within 4 Casino”. October 6, 2018, Digital Factory

(4) Dalila BOUAZIZ, “Cdiscount launches La Nouvelle Cave, a store dedicated to wines and spirits”, 13 December 2019, Ecommerce Mag

Abonnez-vous à la Newsletter