The 7 Truths (Almost) All Retailers Ignore About Store Digitalization in 2025
By Charlotte Journo-Baur, founder of WISHIBAM and retail expert
Let’s be honest: store digitalization has become the topic everyone discusses at retail conferences, but few truly master in practice. Between dazzling technological promises and retailers’ daily reality, the gap remains enormous. After guiding over 500 retailers through their digital transformation, I notice the same mistakes being repeated, the same fears persisting.
What struck me in recent months is how the pandemic merely accelerated an already well-established trend: the 2025 consumer switches between physical and digital without even thinking about it. They don’t “go online” – they are online, constantly. Yet how many stores still operate as if the internet didn’t exist? In this article, I’ll share the essential truths I observe daily among retailers successfully navigating digitalization – and the costly mistakes made by those who ignore them.
Why Store Digitalization Is No Longer Optional in 2025
The Consumer Has Changed: Hyperconnected, Demanding, Disloyal
Let’s start with the obvious truth many still refuse to see: your customer has definitively changed. According to the latest Fevad study (2024), 78% of consumers systematically compare prices and reviews online before even setting foot in your store. This figure was 62% in 2019. The acceleration is dizzying.
I remember a conversation with a ready-to-wear boutique owner in Bordeaux who told me: “My customers come for advice, not for price.” The next day, we discreetly observed his store: 7 out of 10 customers consulted their smartphones while trying on clothes. They were comparing. Seeking reviews. Some even took photos to ask friends for advice via WhatsApp.
The omnichannel experience is no longer a “bonus” you offer customers – it’s the bare minimum they expect. They no longer distinguish between your physical store and your online presence. For them, it’s one and the same entity. If your online inventory isn’t synchronized with your in-store stock, if your prices differ between channels, if you don’t offer in-store pickup for online orders… you create a fragmented experience that disappoints.
And disappointment, in 2025, immediately translates to disloyalty. Customers no longer wait or forgive. They have too many alternatives at their fingertips.
Physical Retail Facing Economic and Ecological Pressure
The pressure isn’t just commercial; it’s also economic and environmental. Physical store operating costs continue to rise: rent, energy, payroll… In this context, digitalization isn’t an additional cost center as many fear, but an optimization lever.
I recently worked with a chain of 12 home décor stores that reduced operational costs by 23% in 18 months through inventory management digitalization. Gone are intuitive ordering, haphazard merchandise transfers between stores, stockouts or overstock. Their salespeople now have an application showing real-time product availability across the entire network. Result: less tied-up inventory, fewer markdowns, less storage space needed.
The ecological aspect is also becoming unavoidable. Consumers – particularly younger ones – are increasingly sensitive to the environmental impact of their purchases. Digitalization enables finer supply management, drastically reducing waste. One of our clients decreased unsold items by 34% in one year through better demand anticipation, based on website and in-store browsing data analysis.
Regulatory pressure is intensifying too. New environmental standards impose increased traceability that only digital tools can effectively guarantee. Businesses that don’t anticipate these developments will soon find themselves forced to adapt urgently, at much higher costs.
How to Digitalize Your Store Without Losing Its Soul
Concrete Levers for Successful Transformation
Let’s move to concrete solutions. The good news is that accessible levers exist today, even for independent retailers.
- Click & collect is probably the most obvious and impactful: it transforms your online presence into a physical traffic generator. Our data shows that a customer coming to pick up an order in-store has a 47% chance of purchasing an additional product on site.
- E-reservation is a particularly effective variant for products requiring fitting or demonstration. It reassures customers about product availability and prepares the ground for quality assisted selling in-store. A jeweler we work with increased his in-store conversion rate by 58% through this simple system.
Mobile payment deserves special attention. No more checkout lines discouraging impulse purchases. Your salespeople can complete the sale anywhere in the store, at the precise moment when the customer is convinced. This is particularly effective during high-traffic periods like sales or holidays.
The real challenge lies in unifying customer data. How many times have I seen retailers fail to recognize in-store a loyal customer from their e-commerce site? This disconnection is perceived as a lack of consideration by consumers.
Conversely, imagine the experience of a customer whose salesperson already knows their preferences, previous purchases, and can make relevant personalized suggestions.
To achieve this, you need a system that centralizes interactions, regardless of channel. This is exactly what we’ve developed at WISHIBAM: a platform that unifies the customer and salesperson experience without multiplying tools and interfaces.
Humans at the Heart of Technology: Train, Involve, Value
I emphasize this point because it’s often the blind spot of digitalization projects: technology is only a means, never an end in itself. Success depends primarily on adoption by your teams.
According to a 2024 Retail Tech study, 65% of salespeople say they’re more motivated when they have digital tools adapted to their needs. This figure has always struck me because it contradicts the misconception that salespeople resist change on principle.
The reality I observe in the field is quite different: salespeople don’t resist technology; they resist poorly designed tools, imposed without explanation, that complicate their work instead of facilitating it. When a salesperson must juggle between three different applications to answer a simple customer question about product availability, the frustration is legitimate.
- The key lies in involving teams from the project’s conception: What are their daily irritants?
- What information do they lack when facing customers?
- Which repetitive tasks could be automated to allow them to focus on advising?
I remember a cosmetics brand that deployed tablets in-store without consulting its teams. Six months later, most were gathering dust in a drawer. We restarted the project based on real needs: salespeople wanted to quickly show product application tutorials and access detailed information about ingredients to answer increasingly specific customer questions. Once these features were integrated, adoption was immediate.
Digital doesn’t replace the salesperson; it makes them indispensable by increasing their added value. In a context where product information is accessible to everyone in a few clicks, the salesperson’s role evolves toward expertise, personalized advice, emotion – everything an e-commerce site can never offer.
WISHIBAM, The Sovereign Ally for Controlled Omnichannel Digitalization
A Solution Designed for French Retailers, by Retail Experts
Digital sovereignty isn’t just a fashionable concept; it’s a strategic issue for French commerce. At WISHIBAM, we’ve chosen a 100% sovereign platform, with hosting exclusively in France and GDPR compliance integrated from design.
Why is this important? Because your customer and business data is your most precious asset. Entrusting it to foreign platforms means risking having your strategic information analyzed by potential competitors or subjected to extraterritorial legislation.
Our approach is also distinguished by its human dimension. We’re not just a technology provider, but a partner who understands the realities of physical retail. Every member of our team has field experience in retail. We speak the same language as you.
- Rapid, pragmatic deployment: implementation in weeks, not months
- Measurable results from the first month
- Seamless integration with your existing system
Support doesn’t stop at technical implementation. We train your teams, analyze initial results with you, adjust the solution based on field feedback. This agility is possible because we control our entire technology – no dependence on external components that would limit our adaptability.
Results follow: on average, our clients see a 27% increase in in-store average basket and a 31% increase in physical traffic generated by digital within six months of deployment.
Concrete Cases: When City Centers Come Alive Again Thanks to Digital
Beyond figures, it’s the transformation stories that touch me most. Take Limoges, where we deployed our solution to 87 independent downtown businesses. In 12 months, pedestrian traffic increased by 18% and these businesses’ overall turnover by 23%.
- In Limoges, a local marketplace showcased territory offerings and provided independent merchants with professional digital tools. Consumers find real-time product availability in their neighborhood, reserve items, or opt for home delivery.
- Marie, an independent bookstore manager, notes: “Before, I was invisible against web giants. Today, when someone looks for a book in Limoges, I’m on the first page of results. And above all, I’ve found meaning in my profession again. I no longer spend my days doing administrative data entry, but advising my customers, organizing events. Digital handles the logistics; I take care of the essential.”
- In Annecy, a merchants’ association created a shared home delivery service managed via our platform. Result: 40% reduction in CO2 emissions and a 29% sales increase for participants.
- In Toulouse, a suburban shopping center and downtown shops merged strengths: purchases made at either location can be picked up at the other, creating beneficial cross-traffic.
These examples illustrate a fundamental truth: digitalization isn’t the enemy of physical retail; it’s its natural extension. It doesn’t replace the in-store experience; it enriches it.
As a Strasbourg jeweler recently told me: “We’ve regained store traffic and meaning in our profession. Digital has allowed us to return to the essentials: advice, emotion, human connection.”
Conclusion: Digital as an Ally, Not a Threat
Store digitalization is no longer optional in 2025; it’s a vital necessity. But it shouldn’t be perceived as a threat to traditional retail – on the contrary, it represents its best chance to reinvent itself and prosper.
Successful businesses will be those who understand that digital isn’t an end in itself, but a means to return to the essentials: customer experience, personalized advice, proximity. Technology must fade behind the human, serve without ever replacing.
At WISHIBAM, this is the vision we defend: human-faced digitalization, respectful of French retail specificities, creating value for all ecosystem players.
The battle isn’t lost against e-commerce giants. It’s simply changing terrain. And on the unified customer experience terrain, physical stores have considerable assets provided they know how to leverage them with the right digital tools.
So, are you ready to make digitalization your ally rather than your threat?
FAQ: Store Digitalization
What’s the average cost of a digitalization project for an independent business?
The cost varies considerably depending on project scope, but solutions like WISHIBAM offer packages starting at €199/month for independent businesses. The important thing is to favor a progressive approach with quick results rather than a costly and risky total transformation.
How long does it take to see ROI after digitalizing a store?
With a well-targeted approach, first results are visible within 2-3 months. Our clients typically see complete ROI between 6-12 months after deployment, with an average turnover increase of 15-25% during this period.
Will digitalization reduce my sales staff needs?
No, that’s a persistent myth. Digitalization doesn’t reduce personnel needs; it transforms their role. Salespeople spend less time on administrative tasks and more on high-value customer advice. Our data shows that digitalized businesses actually tend to hire more to respond to increased activity.
How can I convince my sales teams to adopt digital tools?
The key is involving them from the project’s beginning. Identify their daily irritants and show how technology can solve them. Train them gradually, value early successes, and ensure the tools truly simplify their work. At WISHIBAM, we observe a 92% adoption rate when this approach is followed.
What are the most impactful digital features for a small business?
The winning trio to start with is:
1) Online stock visibility (even without e-commerce sales)
2) Click & collect or e-reservation
3) A digital loyalty system.
These three elements quickly generate in-store traffic and increase average basket size without requiring complex logistics.
How can digitalization help fight e-commerce giants?
Digitalization allows physical stores to play to their unique strengths: sensory experience, expert advice, immediate availability, and local anchoring. By making these assets visible online and facilitating the transition from digital to physical, you create a value proposition that pure players cannot match.
Are digitalization solutions suitable for neighborhood stores and very small businesses?
Absolutely. Platforms like WISHIBAM have been specifically designed to meet small business needs, with modular, affordable solutions that are simple to deploy. The collective approach, via local marketplaces, also allows merchants in the same territory to share costs.