The Otto Group – the second largest consumer online retailer in the world – is partnering with Powa Technologies to provide millions of customers in Germany and elsewhere with a quick and simple way to shop and engage with its brands online, in-store and on the go using Powa’s app that interact with triggers including QR codes, beacons, audio signals as well as through links found on social media.
The Otto Group is made up of 123 companies, including OTTO, Bonprix, Crate & Barrel and Freemans Grattan. It also owns Hermes Group, which is Germany’s largest independent home delivery operator and has more than one million doorstep contacts each day in Germany alone. During the last financial year, total revenue for The Otto Group was up at $13.2bn, with its eCommerce division serving as a key factor. The brands working with the Otto Group also operate over 400 brick-and-mortar stores worldwide. The partnership with PowaTag will allow the Otto Group to optimise these assets and offer a true omnichannel experience.
Hanjo Schneider, Member of the Executive Board of the Otto Group, says: “PowaTag is a supremely intelligent solution because it fully embraces the mobile device as a gateway for all elements of retail. Thanks to its global footprint, Powa can quickly enhance Otto Group’s customer experience in Germany by utilising their considerable global experience.”
PowaTag’s most recent solution uses visual recognition technology, which allows consumers to go from hovering their smartphone camera over printed material to a completed purchase within a few seconds, all using pre-saved transaction data.
Dan Wagner, Founder and CEO of Powa Technologies, adds: “Mobile devices have acted as a catalyst to create a new breed of connected consumers that want to engage with their favourite brands on their own terms. The Otto Group has fully recognised the sweeping changes hitting the retail landscape, and by embracing the transformational potential of PowaTag they will be able to cater for changing consumers habits, meeting the increasing demands for freedom and flexibility from their customers.”
The Otto Group joins a growing roster of companies outside the UK using Powa to push into using mobile to link the real world, not least in China, where it is seeking to gain early advantage in what could be the biggest e and m-commerce marketing in the world.
