Making Brick-and-Mortar Retail Visible Online
Initial situation
Today, brick-and-mortar retail faces one of the greatest structural challenges in its history. While online retail continues to grow and benefits from economies of scale, subsidies, less regulation, and lower energy and transportation costs, local retailers are struggling with an increasingly unfavorable competitive environment. The customer base remains geographically limited—to local walk-in customers – while online competitors often offer the same products at lower prices, thereby externalizing the environmental costs associated with shipping from third countries.Added to this is a structural problem that extends beyond individual businesses: the so-called “broken-window effect” in city centers. When local stores close, entire shopping streets and city centers lose their appeal—a self-reinforcing cycle that permanently alters urban life. Yet many products sold in brick-and-mortar stores are by no means inferior to their online counterparts—they are simply invisible in the digital world.
Another major obstacle is a lack of knowledge about the costs and possibilities of establishing a digital presence. Many retailers assume that having their own online store, a complex IT infrastructure, or significant investments in digital systems are necessary to gain visibility online. This assumption is incorrect—and that’s exactly where our solution comes in. The goal is clear: to make the entire product lineup visible online, attract new walk-in customers digitally, and strengthen brick-and-mortar retail in the long term—without any technical effort, without needing your own online store, and without system disconnects.
Our Three Core Principles
| Principle | What this means for you |
|---|---|
| Bridging role | An online search leads to an offline purchase decision at a local retailer. Customers who search for a product online today should visit your store tomorrow. Our platform Surtido.Online bridges exactly this gap—between digital interest and in-store purchases. |
| Range | Retailers gain digital visibility without having to invest in their own systems. The platform Surtido.Online handles the entire technical infrastructure. This allows you to reach target audiences far beyond your existing walk-in customers—without having to change locations. |
| Channel Integration | An online presence without your own web store or IT infrastructure. Your product lineup becomes discoverable online without you having to manage a single system yourself. Online and offline converge—seamlessly and without any extra effort. |
Your Benefits at a Glance
- Visibility: Your entire product lineup – every single product – will be discoverable online and accessible to new customer groups.
- New Reach: Digital visibility opens up access to target audiences beyond walk-in customers—without changing locations or incurring additional costs.
- Transparency: Customers can see what's available locally before they drive to the store – this saves time and builds trust.
- Trust: Users expect to find what they're looking for quickly—well-organized product ranges meet this need and strengthen customer loyalty.
- Competitiveness: Visibility in the digital space – without the need for your own e-commerce infrastructure or technical resources.
- Asortment Management Through Demand Response: A clear, structured product assortment drives growth, margins, and brand impact—all of which can be planned through a structured product assortment strategy.
- Building the “perfect” product lineup: Immediate availability, a variety of products, and the opportunity to examine items visually, by touch, and by smell—advantages that no online store can offer.