Retail trends tailored to future needs

By: Budai Klára Date: 2023. 07. 24. 15:46

During the coronavirus pandemic, shoppers developed a new habit: instead of spending a pleasant time with comfortably shopping in the store, they wanted to purchase what they needed as quickly as possible. The pandemic has come to an end, but this trend stayed with us. More and more shoppers use self-checkouts, and home delivery is becoming increasingly frequent.

This article is available for reading in Trade magazin 2023/6-7.

László Lőrincz
customer & business
development manager
Wanzl Magyarország

László Lőrincz, customer and business development manager of Wanzl Magyarország Kft.: “Next to the self-checkouts, shoppers can now see the Wanzl exit gates that work with a barcode, which can play an important role in preventing stock loss and optimising workforce use. The so-called Bake-Off systems are also essential in displaying bakery items”. Wanzl’s 24/7 store model is already used in several countries of Western Europe – these unmanned food and non-food stores are waiting for shoppers around the clock. Smart trolleys make fast scan-and-go shopping possible, plus they can also be used to send digital messages to customers.

Digital engagement with customers is increasingly taking place in the retail space

Following rules and norms

László Körmöczi
area director for Central Europe of
Carrier

Energy-saving and green solutions are in the centre of innovation work for commercial refrigeration solutions. Energy costs have skyrocketed because of the recent energy crisis, so many retailers are seeking to replace old refrigerators.

László Körmöczi, area director for Central Europe of Carrier Kereskedelmi Hűtéstechnika: “Manufacturers must comply with the F-Gas and Eco-Design regulations of the European Union. The main trend is switching to CO2 and propane as refrigerants”. Carrier is among the global market leaders in manufacturing and selling commercial refrigeration solutions, cold rooms, and CO2-based refrigeration systems. This year the company continues launching new models, such as the switchable refrigerator-freezer island, a plug-in solution with a modern design.

Ever since the pandemic, innovation is focused on the acceleration of the purchase journey

Digital and automatic solutions

Krisztián Puskás
country sales manager
LIEBHERR

Krisztián Puskás, country sales manager of LIEBHERR:

“There is a progressive technological solution which isn’t widely used in Hungary yet: arranging refrigerators and freezers into a network, and this way creating a collective monitoring system. For instance the LIEBHERR SmartMonitoring system is capable of digitally documenting the general condition, measurement data, and notifications of the devices, together with their remote supervision”.

In the Hungarian HoReCa sector two-way shockers are present in a growing number of restaurants. By using these, 80°C food can be cooled down to 3°C in 90 minutes, and 3-10°C food can be frozen at -18°C in 4 hours. Treated this way, the food preserves its taste, aroma and texture.

Comparability is important

Mr Puskás added that every household and industrial LIEBHERR refrigerator and freezer comes with special 5-year warranty. It is in the company’s interest to make the models of different manufacturers comparable to customers, who can visit independent pages such as www.eprel.ec.europa.eu or www.label2020.eu for this. With cold rooms and refrigerated cabinets, there is growing customer interest in insulation values and the minimising of thermal bridges, as both of these affect energy use very much.

Open fridges have disappeared from the market and have been replaced by sustainable, energy-efficient solutions

Adrienn Pólus
sales and
marketing director
Thermotechnika-Crown Cool

Adrienn Pólus, sales and marketing director of Thermotechnika-Crown Cool Kft. (TC):

“In the retail sector demand for open refrigerated cabinets basically disappeared, as buyers now prefer models equipped with glass doors. Our glass-door refrigerated and freezer cabinets are very popular, thanks to their economical operation. They can be ordered in custom sizes, have special shelving, a uniform look and are easy to clean. At the moment the trendiest look is the combination of black and silver”.

New type of demand in the summer period

Professional users can find approximately 10,000 products of more than 150 suppliers in the TC portfolio. The company also manufactures its own products in several countries of the region, and their services include not just repair and maintenance, but also logistics. In the retail sector their TC Promo mobile refrigerator is very popular, which was developed for the promotional, secondary displaying of refrigerated food products. As the summer is approaching, demand increases for beer, wine and drink refrigerators, and for club soda machines.

Rainer Gahn
export sales manager
Viessmann Refrigeration
Solutions

Rainer Gahn, export sales manager of Viessmann Refrigeration Solutions:

“The pandemic and the war in Ukraine had a direct influence on the availability of components. With regard to raw materials and components, we at Viessmann got off lightly, because we reacted early and were thus always able to supply the desired cold rooms and refrigerated cabinets within reasonable delivery times”.

Closer to shoppers

One of the top products of Viessmann Refrigeration Solutions is the Tecto IS7 freezer island, a remote solution with excellent visibility for food products, up to 45% lower energy consumption, and fast installation due to lot of pre-fabrication in the factory. Viesmann’s Tecto SV8 is a versatile plug-in solution with refrigerated parts and dry shelving. In the cold room category Viessmann offers a one-stop shop solution to partners: cold room, refrigeration units and shelving system from the same supplier. Soon the company will come out with new solutions, bringing cold rooms closer to the shop floor and shoppers.

László Kövecses
managing director
Vendi Hungária

László Kövecses, managing director of Vendi Hungária Kft.:

“Refrigerator and freezer manufacturers need to comply with the frequently changing laws. Environmental regulations make manufacturers develop new refrigerant gases, which meet the strict environmental and energy use requirements”.

Vendi Hungária Kft. manufactures industrial kitchen technology equipment, confectionery machinery and industrial refrigeration systems, and the company also provides repair and maintenance services.

Unstable market conditions

Sales of professional refrigeration systems depend very much on how keen businesses are on investing in development. One of the most important requirements of this is stability, but we are living in rather unstable times at the moment, so sometimes manufacturers have a difficult task when they wish to predict demand before planning production.

Tamás Horváth
sales manager
EPTA International

Tamás Horváth, sales manager of EPTA International Kft.:

“One of the biggest challenges for market players is the availability and delivery time of certain key product components. It is a priority for us to provide retailer partners with tangible solutions, helping them in cutting their energy costs and reducing their ecological footprint”.

EPTA International Kft. offers CO2-system refrigerators and R290 plug-in models, which guarantee the most efficient operation. Currently the company is busy adding the Extra Transcritical Efficiency (XTE) technology to its offering: this innovative, patented technology makes it possible to react to rapidly changing climate conditions.