Freiraum reinvents retail

Freiraum is a start-up in Berlin that has created retail-as-a-service for eclectic young brands. Their mission is to bring digital native retailers from fashion, cosmetics, and electronics into the physical world—because opening a brick-and-mortar store shouldn’t be harder than starting a web shop. Freiraum’s retail services cover everything from location set-up and marketing strategy to checkout configuration.

Though consumers still enjoy the classic in-store shopping experience, 94% now prefer cashless payment methods at checkout. According to our Global Shopping Report 2019, 37% of shoppers place contactless cards in their top three preferred cashless payment methods.

Taking these consumer trends into account, Freiraum was looking for a marketplace checkout solution that offered a customer journey in both the digital and physical space. One that would work for all of their client brands in a single retail store. One that would allow shoppers to purchase products from the various brands with just a single payment.

Using our smart checkout solution in cooperation with Shopreme, Freiraum is able to give shoppers in their physical retail space a digitally synced experience. Customers simply use their smartphones to scan the QR codes on products they want to purchase, place the items in their shopping bags, and pay on their way out of the store using the Freiraum app. Or they can have their purchases shipped directly to their doorstep. By registering their favorite payment method at checkout, returning customers can pay for their next purchases with a few quick taps.

Partnering with us enabled Freiraum to offer their merchants an innovative checkout system that sets them apart from traditional department stores. Since Freiraum’s client brands tend to sell exclusive and high-end products, a mobile payment solution was the way to go, because high earners prefer the convenience of paying with mobile wallets.

The solution also eliminates the need to pay at a separate cashier for each brand and replaces it with a fast, user-friendly payment experience on one central platform. No checkout line and no waiting—all thanks to the app. The future of retail will depend on merging the best experiences and services that physical and online shopping have to offer. And that’s exactly what Freiraum was able to achieve with Wirecard.