Tessa Thomas-Dingemann

Tessa Thomas-Dingemann is a Lecturer for Special Tasks specialising in E-Commerce and Retail at Hochschule Ruhr West. The experienced retail and e-commerce expert brings over 20 years of practical experience across the FMCG, luxury, beauty, health, and pharmaceutical sectors. As former E-Commerce Director at L’Oréal, she was responsible for digital transformations and omnichannel strategies. Today, she works as an independent consultant and lecturer, focusing on e-commerce, retail marketing, virtual reality in retail, gamification, and immersive learning. At HRW, she designs future-oriented teaching that combines theory with digital tools and practical applications. She is also a Qualified Negotiator (Schranner Negotiation Institute Zurich) and holds a Certificate in Design Thinking & Innovation from Harvard Business School.

Her goal is to convey knowledge in an understandable, practice-relevant, and innovative way—bridging theory and practice, unlocking individual potential, and actively shaping the future of retail.

You can reach me by email at tessa.dingemann@hs-ruhrwest.de. I am happy to arrange individual appointments for personal meetings—either online via Webex or in person at the Mülheim campus, Parkstadt (Room 4.1.262).

Faculty 2 – Institute of Economics

Module 1: E-Commerce
Students acquire comprehensive knowledge of the key elements of digital commerce. Topics include Digital Value Creation, Customer Journey, Website Structure, Business and Revenue Models, Webshop Marketing, Social, Local & Mobile Commerce, as well as Security and Payment. Weekly group projects strengthen analytical, entrepreneurial, and collaborative skills.

Module 2: Retail Marketing
This module focuses on all relevant aspects of retail marketing: segmentation and target groups, assortment management, store design, pricing strategies, promotion, CRM, and location analysis. Students learn in a practice-oriented way how to develop, integrate, and adapt retail strategies to current market conditions—including digital sales channels and omnichannel approaches. A special highlight is the use of HRW’s VR Supermarket Lab, where students optimise virtual shelf layouts (planograms) while working with real-time KPIs. Through gamification, teamwork, and critical reflection, theoretical content is made immersive and practically applicable.

Faculty 1 – Institute of Computer Science, Energy Systems and Energy Economics

Module: Fundamentals of Trade Management
This module imparts the ten core competencies in trade—ranging from process and strategy competence to logistics, procurement, finance, controlling, personnel management, and information competence. The aim is to analyse opportunities and risks in trade, develop actionable recommendations, and evaluate international contexts. Learning objectives are achieved through case studies, group work, and practice-oriented scenarios.

Teaching Award Label 2024 for the Module “Retail Marketing”

For their innovative teaching concept in the Retail Marketing module, Tessa Thomas-Dingemann and Prof. Dr Julia Thalmann were awarded the Teaching Award Label by Hochschule Ruhr West in 2024. The jury praised the concept as forward-looking, with a clear focus on learning motivation, personal responsibility, and practice-oriented knowledge transfer. Central to the approach is a didactic method that intelligently combines virtual reality (VR), gamification, and interactive simulations. In HRW’s virtual supermarket, students apply their knowledge directly—for example, by optimising planograms with real-time KPI tracking, simulating real retail scenarios. Feedback sessions enhance reflective skills and deepen theoretical understanding.

Their didactic work is continuously developed—among other ways through participation in the HDW NRW certification programme and HRW’s higher education didactics programme. Additionally, they bring international supplementary qualifications: the Certificate in Design Thinking & Innovation from Harvard Business School (USA) and training as a Qualified Negotiator at the Schranner Negotiation Institute (Switzerland). These competencies enrich their teaching methods with creative, solution-oriented, and negotiation-strong elements.

Learning in the HRW VR Retail Lab

At Hochschule Ruhr West’s VR Retail Lab (Room M03.01.048), Tessa Thomas-Dingemann and Prof. Dr Julia Thalmann combine modern technology with practice-oriented teaching. The lab is an integral part of the Retail Marketing module and offers a unique, immersive learning experience.

Students take on the role of category managers and optimise planograms—shelf layouts—in a virtual supermarket environment based on real-time KPIs such as sales, volume, and margin. The process is divided into five didactic phases: theory delivery, technical introduction, VR application, teamwork, and critical reflection.

This VR-supported learning format specifically fosters strategic thinking, data literacy, feedback skills, and collaboration—key competencies for the future of retail. The combination of gamification, AR/VR technology, and realistic application makes the lab a pioneering learning space, recognised in 2024 with HRW’s Teaching Award Label.

Tessa Thomas-Dingemann regularly serves as second examiner for final theses in Faculty 2, particularly on topics related to E-Commerce and Retail Marketing, working closely with Prof. Dr Julia Thalmann.

Gamification trifft Category Management: Lernen mit KPIs, Wettbewerb und VR-Brille - eLearning Journal Online

2018: Konzepte und Strategien für Omnichannel-Exzellenz

„Die Bedeutung des Lieferanten für den Erfolg der Omnichannel-Händler am Beispiel des selektiven Kosmetikmarktes in Deutschland“ In cooperation with the International School of Management Dortmund, ISBN: 978-3-658-20181-4.

Conference: LEARNTEC 2025, Europe’s Leading Trade Fair and Conference for Digital Education
Presenters: Tessa Thomas-Dingemann and Prof. Dr Julia Thalmann
Presentation Topic:
“The Future of Retail Marketing: Rethinking Learning with Virtual Reality and Gamification”

[Link to the session in eLearning Journal]
[Link to the LEARNTEC website]