We kicked off Digital Velocity last Thursday with our DV ‘22 focused on customer experience for retail and – WOW – were the insights amazing! So many incredible discussion points were explored which can be found in our On Demand recording of Digital Velocity ’22: The Ultimate Retail CX Event. Be it navigating our now fully disrupted world, how to get buy-in among key stakeholders, or bridging the gap between privacy and personalization, this event covered it all.
Here are the Top 5 Takeaways on Customer Experience for Retail in 2022
1. Send the right message at the right time… through the right channel!
Personalized messaging and the ability to communicate with customers in real-time with a CDP makes brands stand out. For example, Fingerhut brands were able to drive a 450% lift in revenue from reducing cart abandonment. But it’s not just the message being delivered at the right time, it’s using the right channel, as well, that will be the real difference maker.
“We’ve been talking for years about ‘right message, right time.’ Now, it’s channel. The right context, so it’s not creepy. Right placement within whatever channel you’re in. It gets more complex and you need tools like a CDO to deliver that, and need the CDP toO. As retailers, we need to continually paint the art of what’s possible.” – Ben Thompson, Director, eCommerce Analytics & Tag Management, Fingerhut
2. Pick a CDP that prioritizes privacy.
There is value in working with a CDP that prioritizes privacy, because privacy is very important to retail brands that want to serve their customers while simultaneously respecting their privacy preferences.
“Privacy is key for retailers to be the butler not the stalker. Everything I do and collect needs to be in service of the customer without being creepy.” – David Dorf, WW Solution Portfolio Manager for Retail, CPG, AWS
“Privacy is super important for us. Ethically and morally we want to do what’s right for our customer. If they have preferences, we want to honor those. We see the value in working with a CDP partner like Tealium to help us do that. It’s complex.” – Greg Hirschi, Director, Marketing Analytics, Otterbox Products
3. Focus on integrating online cx with offline in-store experiences.
The customer journey is now omni-channel in the truest sense and our digital and physical worlds are colliding. Retailers need to connect online customer experience for retail with in-store, in-person experiences if they want to provide the ultimate customer experience.
“Retail brands are integrating online experiences with offline in-store experiences to provide a seamless customer journey. Additionally, customers assume you already know about them, so it’s vital to tell a personalized story on your website. Invest in telling the same story to the same person across all channels.” – Christina Sweeney, Site Analytics Manager, New Balance
“Personalization I’ve seen in the past is on websites; now we’re learning how to collect data in store. Can we use cameras to track the path to purchase and understand how people are moving in store? Can we gain some insights from that? Can we personalize the experience across all channels? Maybe you’ve got something in your cart and you go to the store and we serve a coupon. It’s the combo of all the channels, pulling it all together.” – Greg Hirschi, Director, Marketing Analytics, Otterbox Products
4. Prepare now for loss of data sources.
Changes are coming, and rapidly. Privacy regulations are being announced all the time, Google is getting rid of third party cookies, and platforms are being updated to adjust to this new reality. Companies need to plan now for how they will handle the impact to marketing campaigns.
“We feel a strong sense of urgency around helping advertisers get securable shared data. We developed a product called conversion API. While advertisers might not feel a ton of impact from these changes today, overtime they will become greater and greater.” – Emily Wilson, Product Partnerships, Meta
5. Collaborate with influencers to make an impact.
Companies are continuing to turn to influencer marketing to engage with customers, so it’s time to embrace this trend full force. There are many ways to utilize influencer marketing, including product collaborations, unboxings, real-time live streaming videos and Q&As, blog article spotlights, and more. And keep in mind that influencer marketing can work in many different channels. Use the CDP to identify your key audiences and then find influencers who can speak to that audience directly.
“I’m excited about live streaming. It’s a combination of entertainment and selling. Having an influencer demo products from home, there’s a lot of capability there.” – David Dorf, WW Solution Portfolio Manager for Retail, CPG, AWS
“We did a collaboration with Teddy Sanchez, a designer in the USA. Collaborations with influencers will be huge for us. These types of stories will translate into dot com and localized in store experiences.” – Christina Sweeney, Site Analytics Manager, New Balance
Watch our On Demand recording of Digital Velocity ’22: The Ultimate Retail CX Event now to hear all about new ways to produce great customer experience for retail! And be sure to check out the rest of our Digital Velocity 2022 line-up for Travel & Hospitality, Financial Services, Sports & Entertainment, and Healthcare. Even if it’s outside your industry, there are still incredible insights and ideas to be discovered for powering up your CDP!
