Customer experience is changing the way retailers operate. With price no longer the differentiating factor, retailers must work to provide consumers with a memorable, positive experience. This week, we explore this topic with insights from the Annual Connected Retailer Survey, experts from Pitney Bowes, and news from Microsoft.
Consumers Require a Speedy Shopping Process
Customers now expect retailers to provide a personalized customer experience as well as a quick one. With new forms of retail technology, consumers are prioritizing getting their shopping done more quickly. According to the 2019 Annual Connected Retailer Survey, “consumers desire technology that enables a quicker and more convenient in-store shopping experience with limited human interaction,” said Shash Anand, vice president of product strategy of SOTI.
“These results prove the critical role that mobile technology plays in reducing many of the challenges of the seamless customer experience through solutions that reduce cost, complexity, and downtime in a secured for mobile, yet accessible fashion,” he said.
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Ensuring Customer Experience Through Data
Retailers can no longer rely on price as the differentiator – customer experience is. To retain current customers and pull in new business, retailers must embrace the CX movement and it’s powered by data. Jeff Winter, Vice President, Marketing and Communications at Pitney Bowes Software and Data, explored the importance of customer experience at the recent CXFS show and shared how to build a CX strategy.
With retailers using websites, text, and virtual assistants as communication platforms, it’s important that customer experience is driving these interactions. How can retailers ensure all these channels provide a positive experience? Leveraging data is key.
Read more here.
Microsoft Launches 365 Commerce
To compete with Amazon, Microsoft has expanded its offerings and launched Dynamics 365 Commerce. The platform lets brands create a personalized product web page with areas for customer ratings. This adds on to the Dynamics 365 for Retail which is focused on supply chain management, staffing, and marketing.
As competition in the retail space heats up, companies will need to migrate to a customer-first strategy that allows them to voice their opinions – like a customer rating venue.
Read more here.
