More and more retailers are embracing online marketing as it directs shoppers straight to their website. In today’s cross-channel world, providing service through the channels that customers prefer has never been more crucial. Retailers need to deliver a consistent experience across every channel, at the right time, and with the appropriate message.
As customers grow more accustomed to using different devices and channels to access information and communicate in their everyday lives, they expect retailers to act similarly and to intelligently respond to their needs in real-time. For retailers, this requires a deeper understanding of their customers and the ability to deliver the most relevant, timely and optimized messages based on all that they know about each customer.
By evoking data-driven strategies that leverage a mix of channels, retailers are able to make more informed decisions and develop ways to connect and engage with their customers – while inspiring them to become loyal brand advocates. Thus, more retailers embrace what state-of-the-art technology has to offer to reach more consumers, generate sales, boost conversion and encourage recurring purchases.
From a cross-channel perspective, email is still the most popular way to market to consumers. 83.7% of retailers surveyed in April 2019 by Internet Retailer use email for their digital marketing. Social media is the runner-up with 65.8%.
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Meanwhile, retailers need to stay atop of the ever-changing marketing landscape. Technology continues to evolve, and consumers are more demanding than ever. Here is our take on the top three trends in retail you should follow to keep up:
1. Personalization
Customers expect to receive targeted, relevant and personalized messages from retailers. The data collected from cross-channel customer touchpoints is the base for your marketing. This customer data, consolidated from multiple channels, is the base that enables retailers to deliver personalized customer experiences via email and marketing automation. Personalization should also be able to deliver customized on-site messages and highly relevant content through pop-ups, overlays, and product recommendations.
2. Customer engagement
True customer engagement is based on data. Smart retailers pool customer data centrally, analyze customer behavior with machine learning, and engage customers with the right content across all channels. Online behavioral data can be merged with CRM data to create a personalized experience. Retailers should also activate and enrich website data with information from other relevant marketing channels. Customer insight isn’t just about knowing who the customers are, it is about knowing how they behave. Demographic and transactional data needs to be combined with customer intelligence from a multitude of data sources.
3. Mobile Optimization
Retailers should look for ways to enable the optimal experience for mobile customers. According to an internet retailer, 41% shoppers make more than half of their online purchases on a mobile device and 57% made at least 25% of their purchases on mobile devices in the last 12 months.
Learn more about digital marketing and how it plays a crucial role in a cross-channel world by downloading the free report: “Marketing Strategies of the Top 1000.”
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This article was first published by MAPP. Permission to use has been granted by the publisher.
