Customer Acquisition

While many point to the pandemic as the catalyst responsible for changing today’s retail customers, in reality, the “retail customer” has been evolving for some time. Over the past several decades, consumers’ lives have grown busier and more complex as they are being offered more choices spanning retail and digital, and shoppers have come to…

The good news for consumer brands this holiday shopping season? Economic concerns aren’t expected to slow down shoppers’ appetite for deals. According to the 2022 Deloitte Holiday Retail Survey, 74 percent of consumers say they’ll spend the same on the holidays as they did last year. The bad news? Holiday customers are among the lowest…

In this episode of Total Retail Tech Insights, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Mariam Asmar, vice president of strategic consulting at Braze, a leading comprehensive customer engagement platform that powers interactions between consumers and brands they love. Asmar discusses her professional background and the Braze business (1:00), her take on the state of the e-commerce industry…

Retail escapism — immersive experiences that blend the best elements of shopping, entertainment, education and socialization — is giving retail therapy a major upgrade. With inflation on the rise, consumers are likely to spend less this season and discounters may command a greater share of sales than usual. However, retailers that elevate the shopping experience…

How willing are your customers to recommend your business to their friends, family and co-workers? Two-thirds of Fortune 1000 companies measure this dynamic. The metric is called a Net Promoter Score (NPS) and online retailers covet a high ranking. Customer acquisition is challenging. It takes time and money to acquire new customers and to develop…

The pandemic dealt a difficult blow to retail brands competing in local markets. Millions of consumers turned to online shopping during this period, causing unprecedented growth in the e-commerce sector and impacting the bottom lines of brick-and-mortar stores. But now that the dust has cleared, we find that most commerce (84 percent) still occurs in person.…

Holiday sales are expected to grow 4 percent to 6 percent this year. However, inflation continues to be of concern for consumers, with 84 percent of shoppers looking to save money. Recent Sense360 by Medallia research on consumer behavior and spending reveals that shoppers are buying fewer products. However, for those companies that they do…

Inflationary doomsday prophecies abound and big brands, particularly in CPG, are rightly worried about the strongly forecasted and deeply dreaded "trade-down" — i.e., the tipping point where consumers will alter their behavior and opt for a competitive store-brand to save pennies-on-the-dollar of their hard-earned cash. A case in point is Sharon Terlep’s recent WSJ article…

Typically, consumers have two decision-making styles: those who exhaustively research multiple options before making a purchase (aka the “thorough” shopper) and those who purchase the first decent choice that fits their preferences (aka the “efficient” shopper). Retailers that understand this distinction can shape their approaches to acquire and retain customers, including developing content and leveraging…

As consumers grapple with rising inflation, they’re searching for new ways to manage their expenses. For many, that means turning to an arsenal of digital tools. A recent Gartner survey of over 300 consumers identified the changes consumers are making, and the tools they’re using, in response to the rising cost of living. Faced With…