Customer Data

Despite hopes that this year’s back-to-school shopping season would mark a return to form after a year marred by COVID-19, foot traffic data at the nation’s top retailers indicate the season missed optimistic expectations. Foot traffic from July 5 to Aug. 31 shows that shopping this year aligned more closely with last year’s trends than…

Whether it’s purchasing holiday gifts, festive home décor or plane tickets, consumers begin opening their wallets liberally each fall in preparation for the holiday season. This year, retailers may experience an even bigger surge in consumer spending as restrictions around the COVID-19 pandemic wane and people plan long-awaited celebrations with friends and family. While remaining…

It’s clear that customer expectations are changing, with almost 90 percent of consumers wanting more meaningful relationships with brands. This has meant marketers are moving away from traditional marketing tactics to prioritize a customer-centric approach as failing to build relationships with consumers can be a costly mistake. To do this, marketers need to understand their…

As retailers continually adjust to the global pandemic, they’re tasked with building upon what’s already been a rapid pace of digital transformation. The sudden shift in customer behavior — from in-store to digital — had businesses of all kinds adjusting their products and services to keep things going. Now, retail’s new normal endures through a…

It’s easy to feel like brand loyalty is dying. Consumers have so many ways to shop and with loads of brands competing for their attention, why not shop around? The numbers would seem to bear out that theory. Last year, research from McKinsey found that 73 percent of American shoppers have altered their brand preference…

Congratulations, you're starting an e-commerce business! Perhaps you’ve decided to set up your own storefront vs. selling through a big marketplace like Amazon.com or Walmart. Or you’re looking to build your own to complement a presence on those channels. Either way, having your own site is a solid move. It lets you own the customer…

Retail marketers may be unclenching their teeth knowing the digital industry has two more years to prepare for Google’s clampdown on third-party cookies. However, let’s not get complacent. Industry stakeholders need to make serious moves on solving identity — and for retailers, that means getting serious about their first-party data. If you don’t, you’ll end up…

As a result of the pandemic, consumers have gotten particularly stringent on what they expect from stores as well as what they consider “retail deal-breakers.” According to a report, The Resiliency of Retail in a Changed Landscape, by IDC and global cloud communications company Infobip: 25 percent of consumers will only shop at retailers that offer…

Black Friday and Cyber Monday are just around the corner. In fact, according to the National Retail Federation (NRF): 59 percent of consumers started shopping for the 2020 holidays in early November; and by late November, 85 percent of consumers had already started their 2020 holiday season shopping. Furthermore, despite the pandemic, 2020 holiday sales…

Big data is dumb. (oooh ... this guy is being provocative) OK, I’ll back off that statement a bit by saying: Big data is ambivalent. I’m picturing a giant robot with a stream of data flowing from its mouth. And below, marketers hoot and cheer and slosh around in a lake of information. But soon,…