Customer Data

We live in a world where customer expectations are constantly changing. And for businesses, keeping up with customers can be a daunting task. “Connected Customer” is a relatively new term used to describe those customers that interact with brands through digital means such as websites, apps, voice assistants (e.g., Alexa), etc. An overwhelmingly large percentage…

Black Friday is synonymous with excited queues of shoppers stretching around the block, eager to get their hands on a bargain before Christmas. It has traditionally been about the excitement of the moment rather than a means for retailers to build long-term customer relationships. However, with e-commerce there's an opportunity to get to know customers…

Millennials and members of the Gen Z generation are trendsetters. They hold the keys to success not only for online retailers, but also for brick-and-mortar locations. Spending by millennials in the U.S. is expected to reach $1.4 trillion annually by 2020. That will account for 30 percent of total retail sales. Gen Zers in the…

Good Chemistry, a Target-exclusive brand and candle seller owned by parent company ILLUME, wanted to reach consumers directly and capture customer data they didn't have access to. To help build out its direct-to-consumer (D-to-C) business, Good Chemistry turned to e-commerce agency We Make Websites to launch its first site on Shopify Plus. In this exclusive interview with…

This year, Starbucks and Dunkin’ wasted no time in launching their most coveted fall flavors with their earliest debuts ever. While introducing fall flavors in the midst of summer, like these two did, may seem premature, these brands know what their customers want, and they're ready to deliver. According to Nielsen, in the past year…

Marketers may not consider customer data platforms (CDPs) as being key drivers of the return on investment of holiday season campaigns, but that’s exactly the role CDPs can and do play in an increasingly complex omnichannel retail landscape. Because CDPs provide a cleansed, de-duped and unified view of every customer profile, these platforms are the…

The proliferation of everything from social media apps to streaming services means one thing: data is everywhere. When used correctly, data can be extremely beneficial. Increased access to consumer insights has made it easier for marketers to analyze customer preferences and deliver engaging, hyperpersonalized digital experiences. However, this creates privacy risks for individuals and brands…

In this episode of Retail Right Now, Total Retail's Kristina Stidham and Ashley Chiaradio discuss three ways that data privacy will impact the retail industry’s future, as published in a recent article titled “How Data Privacy Will Reshape the Future of E-Commerce” by contributing author Chemi Katz. The first thing that will be impacted is…

What if retailers could make real-time recommendations to customers based on current events happening inside and outside their online or physical storefront? Or resell returned merchandise even before it arrives back at the warehouse? In the age of “fast data,” retailers can leverage real-time data to better understand what customers want and need today, as…

Digital disruption is built into e-commerce’s business model. However, amid mounting scrutiny of big data, which has fueled the industry’s rapid growth, are the disruptors about to be disrupted themselves? With the tech industry battered by a series of privacy-related scandals — from Cambridge Analytica to the high-profile data breaches in recent months, such as…