1.???? Retailers continue to be committed to delivering the best experience to their customers every day . . . . but how?
- It's an exciting time for retail - in Australia and globally.?
- It's also a challenging time as retailers navigate cost of living pressures - for their customers, and the cost of their organisations.
- One thing that hasn't changed: retailers are committed to delivering the best experience for their customers every day. The HOW to do this best is the billion-dollar question.
- Special guest keynote speaker Allegra Spender (Independent Member for Wentworth and announced as Chair to Parliamentary Friends of Retail Group), referred to retail as being both a "science and an art". Striking that balance is critical. Particularly as consumer expectations continue to grow and attention spans continue to shrink: shoppers are only giving retailers milliseconds to make an impression.
- Being conscious of the science/art balance is critical and goes a long way in building that trust with your customers. Trust as a critical lever to build loyalty.
- Technology can transform the customer experience while at the same time driving organisational efficiencies.
- Data driven insights are key.
2.???? Being a good corporate citizen matters to customers.
- There was a lot of talk at the Leaders Forum about what retailers are doing in terms of social impact, sustainability, and in terms of diversity, equity and inclusion.
- It was universally agreed that doing the right thing by focusing on people, purpose and community is not only the right thing to do, it’s what customers EXPECT from retailers.?
3.???? AI/GenAI - friend or foe?
- Everyone is talking about AI/GenAI.
- In recent years, the buzz has been around Digital Transformation (still important), sustainability (also still important), and both have now been overtaken in the buzz stakes by AI. EVERYONE is talking about it.? And using it.
- AI presents a great opportunity for retailers to elevate customer experience: new opportunities to connect and to provide a seamless experience for customers as they move between channels - online and bricks and mortar experiences.
- Embrace the power of AI and tech. Many of the speakers and the panellists across the 2 days shared the same sentiment - it's here to stay. Embrace it. It's clear - AI/GenAI is a friend.?
4.???? Customers want online AND the bricks and mortar in-store experience.
- And they want the experience to be seamless.
- To use the data fuelled insights for personalisation at scale to provide a personalised experience for each customer as they move from browsing a retailer's website, engaging with socials, to walking into a retail store.
- Customers want retailers to be everywhere all at once, whenever they want to engage.
- It's all connected, and, wait for it . . . customers don't think in terms of channels.
5.???? Personalisation at scale is the secret sauce.
·?????? Using tech to help stitch together a single view of a customer, so that, as a customer "you make me feel special by knowing what I love" is a key consideration for many retailers.
- It was agreed that personalising experiences is the?unlock to superior customer experience and in doing so, customer loyalty.
·?????? The Adobe team and I were asked a range of questions at the ARA Leaders Forum, including about the cutting-edge tools that support personalisation, how to balance responsible and effective use of generative AI, and how to track or anticipate changing customer behaviours.
·?????? Here are some of Adobe’s recent research and insights that highlight the digital strategies being used by brands across the region.
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8 个月Always love hearing about a secret sauce - thanks for sharing órla Keane.