Optimizing Retail CX through Automation
Retail is a very complex industry, which also makes it fascinating to explore. It’s possibly where the customer experience is more important than any other industry because the customer almost always has the choice to shop elsewhere. Any downturn in the experience can immediately lead to a customer choosing another company to shop with.
Retail has also faced some challenges in the past few years. The Covid pandemic closed almost all non-essential stores for a long period of time, and customer habits changed. Some customer behavior has changed forever.
During that crisis, McKinsey suggested that successful post-pandemic retail brands would be those that embrace a complete omnichannel experience. Customers should feel just as valued online as they do in-store, and they should be able to blend these experiences.
Personalizing Retail CX
Forbes recently published an article listing some of the most important trends that can be leveraged by retailers to boost customer loyalty. Several of the trends are focused on personalization. The article suggests: “Tailoring the customer journey to individual preferences, behaviors, and needs can significantly enhance the overall experience and foster brand loyalty. Customers are increasingly expecting brands to understand their individual preferences and deliver tailored experiences.”
It’s clear that modern retail brands need to offer a great online experience that reflects a positive in-store experience in addition to offering service that is personalized for each specific customer.
One way to achieve this is through the use of data analytics so the personalization can be largely automated.
This can work in a number of ways. Brands with physical stores need to plan the best way to present merchandise. A store in a small town in Texas almost certainly needs to have a different focus than a store in Vermont. If you are a national chain, then this can present a major challenge, but as this McKinsey report suggests, you can automatically analyze the data from across all your stores to plan the layout and shelving.
This Zendesk guide to improving retail CX suggests: “Today, customers expect personalized experiences that cater to their specific interests and preferences. By understanding customer preferences, purchase history, and browsing behavior, you can tailor hyper-personalized offers and recommendations that are highly relevant to each individual, increasing the likelihood of conversion.”
This is a very important point. Retailers who want to succeed today need to offer attractive products and personalize the customer experience.
Data Analysis
Using data analysis, the retailer can figure out what customers like and dislike and when they prefer to shop. This is easy for online shopping because the user logs in to their account or opens the app, but retailers that integrate the app into the in-store experience will also find that they can offer hyper-personalization to a customer who is physically inside a store.
The automated data analysis process can draw on customer browsing and purchase history in addition to external databases of information, such as large local events and the latest weather. For example, a customer who usually picks up a pack of beer on Friday when there is a local MLB game that weekend can receive an alert on their phone offering a special deal on an alternative brand to their usual—if they use it in the next hour.
Hyper-personalization allows this type of targeting. It can be completely automated and based on analysis of external data and customer spending patterns. Retailers can improve in-store merchandising to appeal to customers in different regions. By drilling down into the preferences of each individual customer, they can identify specific opportunities to generate additional revenue.
The Bottom Line
Creating a personal experience is a very important trend that will be a major part of the future of retail. One day, we will look back at “special offers” that applied to every customer as archaic. This was how retail worked in the old days!
Interested in optimizing your CX through automation? Contact us today!
