Retailers Need Speedy Access to What Their Customers Are Doing Across Channels

Retailers need speedy access to what their customers are doing across multiple channels, according to research by ITC Infotech.

“To stay current, retail businesses need an integrated approach combining physical stores, mobile devices, and desktop computers to create a seamless customer experience in a multichannel environment,” according to Hardeep Singh Garewal, President of European Operations at ITC Infotech.

Customer Experience Management has become a key component in the retailer’s arsenal. Retaining and selling to existing customers is far easier than attracting new ones, according to the research. Therefore, deep, targeted customer engagement has now become a necessity.

Customer insights are the key to growth for companies around the world, Garewal said. An effective customer management process can help retailers generate customer insights and use this information for pinpointing successful campaign strategies. The research shows that a customer-centric strategy has never been more crucial for companies as it helps identify blind spots about where their target customers are purchasing, and whether their experiences are negative.

These valuable pieces of information can guide companies toward prosperous stretches. In an age of increased mobile activity, news of a negative shopping experience can become viral almost immediately and have serious consequences.

 “Large swaths of retailers’ customers are unknown to them, in some cases up to 85%,” Garewal added. “In many cases, companies have little knowledge of customer purchasing decisions. Customer Experience Management helps to provide a strategic framework that retailers can use to gain business insights from multichannel data. These insights enable companies to drive profits and customer satisfaction. Retailers need to be equipped to handle an abundance of data from overlapping sources such as mobile, social, in-store and ecommerce sites and then leverage this data for enhancing their customers’ shopping experience.”

According to the research, one of the biggest challenges that U.S. retailers will face this year is the fear of losing their customers, as well as winning new ones, in a very competitive marketplace. To address these challenges, more companies will make aggressive investments in technology to gather intelligence about the buying trends and experiences of their customers.

What’s the more, the research shows that the most exciting area of growth is expected to be the use of data analytics as companies try to understand real time consumer buying patterns and behaviors. This will enable retailers to provide a tailored shopping experience to ensure customer retention.

Garewal said as much as customers enjoy being able to access their favorite brands through multiple channels, they want a consistent experience on their mobile, online, and in-store.

“If the purchase experience is not seamless across channels, retailers will lose revenue, brand value, and loyal customers to hungry competitors,” he said.

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