To survive post-COVID, marketers must ensure their online customer experience is up to scratch

A drawing depicting online customer experience.

Over the past 18 months, the move to online retail has gathered remarkable pace. Our data from clients across the beauty, fashion, home & garden, and food & drink sectors shows that Q2 online retail sales were up a staggering 64% compared to the same time period in 2019. While easing lockdown restrictions may have buoyed in-store retail for the moment, these sectors are tracking just 2% down from where we’d typically expect them to be at this time of year.

But the story...

23 November 2021 | Customer Experience

Julie Meredith, Dash Hudson: Why video and authentic content are vital

Julie Meredith, VP of marketing at Dash Hudson.

Could you tell us a little bit about Dash Hudson and what makes it unique?

Dash Hudson was founded back in 2015 with the mission of helping the world's most important companies deepen engagement with their consumers through photos and videos. Our goal is to close the loop on all key visual marketing channels for brands, by focusing on the performance of photos and videos. Our software helps brands to choose the right image, inspire their audience to action, and measure the results...

22 November 2021 | CMO

Just 6% of consumers believe they are swayed by influencers

Artwork depciting a social media influencer.

Despite influencer marketing continuing to dominate across both online and increasingly offline channels, only 6% of consumers globally are swayed by influencers or celebrity endorsements when choosing which retail channel to use when making a purchase.

This is according the latest OpSec Security Consumer Barometer trust index, which found that even among 18- to 24-year-olds, the so-called ‘digital generation,’ influencers only make their mark on 12% of consumers, with the...

22 November 2021 | Influencer Marketing

NICE and Google Cloud partner on digital conversations and self-service experiences

self service checkouts

NICE, a provider of enterprise software solutions, has collaborated with Google Cloud to address the growing demand for more effective and automated customer self-service systems that integrate with traditional contact centres. 

NICE is integrating its cloud-based, AI-powered CXone customer experience platform – used by 85 of the Fortune 100 companies – with Google Cloud Contact Center Artificial Intelligence (CCAI), a group of APIs that bring the best of Google AI to contact...

18 November 2021 | Automation

How M&S increased engagement and achieved listings consistency with 1,063 stores

Marks & Spencer's St Helens store.

Marks & Spencer (M&S) is a leading British retailer bringing quality, great value food, clothing and homeware to millions of customers across the UK and around the world, from everyday style on M&S.com, to the very best prawn sandwiches at convenience M&S Simply Food locations.

The problem:

M&S continued to serve its customers throughout lockdown and strived to find new ways to help them shop with confidence and find the information they need online...

18 November 2021 | Automation

34% of CMOs do not trust their marketing data

A park bench with the word 'trsut' engraved on its side.

More than a third of CMOs do not trust their marketing data, according to research from marketing data analytics platform, Adverity. 

Additionally, there is a growing divide between data analysts and marketers when it comes to trusting their data. 

Almost a third of marketers don’t trust the data they are given to inform campaigns. A number that rises to 41% among their data analyst colleagues - posing a new challenge for the C-suite charged with driving...

15 November 2021 | Big Data

How Perrys Motor Sales made 559 sales with £5,000 outlay

A Perrys car showroom.

As an award-winning national dealer group – that offers new and used vehicles from brands including Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen and Ford – Perrys Motor Sales engages with hundreds of customers on a daily basis to find a car that’s tailored to their needs. With more than 5,000 employees, Perrys operates from over 50 showrooms nationwide.

The problem:

Perrys’ internal processes were struggling to keep up with its ongoing growth. Its marketing department was still...

10 November 2021 | Case Studies

More than half of UK marketers expect 10-25% revenue drop from cookie deprecation

A plate of chocolate chip cookies.

Two fifths (42%) of marketers say the loss of cookies will decrease revenue and over half of these (57%) expect a drop of 10-25%. 

This is according to a study by data management firm Lotame. The company surveyed 200 UK senior decision-makers in digital media and marketing to evaluate identity solution adoption amid the flurry of data privacy changes reshaping the open web. Respondents were polled in September 2021, after Google revealed another delay to deprecating...

9 November 2021 | Best Practice

B2C e-commerce leaders are fast-tracking social commerce initiatives

Spocial media apps on a smartphone

Social commerce has become a strategic imperative for brands seeking to expand revenue and capture new audiences as competition for next-gen consumers grows at a staggering rate across the retail and direct-to-consumer markets. 

This is according to a study commissioned by customer experience platform Emplifi, which uncovered insights from more than 220 global enterprise ecommerce leaders on social commerce strategies, early trials, and planned areas of...

8 November 2021 | Commerce

Black Friday: 70% of retail marketers are concerned about technical issues

Someone using a smartphone next to a Black Friday sale poster.

As many as 70% of retail marketers are worried that their technology will hinder their success this sales season, despite the majority of them having invested in better digital shopping solutions following Covid-19.

This is according to the latest findings from digital experience analytics company, Contentsquare. The company’s latest Sale Season Report surveyed 300 retail marketers across the UK, US and France about their plans, concerns and the lasting impact of the upcoming...

3 November 2021 | E-Commerce