Retailers must ensure the data they collect is unified and provides the customer with an increase in personalisation, to avoid becoming irrelevant, says Jed Mole
Imagine taking a stroll down any high street or mall 10 years ago and how different that experience would be in comparison to today.
As has been extensively reported, high street retail shopping, almost without exception, has been weathering a downturn for the past decade. Retailers are consistently reporting losses year on year as bricks and mortar stores are being increasingly shunned for the easy, convenient and abundant options of online shopping – a trend that is exacerbating increasing rents and rates.
The growth of online shopping, high rents and business rates might be out of their hands, but while some companies have remained in the physical space, many have invested in online options and grown their businesses in digital estates. There is more that can be done and store brands must consider other avenues to remain attractive to customers.
Locational analytics
At Acxiom, we are pioneering a new method to cross reference locational analytics with marketing data in order to assist retailers in driving both footfall and sales on the high street. The framework, called Locational Analytics Management, works by combining location planning, digital, CRM, third party and in-store data to create the true omni-channel that global and local businesses are striving for.
There is huge opportunity for clients with physical locations to optimise their in-store experiences through insight while bridging the gap between locational (anonymous) and customer (known) data. Used correctly, it will help drive the right customers into store, help ensure that stores are selling the right products at the right price or promotion and, finally, that the right products are displayed optimally. All these elements work together to increase in-store footfall, revenue, speed of transaction and in-store dwell time. At the same time, when correctly used, cross-referencing this data drives down product wastage and in-store costs.
The Locational Analytics Management framework will help retailers connect the various signals from who each person is to what they might have done or bought before, in order to tailor their shopping experience. As well as increasing satisfaction through well-chosen offers, this model is also likely to increase customer spend while at the airport, help businesses identify what products should be sold in each store and what promotions should be offered at each location and where those products should be displayed in the store.
Data driven customer experience
I absolutely believe data can help restore some energy and increase footfall to the high street. At present, we are working with Heathrow to drive better retail spaces through targeting. It is not only Europe’s largest shopping mall, but also an airport, with parking operations and a train service, which are all separate business units. The issue lies in the way that customers see Heathrow as one entity and, when interacting with one part of the business, they expect those parts to know who they are and what they need.
The work we are doing helps Heathrow understand who is coming to the airport and when, so people can start to plan their time while there, as well being served the most relevant offers based on their previous retail history, or the visitor profile that we can provide.
We have seen marked improvement across multiple areas through the duration of this project, including: 22% increase in rewards retail spending; 19% growth in membership; 20% growth in active membership; 23% increase in spending per visit; and 34% increase in reactivated members.
In the automotive sector, the principle is similar. Auto dealerships previously were more involved in the retail journey, but now the research happens online away from dealership. People turn up later in the decision-making cycle – often at the time of purchase – and so dealerships need to understand more about their customers from data in order to create the most effective and personalised experience possible to increase the value of the sale. It is impossible to change a dealership showroom or forecourt to look different to each person, but it is possible to bring online intelligence to the dealership. Online car configuration and profiling of consumers should be used to pick up data and personalise the experiences to the individual.
The key is in capturing and correctly utilising data. Brands that already have loyalty cards must ensure they are being used for gathering customer insights and not solely to allow the customer to collect points, rewards, or whatever else the perk of the card may be. Brands need to correctly identify what customers want, which ones are high-spending and where to send targeted invitations to events or specific offers for maximum ROI.
Pockets of best practice
We see pockets of best practice on the high street where brands have succeeded in getting the value exchange right. This manifests in customers receiving an enjoyable and bespoke in-store experience, such as personalised messaging, free tailoring, invitations to preview events or being made to feel important through regular discounts or other similar benefits. It is essential that brands process their data to cultivate good relationships with their customers.
The changes that retailers must mitigate against are across the board – even coffee shops are seeing the differences. It isn’t simply a case of going into a café and buying a coffee anymore, it’s about the whole experience offered by that brand.
This is a change that is happening and will continue, though it will vary according to retail brand. What retailers must to do in order to avoid becoming irrelevant, is to ensure the data they collect is unified and provides the customer with an increase in personalisation. This will connect what has happened in store to the customer’s online world and make the transition more seamless.
Jed Mole, is Vice President of Marketing at Acxiom, which enables people-based marketing everywhere through a simple, open approach to connecting systems and data that drives seamless customer experiences and higher ROI. We believe data is the key to creating meaningful interactions at scale between consumers and the brands they love.
