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1、Commerce in the conversational ageReal discussions at the pace of the digital consumerAn ebook produced by InternetRetailing in association with Imagino|January |January 202402|IMAGINO WHITEPAPER|COMMERCE IN THE CONVERSATIONAL AGETodays retail reality is that consumers want a personal relationship w

2、ith retailers akin to the relationships they have with their friends,families and colleagues.They are happy to be marketed to,but it has to speak to them and it has to be at the time of their choosing and the channel of their choice in that moment.It has to be conversational.This is a tall order for

3、 retailers,but not an impossible one.Awash with data and replete with technology,to meet these demands retailers need to be able to access and action this data rapidly and with great agility right across their businesses.Excellent customer experience is now a facet of the whole company:marketing to

4、sales to fulfilment to customer service and back to marketing.All these teams need access to the data,to the tools to leverage that data and the results of each groups use of that data to drive the business forward.This marks a shift in how retail businesses operate.Everyone across the business need

5、s to be the embodiment of the brand promise,not just putting out spam,platitudes,nor lipstick on a pig.Modern customer engagement in the conversational age is no longer of cranking the handle harder and faster,or just lubricating a broken machine,it is time for a new,approach appropriate to the way

6、consumers shop.This white paper will show you just how to do that.Digging into RetailX bespoke consumer data,we outline how consumer habits have changed and what they now expect from retailers and brands.More presciently,we take a look at how retailers and brands can meet these challenges through be

7、tter understanding of the data they collect,how they store and process it,the technology needed to do this and what else they need to adapt and evolve their engagement strategies at pace.Speed is of the essence in modern retail and brand marketing at we aim to show you how personalisation works at i

8、ts best and then outline how you too can get to and even go beyond these outliers.Digging into a ground breaking campaign from Diptyque Paris,this white paper offers aninsight into what you need to deliver and how todeliver it.So,if you are looking to make that jumpto your first Tier1 system,or are

9、an establishedcompany who may feel you are being held backby last decades optimal solution that used to beyour competitive advantage,but is now a drag onprogress,read onIntroduction:Evolving engagement at pace Contents03|Partner perspective05|Commerce in the conversational age08|The changing consume

10、r12|The consumer experience17|Retailer capabilities today21|Learning from the best24|CASE STUDY Diptyque Paris25|Learnings and |January 2024IMAGINO WHITEPAPER|COMMERCE IN THE CONVERSATIONAL AGE|03As the commerce marketplace stirs with more activity,our grasp on shopper behaviour evolves too.Unravell

11、ing the complexities of modern shopping habits is becoming the tale as old as time.With the explosion of more channels,the consumer engagement landscape becomes a web of information that is available for retailers to use and better the experience of their customers.Consumer loyalty is like a delicat

12、e dance,where true authenticity and transparency take centre stage.The preference for retailers who can forge genuine connections,that extend beyond the average transaction is growing.Todays consumers desire more than seamless transactions;they seek personalised interactions catering to distinct pre

13、ferences,that reflect an awareness of their evolving interests.The importance of demonstrating agility,embracing emerging trends and environmental consciousness should be in the hands of the marketer.Individual marketers who adapt to the consumers convenience are most likely using a platform that al

14、lows them to cater to consumer needs at speed.With each click consumers leave a trail of data that creates a thorough overview of their habits,likes and needs.Customer data holds all the answers,the difference between a dynamic marketer and a static marketer or retail brand is the way they effective

15、ly use their data.Picture the retailer as Goldilocks,on a quest for the ideal platformone that responds with just the right speed and agility,avoiding excess baggage.A dependable companion in the retail journey is what they seek,an ally that adapts seamlessly to the needs of their customers.Now,delv

16、ing into the crucial question of what our role is in the commercial age:at this point,a silent force emerges,seamlessly linking consumer insights with strategic decision-making.This unseen engine propels personalised and authentic engagements,fostering a profound comprehension of consumer behaviour.

17、A marketing tool that not only guarantees operational efficiency but also strategically places retailers to navigate the ever-shifting demands of the market.Simplify the complexities of the consumer landscape with a technology that is revenue-first and will provide value to your brand,teams,and cust

18、omers.Igniting the unseen engine of retail imagino is a revenue-first,Composable Experience Platform.We are disrupting the status quo.As a Composable Experience Platform,we give brands and marketers the agility and flexibility to weave the tools and services they need into one powerful hub to delive

19、r marketing excellence.imagino is the thread that ties together the whole marketing infrastructure.Our products integrate seamlessly with each other,of course!But they also integrate with the rest of your marketing stack,to maximise the value of your existing investment.We offer a host of market-lea

20、ding products,including a Customer Data Platform and Campaign Management tool all uniquely designed to provide equal value and benefit to both Marketing and IT |January 202404|IMAGINO WHITEPAPER|COMMERCE IN THE CONVERSATIONAL AGEB&B Hotels implemented imaginos Customer Data Platform across their fou

21、r major geographies in just 16 weeks.“The ROI was quickly achieved,with 9 for every email sent.This result even exceeded the target we had set for ourselves.“imagino is the Revenue-First,Composable Experience PlatformScan for more!For marketers who think big,but need to act |January 2024IMAGINO WHIT

22、EPAPER|COMMERCE IN THE CONVERSATIONAL AGE|05Customers have changed,retail has changed,marketing has changed so how can you offer shoppers the interactions they want when they want them?All consumers today expect to be sold to.They also happily give their data to brands and retailers knowing that it

23、will be used to sell to them.What is different to old days of marketing is that these consumer expect that selling to be ultra-personalised,relevant and transparent.Consumers share who they are,what kind of consumers they are,what they want and like,where they are and how they want to be contacted.I

24、n return,they expect offers and promotions that speak to them and that will actually add value to their lives in that moment.They want to feel that they matter to the brand.A generic email,for example,simply tells them they are one of many.Instead,what they really need is to feel like they are in a

25、one-to-one relationship with you the retailer or brand.This marks a shift in how consumer view marketing.It is now a trade between consumer and brand:they will share their data some might say overshare but in return they want the right kind of interaction,the right kinds of promotions and messaging

26、and interaction that is relevant to their lives more so than ever.This shift in how consumer view marketing is just part of a much wider change in how consumer shopping habits have moved over the past few years.The pandemic and associated lockdowns naturally caused a fire-break in how retail operate

27、d,but it is in the years since everything went back to normal where the real shifts have taken place.Consumers have become much more hybrid in their approach to shopping,with the need for retailers to be truly omni-channel now more important than ever.Journeys start on one platform and unpredictably

28、 meander around from websites,to apps,to marketplaces,to stores,to social media.How to converse with these consumers while they wend their way from search and discovery to purchase and perhaps most importantly,create a relationship beyond that initial purchase is now key to how retailers need to vie

29、w their interactions with their customers and prospects.Commerce in the conversational age |January 202406|IMAGINO WHITEPAPER|COMMERCE IN THE CONVERSATIONAL AGEThe demand for authenticity and transparencyIn todays hyperconnected digital world,consumers are bombarded with cacophony of marketing messa

30、ges from retailers and brands.This has become background noise.As ever more cynical consumers turn away from believing traditional marketing messages and as marketing shifts towards a conversational relationship brands need to offer a more genuine view of what they do:they need to be transparent and

31、 authentic.Authenticity in marketing hinges on conveying a brands true essence,values and mission without embellishment.Authentic marketing must be honest,reflecting the reality of products or services offered.It must feature real stories,genuine testimonials and unfiltered content that resonates.Tr

32、ansparency is key;consumers appreciate openness about the brands processes,origins,and any potential shortcomings.Authenticity also involves consistency,ensuring that the brand message aligns across all platforms and interactions.Ultimately,authentic marketing materials build trust by being truthful

33、,relatable,and reflective of the brands authentic identity.When retailers are authentic,they showcase their values,beliefs and the real people behind the brand.This transparency engenders trust,a cornerstone of any lasting consumer-retailer relationship.Such openness also fosters emotional connectio

34、ns.Consumers want to feel a genuine bond with the brands they choose.When retailers are authentic in their marketing efforts,they create narratives that consumers can relate to on a personal level.These narratives evoke emotions,making the brand more memorable and meaningful.The key is that authenti

35、city aligns with the values of the modern consumer.Many shoppers today prioritise ethical and sustainable practices.They want to support businesses that are genuine in their commitment to social and environmental causes.Authentic marketing allows retailers to showcase their responsible practices,att

36、racting socially conscious consumers who seek to make informed,ethical |January 2024IMAGINO WHITEPAPER|COMMERCE IN THE CONVERSATIONAL AGE|07Data access and actionOf course,data is the key to understanding not just what consumers want to buy,but where they are at any given point.All retailers get thi

37、s and have spent many years inspissating data from all sources to attempt to fully understand their customers.As time as gone by and data science has matured,so they have refined the data they collect and how it can be used.Most have vast arrays of data spread across their businesses and,in theory,c

38、ould create a very granular view of their customers from this.However,there is a gulf between data availability,accessibility and actionability.All retailers have data availability.They have an ecommerce system,point-of-sale(POS),CRM and customer support all collecting and storing data,but doing so

39、in silos.A large retailer is likely to have at least 10 such silos of data,more if they are also looking at using emerging contact channels such as SMS,WhatsApp and social media messaging.International retailers can have even more silos of data,with this collection replicated region by region.While

40、we have been talking about having a single view of the customer for 15 to 20 years,the data we need to do this has become the very thing blocking it from happening.The problem isnt the data availability it is the access.Many companies have teams that can pull together all of this disparate data and

41、create a single view of sorts of the customer,however,this view and ability to access and manipulate the data isnt available to all in the company that need it.Often,those that need to be agile with the data and do new things with it,cant.They need to go through someone else who specialises in the d

42、ata.This slows things down just when they need to be super agile.The data is available but just how accessible is it certainly in the timeframe needed by many modern marketers looking to be agile.While many CRM systems do have access to the data,there are still roadblocks to making this something tr

43、uly actionable.The need to understand a specific customers habits and needs is oftentimes beyond the capabilities of most SQL databases and CRM systems.Take for example someone who is looking to buy a new fitness tracking watch.They may well have bought two from you in the past few years and are loo

44、king to buy another,but if it is going to take two weeks to be delivered they may well go elsewhere to buy if they are desperate to replace the one they have.If you can know that they are three miles from a store that sells them,you can tell them that they can collect it today if they order now.This

45、 is granular actionability of data and it is this that has become the true sticking point for many retailers today.They have the data,they can use the data at scale,but when it comes to truly personal experience they cant action it.Never say neverWell,that isnt strictly true.There are a growing numb

46、er of data platforms that do allow this sort of interrogation,but they are large,expensive and have to deliver a wholesale platform shift from the retailer to make it work.Instead,many retailers especially those looking to leap from Tier 2 to Tier 1 need a light and fast way to access and action the

47、 vast data lakes they have today,without having to replatform or invest hugely in tech and training.And this has given rise to data platforms that offer all of this and more.With customer habits and drivers from shopping changing rapidly and with the economic backdrop making every interaction more v

48、ital than ever,this understanding of what customers want and how to leverage the data to hand to make that happen is now more vital than ever and that is why you are reading this white |January 202408|IMAGINO WHITEPAPER|COMMERCE IN THE CONVERSATIONAL AGEShopper habits are constantly evolving.So,what

49、 are they currently into and why and what does that mean for retailers?Consumers constantly change.In 1900 it was unheard of for a consumer to go into a shop and help themselves.A hundred years later the idea of a shopping experience,where the goods were hidden behind the counter,would be unthinkabl

50、e.This change in shopping habits has accelerated over the past 20 years as ecommerce,mobile and social media have all rapidly shifted peoples perception of everything(although,being served 1900s-style in a shop would be pretty instagramable,it has to be said).So,what are consumers like today?Conveni

51、ence is kingAccording to research by RetailX,todays shoppers are a rather cross-and omni-channel bunch,with differences across the age ranges slowly starting to narrow.To set the scene,36%of online consumers globally today live in a city of some kind,with just 10%living in villages of fewer than 10,

52、000 inhabitants.This is reasonably consistent across the generations,with large cities playing host to slightly more millennials and Gen Zs than other places.The overarching driver for online shopping worldwide among these consumers is convenience,with direct delivery to home the key reason for ecom

53、merce for 46%of shoppers,while saving time(40%),less effort(22%)and round the clock shopping(20%)all rank highly.Price(39%)is the second most important single factor in choosing online.This is echoed across age groups,with time saving key for 41%of Gen Zs and millennials,and 37%of Gen X.Older shoppe

54、rs boomers and the over-78s are also driven by convenience,but for them it is home delivery that comes out on top with 50%of boomers and 47%of over 78s.Across the generations,online research now plays a key role in major purchases,with 60%of global consumers using the internet to check things out in

55、itially or before committing to buy.This is consistent these days across all age groups,with boomers far more likely to research online first and even those aged over 78 more likely to research online than Gen Z pointing to the internet now seen as established tech across all generations.Interesting

56、ly,online reviews are key to all age groups,particularly millennials.The consumer Who are they,how do they shop and how is that changing?Based on 3294 individuals worldwide(aged 16-94),Aug 2023.Question:Which answer best describes the community you live in?A large city(more than two million inhabita

57、nts)38%27%25%10%A small city(one hundred thousand to two million inhabitants)A town(ten thousand to one hundred thousand inhabitants)A village or smaller(fewer than ten thousand inhabitants)|January 2024IMAGINO WHITEPAPER|COMMERCE IN THE CONVERSATIONAL AGE|09Based on 3064 online shoppers worldwide(a

58、ged 16-94),Aug 2023.Question:What are the top three(3)reasons you would choose to buy a product online instead of in-store?Direct delivery to my homeSaving timeCheaper pricesGood offersGreater product rangeLess effortAvailable around the clockBrowsing product reviews prior to purchaseMore possibilit

59、ies to compareMore product informationSafety risks of going to a physical storeHealth risks of being around peopleOther46%39%36%34%27%22%20%18%18%15%6%4%1%When I plan a major purchase,I always do some research on the internet firstCustomer reviews on the internet are very helpfulI prefer to use my p

60、hone to research products when making major new purchasesI want to see an item before I buy itI miss the shopping experience when I shop onlineWhen I order an item,I prefer express shippingI usually make and manage regular orders directly via my phoneWhen I buy an item,I want to hold it in my hand t

61、he same daySometimes I deliberately order more items than I want to keepNone of the above60%60%45%32%18%31%31%32%19%14%1%|January 202410|IMAGINO WHITEPAPER|COMMERCE IN THE CONVERSATIONAL AGERich use of devicesSmartphones are increasingly the device of choice for shoppers off all generations,being th

62、e tool through which shoppers access ecommerce all or most of the time.Laptops,while popular,pale in comparison.This picture is seen across generations,however Gen Z and millennials,covering ages 11 to 27,are unsurprisingly the generations wedded to phones.80%of those aged over 78 never use a smartp

63、hone for shopping,preferring in 20%of cases to use a desktop computer.Smart TVs and smart speakers still remain largely unused by all,with more than 90%of all age groups never using either to shop for now.However,the picture around devices and channels isnt straightforward.Looking at device data as

64、a whole,there is still a very healthy mix of device use among consumers,again pointing to how shoppers globally are multi-channel,even when it comes to just their digital activities.This increasing use of mobile is also having an impact on how they pay.While debit and credit cards still dominate wit

65、h 82%,mobile wallets and services such as Apple Pay,Google Pay and PayPal which themselves are essentially mobile wallets together account for more than 90%of payments.Interestingly,instalment payments Buy now,pay later(BNPL)services have remained relatively static over the past few years,accounting

66、 for around a fifth of ecommerce payments.What are they buying?What consumers are buying online covers a wide range of goods.Grocery is by far the most common,with 83%of global consumers having shopped online for food at least once in the past year.Clothing has become the second most popular online

67、sector,with more than 70%of consumers buying apparel or footwear online in the past year.While many other verticals show much lower levels of online purchasing,what the data shows us is that there is an enormous long-tail of online shopping with small percentages of shoppers buying pretty much anyth

68、ing and everything online at some point.Considering how many consumers there are globally,even a 1%level of online shopping is a significant number of shoppers and hence most sectors and segments worldwide have a healthy ecommerce market.Looking at the sectors that are being shopped by consumers,mos

69、t are looking likely to increase or maintain their current levels of spending,with those sectors that are already popular grocery,clothing likely to see slight increases in the coming year.Only around a fifth of shoppers believe that their spending in any of these categories will decrease.This impli

70、es that ecommerce is only set to grow which means that retailers need to be ready to make their online experience better still to tap into what these shoppers want with many looking now for a more personal and personalised experience,which,ironically,harks back to the 1900s.27%24%34%12%14%15%18%31%3

71、1%10%9%47%27%73%72%42%47%16%Desktop computerLaptopcomputerSmart TVSmart speakerSmartphone T|January 2024IMAGINO WHITEPAPER|COMMERCE IN THE CONVERSATIONAL AGE|1182%51%30%26%19%6%1%0.2%83%73%59%52%46%43%38%35%34%30%30%27%27%18%17%15%2%|January 202412|IMAGINO WHITEPAPER|COMMERCE IN THE CONVERSATIONAL A

72、GEHow do consumers view the platforms on which they shop and how hungry are they for new experiences?Consumers have embraced ecommerce with alacrity and it has shaped the fabric of retail reality to such as degree that ecommerce is no longer really a thing:it is all just retail.However,with everyone

73、 at it,retailers now have to find new ways often with great speed and agility to make themselves stand out from the crowd and garner that sale and win that customer who hopefully will turn into a life-long spender,rather than just some passing trade.How retailers attract consumers to their sites has

74、 become a vital part of this differentiation and data shows that,while some old favourites still play a key role in brand awareness,the way consumers want to interact with brands has shifted.Social skillsWhile TV advertising still leads the way globally in raising product awareness championed by 37%

75、of the worlds consumer population its once-dominant position has been eroded to the point where it now stands neck and neck with social media.This is perhaps the most indicative statistic for how consumers have changed.TV was once the place the whole family gathered for news,entertainment and more.T

76、his cemented its role as the place for marketing to reach the right audience,tailored to those that typically watch specific programming.It was as personal as marketing could get between 1950 and 2010.However,no one watches TV like that anymore.The audience is now fragmented into a thousand niches.M

77、arketing must follow suit,finding these consumers at a now micro-personal level to succeed in the long-tail world.Hence why social media which brings mass market reach to individuals based on their likes and habits has become the main way to discover new products.Understandably,social influencers an

78、d social marketing now carry a disproportionate burden of reach,with social media influential to some degree among nearly two thirds of consumers.For this reason we are seeing growth in shopper using social sites to actually purchase goods,with social commerce now being used by around 37%of the worl

79、ds shoppers.This is currently most prevalent on Facebook(62%),but Instagram owned by Facebook owner Meta isnt far behind(56%),while TikTok,which has rolled out its own marketplace TikTok Shop in China and the UK,with plans to open up the US is seeing 30%of shoppers currently buying from it.As these

80、apps up the ante in becoming actual shopping platforms,their roll in ecommerce is going to increase.With shoppers driven to ecommerce primarily by convenience,these sites which will morph into super apps,a one stop-shop for life admin could well be the dominant force in ecommerce in the coming month

81、s and years.On brand However,while social is a key way to attract and influence,brand sites particularly ones that offer independent reviews and those that offer discounts have a strong influence.Independent brand comparison sites exert almost as much influence on shoppers as social media,with brand

82、s own sites offering a similar level of appeal.While paid influencers have a large impact on what consumers think and ultimately do,it is sobering to see that more impactful are coupons The consumer experience what do they want and why?|January 2024IMAGINO WHITEPAPER|COMMERCE IN THE CONVERSATIONAL A

83、GE|13FacebookInstagramYouTubeTiktokTwitterSnapchatPinterestOther62%56%34%30%15%14%11%5%Independent brand comparison websites suggestionsProduct or style experts adviceSocial media influencersSocial media popularityThe retailer or brands own recommendationTV advertisingSocial media postsGeneral coupo

84、ns and discountsPersonalised coupons and discountsMobile app notificationsPrinted adverts(magazines,billboards,etc)Email newslettersPaid influencers on social mediaNone of the above38%37%34%30%24%19%19%18%17%|January 202414|IMAGINO WHITEPAPER|COMMERCE IN THE CONVERSATIONAL AGEand offers whether pers

85、onalised,or generically delivered.This points to the power that brands themselves have to reach consumers and how,when it comes down to it,what shoppers really love is a bargain.This is retail craft 101,but in the technological age it is easy to lose sight of how these old tropes are still the most

86、effective.All the digital world adds is a means of delivering these offers and,as this white paper is here to attest,a means to deliver ultra-personalised offers to the right person at the right moment in the right channel.Are you experience-led?Both more effective brand communication and social com

87、merce feed the modern consumers need for experiences.While they may not realise that a coupon is nothing new,the delivery of that coupon and the experience around how they engage with it is.The same is true of social media:it is essentially the same as TV advertising of yesteryear,with a personal an

88、d interactive spin.But this isnt to belittle experience shoppers want everything they do to be an experience and so understand what that means to them is paramount in developing marketing strategies and conversational commerce plans.According to data,the most sought-after experience is to discover a

89、nd then buy products within social media platforms among 23%of global shoppers clearly driving the surge in social commerce and slow,ineffable rise of super apps.However,live shopping from TV-style programming on social sites or other merchant sites is also pushing sales among 18%of shoppers.Add in

90、that around 16%are looking at how AI-based chatbots can be interacted with for shopping experiences and the move towards using tech to deliver experiences comes into sharper focus.Augmented reality(AR)is also attracting attention,as is voice shopping,where the consumer uses voice commands to essenti

91、ally shop online is also starting to take shape.Indeed,these technologies are the ones that consumers see as playing a more prominent role in their future shopping plans with virtual AI-based assistants and AR overlays supplanting social media influencers as the experiences they want to see in the c

92、oming years.What is interesting here is that these technologies along with the metaverse are attracting small but significant levels of interest already,and that many more people want to see more of them in the future,possibly once the tech has bedded in and works seamlessly.What is clear is that sh

93、oppers want new ways to interact with brands and retailers(and for those brands and retailers to interact back).Retailers would be foolish to not start to look at how these interaction platforms can be leveraged against the backdrop of the ecommerce and CRM processes and systems that they currently

94、have in place.It all leads to loyaltyThe name of the game is to sell more to more consumers,but it is also to make those shoppers more loyal.Right now,that is driven by price,discounts,delivery and good old familiarity.However,as the technologies and new platforms bed in and customer interaction wit

95、h brands becomes more realistic and individual,so these factors seen as next will become what actually drives loyalty.Sure price,discounts and delivery are always going to be key,but familiarity is what will keep people coming back and that is what is being driven by personalisation and what is crea

96、ting the conversational commerce age.Familiarity will move beyond just being a well-known brand name towards being something more akin to an interpersonal relationship between retailer and customer;one that is run by AI chatbots so that people actually talk to a person that is that brand.This is the

97、 ultimate goal in personalised marketing and one that is both wanted by consumers and,technologically,within reach of retailers.All thats now needed is the harness the |January 2024IMAGINO WHITEPAPER|COMMERCE IN THE CONVERSATIONAL AGE|15Social commerce,where completing purchases within social media

98、platformsLive shopping,for example,where you purchase a product while watching a live feed from a brand or influencerA virtual shopping assistant,where a chatbot to help you choose a productVoice shopping,where you gave voice commands to shop onlineMetaverse shoppingNone of the aboveAugmented realit

99、y,where a program with access to your camera shows you how clothes or makeup would look on you,or how a sofa would look in your living room23%18%17%14%11%7%52%A virtual shopping assistant,where a chatbot to help you choose a productAugmented reality,where a program with access to your camera shows y

100、ou how clothes or makeup would look on you,or how a sofa would look in your living roomLive shopping,for example,where you purchase a product while watching a live feed from a brand or influencerSocial commerce,where completing purchases within social media platformsVoice shopping,where you gave voi

101、ce commands to shop onlineMetaverse shoppingNone of the above31%29%26%24%19%14%32%PriceFamiliarityCustomer service is goodDelivery is convenientTheir discounts and promotionsI already have an account thereOther reasonI dont know74%57%54%53%47%34%3%1%|January 202416|IMAGINO WHITEPAPER|COMMERCE IN THE

102、 CONVERSATIONAL AGESustainability and ethicsPart of the drive to offer an open and authentic voice lies in the growing consumer awareness of sustainability and the need to protect the environment.This,in turn,is part of a wider ethical view of retail among shoppers,which shapes their shopping habits

103、 and which is driving retailers to reassess how they market to and interact with consumers.According to RetailX data,some three quarters(74%)of consumers want retailers to be ecologically minded and kind to the environment,with as many as 57%willing to pay extra for products that were manufactured a

104、nd transported in an ethical and environmentally friendly way.In fact,36%of the worlds shoppers buy ethical products some of the time,while as many as 10%do so all of the time.Similar proportions(29%sometimes and 9%always)also admit to changing their purchase behaviour based on sustainability inform

105、ation that they are given.This change manifests itself in shoppers recycling packaging material(23%sometimes,9%always),sell or return for resale unwanted items(20%sometimes,8%always)and sees a quarter(23%)sometimes renting items rather than buying them.There is also a groundswell of purchasing secon

106、d hand items,with a third(33%)of global consumers regularly buying second hand clothing,a quarter(24%)second hand books and 11%second hand sports equipment.With consumers also looking to buy from companies that offer carbon neutral production,ethical treatment of workers and ecologically friendly de

107、livery the mood music around ethics has shifted to front and centre.Understanding these needs and working that into not only operations,but also marketing messaging and engagement is increasingly key to creating and delivering the kinds of experiences that consumers today demand.S|January 2024IMAGIN

108、O WHITEPAPER|COMMERCE IN THE CONVERSATIONAL AGE|17What is available to help retailers meet these changing consumer habits and where are the pain points?Consumer demand for personalisation,authenticity and transparency from retailers is having a profound impact on how those retailers and brands now c

109、ommunicate with consumers.Personalisation is now a must,but the world of mass-personalisation is coming to an end.Todays marcomms needs to be personal in its purest sense,tailored to that specific customer with the messages they want to hear.And this has to be delivered in an authentic way,pulling i

110、n testimonials and endorsements from like-minded people.This is a tall order.While you may have the data and content to fulfil this,pulling it all together is an increasing challenge as the need for granular,authentic content and messaging alongside this data is immense.There are of course a range o

111、f tools to do this,ranging across adtech,CRM and email marketing platforms,all knitted together with customer data platforms.But this can make for a complex stew of platforms,tech and data that is hard to navigate.So,what are retailers doing at the moment to meet these challenges,what technology is

112、available and how are they using it?Todays tools of the tradeNaturally,there is technology to do this,including:Martech platforms Martech platforms bring together a range of tech to assist marketers in planning,executing and measuring marketing efforts,be that in creating campaigns to optimising the

113、m and creating the right messaging and experience.Typically,martech brings together email marketing software to automate email campaigns,then track open rates,click-through rates and conversion rates providing insights for further refining strategies social media management tools to do the same with

114、 social campaigns,and content management systems(CMS)that help create,manage and optimise digital content.Martech platforms also incorporate a range of data analytics and business intelligence tools to better understand behaviour,preferences and results,as well as marketing automation software to st

115、reamline marketing tasks.Adtech platforms Similarly,adtech platforms leverage data and technology to make advertising efforts more efficient,personalised and impactful.This is done through combining sophisticated algorithms and data analysis to target specific audience segments based on demographics

116、,behaviour,interests and other criteria.This ensures that ads are shown to the right people,increasing the likelihood of conversions.Adtech also enables programmatic buying,where ad placements are bought and optimised automatically in real-time.This process enhances efficiency and accuracy in reachi

117、ng the target audience,saving time and resources.Adtech tools often also come with features for testing and optimising ad content and allow for the tracking of how different formats,content,creative,timing and personalisation works.They are also increasingly essential for cross-channel campaign crea

118、tion,management and monitoring and play a vital role in personalisation.CRM systems Customer relationship management(CRM)is the beating heart of any customer facing business and brings together customer data analysis with martech and adtech tools to create marketing and advertising that speaks,in th

119、eory,to the individual customer Retailer capabilities |January 202418|IMAGINO WHITEPAPER|COMMERCE IN THE CONVERSATIONAL AGEpersonally and relevantly.CRM also plays a key role in analysing how marketing and advertising campaigns play out,which in turn feeds the CRM system to help refine marketing and

120、 messaging going forward.CDPs Customer data platforms(CDPs)aggregate and manage customer data from across websites,apps,social media,email,CRM and customer services to create a unified,centralised customer profile.The platform then processes and organises this data,with the aim of creating a compreh

121、ensive view of individual customers across multiple touchpoints and devices.This provides retailers with a 360-degree view of their customers and is key to creating personalised marketing and interactions.It also helps retailers look for trends in behaviour that can be used for forward planning not

122、just of marketing,but also of what to stock,sell and distribute.IRS214-Global1000-1-v1Advertising platformsThe number of Top1000 retailers using a platformThe Global Elite Top1000Source:BuiltWith,RetailXRetailX 202312056484233PubmaticMagniteThe Trade DeskGoogle AdsenseCriteoIRS214-Global1000-4-v4Pop

123、ular customer analytics platformsThe number of Top1000 retailers using a productThe Global Elite Top1000Source:BuiltWith,RetailXRetailX 20234209545Content SquareAdobe AnalyticsGoogle A|January 2024IMAGINO WHITEPAPER|COMMERCE IN THE CONVERSATIONAL AGE|19How retailers are using techAcross the RetailX

124、Global Top 1000 retailers,the vast majority use some form of customer data analytics platform,with Google Analytics by far the most popular,used by 420 of the Top1000.A further 140 use either Adobe or Content Square although many of the others will also be using an array of other less well known pro

125、ducts.Use of advertising platforms(adtech)and customer data platforms(CDPs)is less prevalent,with 305 of the Top 1000 using one of the five most popular ad platforms and 289 using one of the top four most popular CDPs.Again,there will be a longtail of retailers using other adtech and CDP platforms o

126、r proprietary or aging systems,but the RetailX data shows that while tech is a key part of the process,it isnt as uniform as one might expect in the era of hyper-personalised marketing and engagement.The growing role of AIThe integration of Artificial Intelligence(AI)in martech,adtech and CRM system

127、s is greatly enhancing the way in which businesses interact with customers,optimising marketing strategies and acting as the glue that holds together the immense and growing amount of data and learnings gleaned as businesses refine their marketing activities.In martech,AI algorithms are used for pre

128、dictive analytics,allowing marketers to anticipate customer needs and behaviours.This insight enables personalised marketing campaigns,increasing customer engagement and conversion rates.AI-powered chatbots and virtual assistants enhance customer service,providing instant responses and resolving iss

129、ues efficiently,thereby improving customer satisfaction.In CRM systems,AI automates routine tasks,such as data entry and lead management,freeing up human resources for more strategic activities.AI algorithms analyse customer interactions,helping understand sentiment and initiating appropriate respon

130、ses.Moreover,AI-driven analytics generate actionable insights from customer data,aiding in targeted marketing,product recommendations,and customer segmentation.To be effective,all these systems underpinned by AI need to work in harmony with one another,delivering what is increasingly being seen as c

131、ommercetech,which allies marketing,advertising,social reach,UGC and content aggregation and CRM and customer data to deliver that single,personal,authentic and timely messaging to the customer at the right time and channel.Time to value and tech bloat challengesThere is an abundance of technology to

132、 assist retailers in reaching out and engaging with consumers in a personal,authentic and transparent way perhaps too much technology all of it underpinned by AI,which aims to make it faster and smarter.But still there are challenges.Time to value Rolling out Martech solutions can be immensely benef

133、icial,but it also comes with its share of challenges,including time-to-value issues.The need for agility in marketing and engagement has never been more pressing.Consumer habits have changed hugely and rapidly and that speed of change is set to continue.Creating systems now that come online today is

134、 one of the biggest challenges.Integrating martech,adtech and/or CRM tools into existing systems and databases can be time-consuming and complex.Ensuring seamless communication between various platforms and data sources requires careful planning and execution.Even when that is done,migrating existin

135、g data into the new systems can be a time consuming,costly and technological challenge.Data must be cleaned,validated and migrated accurately to avoid inconsistencies and errors,which can be a time-intensive process.Even then,the new systems often require customisation to align with specific busines

136、s |January 202420|IMAGINO WHITEPAPER|COMMERCE IN THE CONVERSATIONAL AGEConfiguring the software,setting up workflows and tailoring features can take time,especially if extensive modifications are necessary.And lets not forget that staff across teams need to be trained to effectively use the new tool

137、s.Adequate training programs are essential and ensuring that employees adopt and use the technology efficiently can be time-consuming.Also different users will need to get different things from the CRM,adtech and/or martech systems,which further complicates not only the training regimen,but also the

138、 very configuration of the system to accommodate different user demands.There may also be a degree of change management needed as new systems are adopted and new processes created.With marcomms teams increasingly wanting greater access to data manipulation rather than going through the IT department

139、 this can see some fundamental shifts in how the whole business runs and operates.All these things combine to make for a complex and time-consuming process of integration and adoption something that can take months or even years to bring to fruition;time that modern retailers simply dont have.Tech b

140、loat The proliferation of technologies and tools that can help create the experiences and interactions that consumers want is time consuming to get in place,but it also can lead to tech bloat.Tech bloat often refers to the accumulation of numerous technologies,often without proper integration,or str

141、ategic planning,creating inefficiencies,unwanted complexity and decreased productivity and it poses several significant challenges.Retailers may adopt various martech,CRM,and AI solutions independently,leading to difficulties in integrating these technologies.Incompatibility issues can arise,hinderi

142、ng the seamless flow of data and processes.Likewise,each technology often generates its own data silo.Without proper integration,these silos remain separate,making it challenging to get a holistic view of customer behaviour and preferences,hindering the very purpose behind implementing the tech.Inte

143、grated data or seamless access by all systems to the data lake is crucial for effective personalisation and customer experience.Such wide ranging and disparate systems can also lead to lack of scalability of the system,a lack of agility to future challenges which may arise before the initial project

144、 is even complete and the problems of managing relationships with multiple vendors.There are also increased risks of cost over runs from all or some of the suppliers as integration and adaption challenges arise.And then there is issue of managing user access and training.As already mentioned,a wide

145、variety of staff across the company are going to look to use the systems and they all require training.Managing this,along with the way each team interfaces with the different technologies is a massive and on-going challenge.When up and running,who,for instance,is able to change data,processes,or ot

146、her aspects and how do you understand any knock in effects that may have?To address this tech bloat,retailers need to have a holistic technology strategy.This involves conducting a thorough analysis of their requirements,selecting integrated solutions where possible and ensuring seamless communicati

147、on between martech,CRM,and AI systems.Regular evaluation and optimisation of the technology stack are essential to prevent unnecessary complexity and ensure that the chosen technologies align with the retail businesss long-term goals.Or perhaps they need to focus on a whole new approach to how they

148、own and operate these systems that is built from the ground up to be holistic?|January 2024IMAGINO WHITEPAPER|COMMERCE IN THE CONVERSATIONAL AGE|21Youve seen the theory,now for the practice:which retailers and brands are already delivering the interactions consumers want?Personalised interactions ar

149、e the holy grail of marketing and the technology is certainly there to make it happen.However,challenges remain in how to leverage data across the business to create the experiences that can deliver results.We have seen how consumers behave and we have looked at the technology solutions available to

150、 retailers but which retailers are actually putting it into practice with real verve and elan?Here we take a look a few of the stand-out personalised marketing campaigns of the past few years that have truly delivered something special and from which you can draw inspiration.Learning from the best A

151、mazons canny use of big dataPerhaps the ultimate in personalisation across ecommerce and marketing is Amazon.So entrenched is the level of personalisation across Amazon that its easy to not really see how good it actually is.Log on to Amazons site or app and you will see a bespoke homepage unique to

152、 you,featuring not only items that you have already looked at,but also a host of others that it seems to spookily know you,the shopper,are interested in.If you are logged in and scroll down your homepage you will find that the selection of items becomes seemingly more random less led by what you hav

153、e looked at previously but in many ways actually even better reflects your tastes and needs as a person,rather than your browsing history.This is an astounding level of insight and projection and is so intuitive to be almost invisible as an experience.It is so good that the shopper never sits back a

154、nd goes wow but they should.The retailer collects a vast amount of data on its customers as they use its site,its app and to some extent its Alexa speech engine to constantly update,enhance and refine what it knows about each individual user.All this data what you look at,what you buy,what you rejec

155、t,what time you are looking,what device,your location and more is then fed into Amazons recommendation engine,which is the heart of its personalisation.This engine,which has grown and evolved over the decades,employs collaborative filtering and AI to decide what it thinks each customer likes,what th

156、ey buy,how and where they have things shipped,their age,gender,likes and dislikes.It also takes in more peripheral things such as the movies and TV shows that you watch on Prime ti create a 360-degree view of you,the shopper.However,it goes way further than this.It not only builds a view of the indi

157、vidual customer,but also can find all the other customers that have the same or similar data points and uses this to recommend what it thinks you might like.This is the clever bit.Anyone can collect oodles of data,it is how you use it that matters,and Amazons approach to not only understand each cus

158、tomer,but to also then see what they all do and persuade them |January 202422|IMAGINO WHITEPAPER|COMMERCE IN THE CONVERSATIONAL AGEwhat they like before they know they like it is a marketers dream.Many other retailers have tried a similar approach,but without the refinements imposed by Amazon as to

159、how it uses the data to target people,they have produced either impersonal personalisation or simply overwhelmed the consumer.It is all about knowing what data to use and when.Alibaba and personalised advertising Much like Amazon,Chinas Alibaba has invested heavily in personalisation.Again,this tran

160、scends traditional marcomms and encompasses delivering a personalised experience on the site.However,it has also extended its use of personalisation data to cover serving up personalised advertising to visitors.Collectingf browsing and purchasing habit data,it not only recommends products in a simar

161、ly way to Amazon,but also delivers targeted advertising on the site based around products that shoppers are likely to want to buy.The shift to personalised advertising has already yielded a three-fold increase in conversion compared to customers who are shown non-personalised advertisingIn addition,

162、Alibaba has been a pioneer in the use of natural language recognition(NLR)to better understand user search and queries and the retailer uses this data along with all the other data in collects to help enhance and refine the personalisation across its site and those of its sister companies,Taobao and

163、 Tmall.Fit for purpose personalisationYoga wear brand Lulu Lemon has seen dramatic growth across the past decade,with sales driven up over lockdown as shut in consumers looked to exercise and wellbeing to make themselves feel better.However,the pandemic-effect was seen by many fitness brands and,tod

164、ay,as we return to normal they all find themselves in a very competitive market.Lulu Lemon,however,has sought to shake up its marketing strategy to create a well-defined understanding of its customers and deliver the right kind of personalised marketing to those shoppers with great results.While it

165、gathers the usual data on its customers and prospects browsing and order history and the like it also takes note of the choices of materials,the size and shape of the items and small details such as yoga pants with pockets to refine how it then reaches out to browsers and customers.Marketing emails

166、that follow through on similar materials are common,but as purchase data is analysed further,looking for the small specifics around pockets,colours and sizing all feed into a gentle and personalised approach to follow up marketing.The brand also features a sizing tool that allows the user to input t

167、he size they take in other sportswear brands clothing to help assess how Lulu Lemon will fit.This delivers better fitting garments as well as the feeling that the brand knows the customer more |January 2024IMAGINO WHITEPAPER|COMMERCE IN THE CONVERSATIONAL AGE|23Social proof at New LookSocial proof m

168、essaging where the retailer encourages sales by pointing out how many other people have bought a particular item,or if they want to up the ante,how many of a particular items is left in stock has become a staple of ecommerce.And UK fashion retailer New Look as leveraged it to add a fun,graphic and p

169、ersonalised spin to the process.Having previously focused its social proof messaging efforts on the PDP and PLP,New Look wanted to see the impact of social proof on the basket page to ensure that was delivering a better digital customer experience across the full site.Back in 2022,the retailer ran a

170、 nine-day optimisation test that compared social proof messages on the PLP and PDP versus social proof messages on PLP,PDP and basket page.Five message types were tested on New Looks basket page,including Purchased X minutes ago,Selling Fast!X sold recently and Dont Miss Out!X sold recently.The test

171、 led to 1,030 incremental orders,a 1.58%conversion rate uplift and 23,000 in additional revenue.This equated to an ROI of 182%.EasyJets 20th anniversaryWhen UK budget airline easyJey turned 20 in 2015,it took personalisation to levels considered granular even today.Using customer data from all the w

172、ay back to the late 1990s,the company picked 28 personalisation data points to deliver a uniquely personal and individualised message.to 12 million people.Each email featured 12 modules that combined personal data around where the individual travelled first,how many miles they had travelled with eas

173、yJet in the past 20 years and where they might want to go next.The emails saw 78%of recipients view the email as positive and 7.5%of recipients booking something within 30 days of getting the email.The campaign remains a poster child for personalisation to this day.Couple this with exemplary telepho

174、ne and online customer service and the brands has created a gold standard in customer care,marketing and sizing that is more than just personalised,but creates the feeling of a relationship between brand and consumers.And the results speak for themselves.Revenues at the brand have grown steadily sin

175、ce 2020,rising from$3.9bn then to a projected$8.1bn in 2023.Following the success of the A/B test,which showed social proof messaging to 50%of customers visiting the website on the basket page,New Look has now rolled this out to 100%of visitors.The company is also continuing to add seasonal designs

176、to its messaging.After first testing season-themed designs during Christmas 2021 the companys current social proof messaging is Halloween-based with Christmas-themed messaging to go live later this year.These personalised,seasonal designs resonate strongly with customers,says the retailer,and result

177、s in strong uplifts in conversion rates and sales as a result.The strategy also works well on the basket page,offering a full-funnel,consistent digital experience for our customers wherever they are in the customer |January 202424|IMAGINO WHITEPAPER|COMMERCE IN THE CONVERSATIONAL AGEIn the bohemian

178、5th Arrondissement the artistic and intellectual heart of 1960s Paris three multidisciplinary artists embarked on a creative adventure and a cosmetics legend was born.At 34 Boulevard Saint-Germain-des-Paris,Diptyque Paris,sprang into life,nurtured by friends Christiane Gautrot,Desmond Knox-Leet and

179、Yves Coueslant.The unique cosmetics company,specialising in fragrances and scented goods,such as candles,bath and body products,along with home dcor items,has been a kingpin in the luxury and affordable luxury market since its foundation.Today it boasts more than 100 boutiques globally as of 2022,as

180、 well as operating within a range of high-end department stores in the US.Taking the business online to augment this physical retail model,the company upped sales and extended reach considerably.However,as with all clicks and mortar brands,as retail has evolved,the company has struggled to build a u

181、nified customer view of contacts that it can leverage both online and within stores.To generate the level of personalisation that todays retail demands,Diptyque like all retailers needs to leverage the data it has to create a single view of the customer.At a business level,what the company realised

182、it needed to do was to improve the user experience for its marketing teams by integrating all customer information into a customer data platform(CDP),enabling marketers to set up and activate an ecosystem of tools from one place.The company also needed to make it much easier to capture new customer

183、data and identify existing customers both online and in-store and understand which ones where cross from the digital to the physical and back again.And all this customer data had to be accessing to store advisors in-store and online to create a much more helpful level of interaction between customer

184、s and the brand.Turning to Imagino,Diptyque worked with the technology company to develop a unque customer reference system.This improved the user experience for marketing teams by integrating this unuique reference into the Imagino CDP,enabling them to customise and activate their ecosystem of tool

185、s from this single solution.The results were impressive.As well as significantly increasing the relevancy of their digital communications through knowledge of the customers in-store purchases,the in-store customer experience was transformed.Sales advisors have instant access to the customer file on

186、digital tablets,giving them a real-time display of customer data to truly personalise the sales experience.How a unique fragrance house transformed its user experience Diptyque Paris Diptyque P|January 2024IMAGINO WHITEPAPER|COMMERCE IN THE CONVERSATIONAL AGE|25Consumers want to be sold toConsumers

187、today expect to be sold to and are more than willing to share data with you for that to happen they just dont want it to be impersonal.So,sell to them,but sell them what they want,on the channel of their choosing,when they want it.Consumers are channel agnosticConsumers are all over the available ch

188、annels and devices with smartphones the predominant means of accessing ecommerce for all age groups.However,dont underestimate how they are also coming to commerce through social media on mobile and desktop and how they are increasingly looking to engage,browse and shop on these platforms.Consumers

189、demand conveniene The driver behind the use of smartphones and social media in fact the driver behind all ecommerce is predominantly convenience.This all needs to be factored into marcomms,as they will want to be reached on the channel of their choice when they are on that channel.This can be challe

190、nging to retailers,as not only do you need to know everything about the consumers purchase history and shopping habits,but also their device usage and messaging preferences too.Customer service is part of marcommsCustomer service is as much a part of creating loyalty and engagement as marketing.Bein

191、g present to help via phone or chat creates a more holistic relationship between consumer and brand/retailer and works hand-in-hand with marketing.Data holds the keyDriving all of this is data.All retailers are awash with consumer data and collecting as much or it across as varied a range of data po

192、ints as possible is important.But collecting it and using it effectively are two very different things.The real power of data lies in how you use it.Access to data unlocks the customerAccess,availability and actioning are the three criteria that all have to be met to make data effective.Whether you

193、are storing it in silos or in a lake,allowing all of the systems and technologies you have in place access to the right data in a format these systems can use is vital.The single view of the customer is something that the whole business needs,with everyone singing from the same data sheet.Creating t

194、he IT infrastructure to do this is challenging,but with cloud computing eminently possible.AI is your friendWith AI now playing a central role in all marcomms and data analysis technology,it may be glib to say you need it(you already have it!),but the more AI tools you can bring to bear the better.A

195、nd where generic generative AI is useful,increasingly specific AI that is trained to handle specific data analysis or content creation tasks will become the norm.Rapidly meeting these challengesThe challenges of creating and delivering a personalised,engaging,relationship-based interaction with your

196、 customers across the devices and channels they prefer,at a time of their choosing is a tall order.Many retailers and brands have evolved their tech stack as the market has shifted,but to accommodate all of todays demands not least to tap into that lake of data you now gather needs a new approach to

197、 platforming.Taking two years to make that happen wont fly in todays fast-paced market,so retailers and brands need to look at how to leverage new ways to get that tech in to their hands.Empowerment to your peopleThe final piece of the puzzle is to make sure that everyone across the business has act

198、ionable access to the data and the systems they need to leverage that data.The days of having to run everything through the IT department are over.Conclusions and learningsRESEARCH:Researcher Anna Segarra FasFor questions about our research and to send feedback,please email Anna via: Research Direct

199、or Martin ShawCEO Ian JindalEDITORIAL:Editor Paul SkeldonManaging Editor Jonathan WrightDESIGN:Art Editor Lauren CoburnMARKETING:Marketing and Circulation Addison Southam SALES:Commercial Director Andy James Group Creative Solutions Director Marvin Roberts This report may not be stored in a retrieva

200、l system,distributed or sold in whole or in part without the publishers express permission.Fair quotation is encouraged,with a link to the reports URL on RetailX.net.All charts and figures marked with RetailX 2024 are provided under the Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International(CC BY-ND 4.0)licens

201、e(https:creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/).You are welcome to use these in full with a link to this report,retaining the copyright notice This report is based upon our reasonable efforts to compile and analyse the best sources available to us at any given time.Opinions reflect judgment at the time and are subject to change.Images used under license from SInternetRetailing Media Services Ltd27 Clements LaneLondon,EC4N 7AETel:+44(0)20 7062 2525 RetailX