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1、IRS215WP499|May 2024INTERNETRETAILING.NET2024DigitalX Digital Marketing Evolution,Instore,Performance&AIIn partnership with:2|InternetRetailing|May 2024IRS215WP 2024 ContentsIntroductionWelcome to our first ever DigitalX report.It arrives at a moment when,after years when it seemed as if there was a

2、n industry consensus around best practice within digital marketing,retailers and brands are looking anew at questions around how they best engage with customers across channels.Two main factors have played in to this new emphasis on how to communicate and engage with potential customers.Firstly,as t

3、echnology has improved,businesses are better able to understand consumer behaviour.Add in the potential of AI to derive insights from rich data sets and theres a huge opportunity to drive sales.Secondly,consumers are being more careful about how,where and with whom they share their personal data.New

4、 data privacy legislation is helping consumers here by moving us beyond a digital world where,as a consumer,making a purchase or visiting a website means you have automatically opted in to being tracked.So the cookies crumble,but theres a considerable upside here.This retailers and brands that are s

5、een to take care of customer data and come across as authentic in their dealings with customers are reaping huge rewards.I hope you find this report useful and,as ever,I look forward to your feedback.Ian Jindal,CEO,RetailXFeaturedP.05Why omnichannel retail is not a top-down processWhy utilising AI e

6、ffectively relies on data insightsWhy organic social continues to be key to creating great customer experiencesP.09P.11DIGITALX|INTRODUCTIONStrategic overview 03Rethinking omnichannel 05Partner perspective:Imagino 07Personalisation&performance 09Social whirl 11Interview:The Fine Bedding Company 13Co

7、mpany profile:HP 14Company profile:John Lewis 15Company profile:Kingfisher 16Company profile:LOral 17Company profile:Nike 18Company profile:PepsiCo 19Company profile:Sainsburys 20Company profile:Shein 21Company profile:Sweaty Betty 22Company profile:Ugg 23Conclusion 243|InternetRetailing|May 2024IRS

8、215WP 2024 DIGITALX 2024|STRATEGIC OVERVIEWPlanning the inaugural DigitalX event,one of the key ideas underpinning it was the question of how to use digital technologies to drive memorable customer experiences.Its a question thats increasingly occupied the industry over recent years.Where once,in th

9、e simplest terms,it was relatively easy to eavesdrop on consumers as they surfed the web and best practice reflected this,its currently much more difficult to get a clear picture of their behaviour.Thats not just because of GDPR considerations but also because digital technologies are now so ubiquit

10、ous that talking about consumers surfing the web seems like a throwback to a past era.Almost without us realising it,we are entering a Web 3.0 world.In less grand terms,as shoppers,we browse across different channels without giving it a second thought,as ConsumerX research into how we discover produ

11、cts reveals.Among other factors,influencers,coupons,social media posts,advertising,newsletters and mobile app notifications all play into purchase decisions.Worldwide,for example,38.4%of respondents tell ConsumerX that general coupons and discounts are a factor in choosing new products.Email newslet

12、ters influence 17.3%of shoppers,while 23.3%respond to mobile app notifications.Full-funnel futureIs a new consensus emerging as to what constitutes best practice in marketing?The multiple variables here are so complex as to resist human analysis,hence the emerging emphasis on data and machine learni

13、ng.But even these are not enough in themselves.To return to where we began for a moment,memorable customer experiences including the instore experience play a key role in securing sales.Apple customers may value stores in which they are encouraged to play,while John Lewis shoppers might value its re

14、assuring shopfloor partners on hand to share their expertise,yet both create customer loyalty and ensure returning custom in their own ways.Crucially,returning customers not only tend to spend more,they also typically share more data with retailers and brands.For such reasons,while there will always

15、 be a place for performance marketing where the relationship between outcome and cost is transparent,retailers and brands have now routinely begun to look at the entire customer journey.A new consensus around best practice within digital marketing is emerging.AppleThe buzz created by the opening of

16、Apples Battersea store proves the enduring power of the instore experience4|InternetRetailing|May 2024IRS215WP 2024 The term thats been coined here is full-funnel marketing and the underlying philosophy is about speaking to consumers in ways that chime with what theyre doing and where they are in th

17、e decision-making process of awareness/consideration/conversion.As to how to build a strategy around this idea,theres no one-size-fits-all answer.However,any strategy will likely take in:Clear objectives and KPIs A clear understanding of different kinds of customer Content that goes beyond sales mat

18、erial Testing user experiences Automation,testing and iterationCurrently,different retailers and brands display different levels of sophistication here.As we see with the case studies in this report,larger businesses have richer data sets to draw on,which is certainly an advantage.On the other hand,

19、smaller companies are often closer to their consumers,which makes them better at building one-to-one relationships.Whatever the approach,the idea of using digital technologies to drive memorable customer experiences isnt going to go away.Rather,it will become central to 21st-century retail.DIGITALX

20、2024|STRATEGIC OVERVIEW5|InternetRetailing|May 2024IRS215WP 2024 DIGITALX 2024|RETHINKING OMNICHANNELYesterdays buzzwords can eventually end up as tawdry and tired as leftover stock that didnt find a buyer during the sales season.A case in point is omnichannel,a word that,in 2024,will sound pass to

21、many within the retail industry,a ghost of conferences past.This shows you can move on too quickly,since many of the aspirations and challenges that led to the word being so eagerly adopted are as pertinent now as they were years ago.A history lesson may help to understand why were arguing that the

22、term is still useful,albeit with a little recalibration in how its used to switch the emphasis towards the customer.Omnichannel came into the industry lexicon as a way to express how retailers were trying to seamlessly tie together different sales channels,with the word seamlessly doing a lot of hea

23、vy lifting in this explanation.If multichannel was about selling on different channels and cross-channel was about helping customers to move between channels with Rethinking omnichannelIn the past,retailers and brands have framed omnichannel as an ideal something they should strive to achieve.Yet fl

24、ipping that to look at omnichannel from a consumers perspective may be a more fruitful approachas little friction as possible,omnichannel took things another step further.Conceptually,omnichannel was about reaching a point where customers shopped so effortlessly,they hardly noticed which channel the

25、y were using at any point in the purchase journey.That sounds so great that why did we get so bored of omnichannel so quickly?One answer which reflects well on the industry is that leading retailers those that perform most strongly in the qualitative research for RetailX company indexes are arguably

26、 already omnichannel retailers.One example is Screwfix,an Elite retailer in the RetailX UK Top500.When Sue Harries,the companys digital,proposition and data director,spoke to RetailX ahead of the Top500 being announced,she discussed how Screwfixs core customers are busy tradespeople working on the c

27、lock.They dont want to browse,so show up at a Screwfix store and,because they have pre-ordered and paid online,pick up what they need then leave.Or they might be parked outside a customers house and order an item via Screwfixs Sprint 60-minute delivery service.Better to have an item delivered,even i

28、f theres a cost,than waste time or lose a precious parking space for a work vehicle thats also serving as a mobile workshop-cum-office.The key point is that Screwfix has analysed the behaviour of its customers and built its offering around making life easier for them.What else is this if not an exam

29、ple of omnichannel retail?More subtly,Harries words show how ideas about what constitutes omnichannel have developed.Screwfix6|InternetRetailing|May 2024IRS215WP 2024 By this,we mean that,in its earliest iteration,omnichannel was a term used to describe how the industry wanted to transform itself.To

30、 generalise,it was initially a top-down project that looked at the following kinds of questions:How can a companys core technology stack be recalibrated and refined to support the business selling across different channels?How can product stock level data be made transparent so that its possible to

31、get real-time information on stock levels at different locations?In what ways can a business track customers across different channels?All these questions still animate,and irritate,retail executives.Indeed,it may be that we will all still be talking about data silos into our dotages.Nevertheless,th

32、e industry has moved on.Yesterdays monolithic tech stacks have been superseded by a world of cloud computing and software-as-a-service offerings.As this new technology has been integrated into how companies do business,theres a new emphasis on nimbleness and responsiveness.NEW KINDS OF QUESTIONSWhat

33、 this means in practice is a business landscape where,while its still important to invest in the right technologies,success depends on the ways that retailers and brands actually utilise these technologies.As this shift in practice has played out,the kinds of questions retailers and brands ask aroun

34、d omnichannel have changed:How can the company efficiently bring in extra resources to cope with peaks in demand?How can the business best connect a customer with stock held at a location near to them in order to increase efficiency and speed delivery or pickup?Remembering that a decade ago,social c

35、ommerce was still very much in its infancy,how can the business profit from new channels?More than this,how can the company make the most of limited-time opportunities such as a friendly influencers live-streaming event?What links these questions is that they have been asked due to changes in consum

36、er behaviour.To return to the example of Screwfix,its operations are built around an understanding of how customers interact with the retailer.To use a more current piece of industry jargon,Screwfix is a customer-centric retailer.This is important to emphasise because its easy to drift into seeing t

37、his new business landscape as a place where retailers and brands are setting the direction of travel.Often,thats simply not the case and not just,a subject for another time,because the biggest technology companies wield so much power.In this context,an intriguing take on omnichannel comes from marke

38、ting director Daniel Mark Carr,whose 15 years of experience encompasses working with startups,FMCG brands and sharing his expertise with post-graduate students.“Consumers are omnichannel in themselves,”he says,by which he means we all range across different channels without much thinking about it.“O

39、mnichannel is not a challenge,its an approach,”he adds.“A lot of people take omnichannel to mean,I must be everywhere at all times.Better to do fewer things better than everything in a mediocre way.”Increasingly,he says,hes noticing brands stepping away from X or TikTok because,“They need so much in

40、vestment to make them work.”Often the reality is that many customers dont even notice if businesses communicate via social media or not.Also,why spend money cutting through the noise of X when you can better reach customers by sending them email messages?Especially since it doesnt matter if the busi

41、ness is everywhere so long as the business can be found by omnichannel customers.A final point is that this shift in perspective doesnt mean that retailers shouldnt try to understand their customers behaviour,the journey from product research through purchase and towards getting an item delivered or

42、 going to pick it up in person.Far from it,gaining this understanding and then acting on it,listening and then responding rather than assuming the company knows best,will be more important than ever.DIGITALX 2024|RETHINKING OMNICHANNEL7|InternetRetailing|May 2024IRS215WP 2024 B&B Hotels implemented

43、imaginos Customer Data Platform across their four major geographies in just 16 weeks.imagino is the Revenue-First,Composable Experience PlatformScan for more!For marketers who think big,but need to act fast.8|InternetRetailing|May 2024IRS215WP 2024 DIGITALX 2024|PARTNER PERSPECTIVEprocesses and inte

44、ntional positioning for retailers to navigate the demands of convenience and cost-effectiveness.In conclusion,retailers the dance floor awaits.Balancing sustainability,convenience and affordability form a challenging routine,yet mastering them all will position your brand as a standout.In a world of

45、 convenience,its all about accessing everything you need and nothing that you dont.Convenience has turned the world on its head weve built a whole society around it.From streaming services to home food delivery to ecommerce,weve brought convenience to our doorsteps.In this environment,any retail bra

46、nd not asking themselves whether their brand is convenient enough for their customers may find themselves playing catch-up.If you really think about it,convenience benefits the buyer,the seller and the customer.With only a few clicks standing between a craving and the pleasure of a delightful home d

47、elivery experience,you begin to realise how impactful convenience has become to the revenue of the modern ecommerce world.To create a convenient experience that is expected from the modern shopper,you need to put yourself in their shoes and find out what areas of the retail journey needs ironing out

48、.As time has moved on from the pandemic,consumers seek both the seamless and comforting embrace of convenience and affordability.Think of it as a dance choreography,where every move needs to be well-Balancing convenience and cost Expert insightcoordinated,be it on the digital stage,in the physical s

49、tore or in the realm of social media and diverse devices.Its a dance that not only requires speed but also sustainability.To align with consumer desires,retailers and brands need to evolve rather than just adapt.Imagine this as transitioning from a graceful waltz to a swift salsa agile,energetic and

50、 extremely spirited.Firstly,incorporating sustainability into the retail fabric is non-negotiable.Your customers arent just focused on the prices,theyre also examining the eco footprint of each purchase.So its time for retailers to translate those green aspirations into actions.Sustainable packaging

51、 and ethical sourcing action them throughout your customers journey.Secondly,the constant discussion between convenience and cost is like choosing between two different dance styles.Why not choose both?Smart retailers are using technology to simplify the shopping experience without breaking the bank

52、.Efficient supply chains,user-friendly interfaces and the support of AI can transform the customer journey into a seamless,convenient and cost-effective experience.For those brands stepping out into the ecommerce or multichannel retailing realm,the future resembles an inviting dance.The floor is exp

53、anding,so retailers need to excel at blending online and offline experiences.While embracing the digital space is crucial,dont overlook the importance of the physical store they are like the perfect duet in retail.Looking ahead,the rhythm of progress wont fade.Ecommerce will evolve and multichannel

54、retailing will refine its approach.To navigate these challenges and maintain a harmonious retail dance,leveraging effective marketing tools becomes vital.An integrated marketing tool drives personalised engagements through consumer behaviour insights,ensuring efficient imagino is a revenue-first,Com

55、posable 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 deliver marketing excellence.imagino is the thread that ties together the whole

56、 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-leading products,including a Customer Data Platform and Campaign Management

57、tool all uniquely designed to provide equal value and benefit to both marketing and IT The dance of retail is most effective when it brings online and offline together,says Stphane Dehoche,CEO of imagino9|InternetRetailing|May 2024IRS215WP 2024 DIGITALX 2024|PERSONALISATION&PERFORMANCEThe launch of

58、ChatGPT in November 2022 changed the public perception of artificial intelligence(AI)almost overnight.Discussion of technology hitherto associated with sci-fi stories,and Skynets declaration of war against humanity in The Terminator was mentioned often,was suddenly everywhere.In 2024,its a measure o

59、f how high awareness of AI has grown that a recent survey by MSi-ACI found that 70%of 1,000 UK consumers were aware of how generative AI is used to promote goods and services online.Some 45%of respondents thought the technology had influenced their purchasing choices,with Londoners(59%)most likely t

60、o think so.Less positively for a retail sector intent on using AI,the survey found concerns over information being less reliable.Half of over-55s surveyed worried about not being able to trust online sources due to AI-generated fake reviews,although that figure dropped to 28%of 18 to 34-year-olds.Th

61、e survey is,of course,measuring attitudes rather than the actual degree to which AI is actually being Artificial intelligence:what is it good for?Although using artificial intelligence to aid personalisation within retail delivers results,its not enough in itself to make retailers and brands stand o

62、utused within ecommerce,but nevertheless its results lead to other questions:If thats what consumers think?Are they right to think so?Is AI really that influential in our purchase decisions?To which an accurate answer is yes,probably and sometimes,although thats not uniformly true and,anyway,some re

63、tailers,brands and sectors are using AI more effectively than others.More seriously,long before the public realised that AI was going to become important,retailers and brands were already using the technology within such facets of the business as personalisation and communications via chatbots.Howev

64、er,implementation has been,to adapt the famous William Gibson adage about the future,unevenly distributed.A further complication is that it is difficult to imagine any retailer or brand downplaying their use of AI or documenting or detailing their problems with implementing the technology.Neverthele

65、ss,even accepting that it can be difficult to glean exactly whats happening on the ground,its probably safe to suggest bigger retailers and brands have long been employing AI and that theres a huge demand among smaller retailers to use the technology.AmazonAmazons Seattle Campus.The retail giants Am

66、azon Web Services is helping to drive the companys growth10|InternetRetailing|May 2024IRS215WP 2024 In this context,its revealing that,when Amazon recently released its first quarter report for 20241,CEO Andy Jassy attributed a jump in revenue at its cloud computing division,Amazon Web Services(AWS)

67、,to its focus on AI.Revenues at AWS for Q1 were$25bn,a year-on-year increase of 17%.Its reasonable to suppose that many of the businesses employing AI,whether accessed via AWS or different stripes of competitors,do so within marketing and personalisation.Thats not to say these are the only uses reta

68、ilers such as M&S have been trialling machines that spot gaps on shelves but they are areas of digital retail where AI seems to be a natural fit.THE DATA CONUNDRUM As to why thats the case,its in part because personalisation relies on data.However,theres a complication here.In so many respects,such

69、data has become far more difficult to manage over recent years.Firstly,there are regulatory factors to consider.Even if the EUs General Data Protection Regulation(GDPR)legislation didnt cause the ecommerce bonfire that some envisioned as a worst-case scenario,it has created a world where businesses

70、need to be far more careful about how they treat personal data.This has happened at the same time as many consumers have become more careful about how they share data.One emerging theme in consumer behaviour is to use a secondary email address in dealings with all but the most trusted businesses.Or

71、to use a service such as Hide My Email and iCloud+to avoid being identified at all.At the same time,the business imperative to use data and the insights it yields have rarely been stronger.Paradoxically,this need is being driven in part by consumers who have grown to expect personalised services and

72、 who will be critical if,for example,they are offered products theyre not interested in or,worse,seem downright inappropriate.Effectively,this means retailers and brands are caught in a kind of pincer movement between a reluctance to share information and increased customer expectations.The second f

73、actor that plays in here is the need to deal with different kinds of data.In order to craft effective marketing campaigns and to personalise offerings,retailers and brands dont just need data about specific customers,an address and so on,they need to understand,for example,what kinds of products dif

74、ferent segments of the customer base are likely to buy if nudged.This is before we have begun to talk about the data sets around product descriptions and around where those products are located,supply chain data and so on.Or,more complex still,starting to make the most of contextual data,so that a c

75、onsumer idly browsing on their phone at 8pm is treated very differently to a consumer standing at the checkout of a bricks-and-mortar store.The sheer number of variables goes some way to explaining why it can be such a challenge using AI within digital services.While the problem of data silos produc

76、ing inconsistencies that cascade through the business is nowhere near as prevalent as it was a decade ago,that issue still exists.If a company cannot even trust its own data,how can it hope that setting AI to work on this data will produce coherent results and yield actionable insights?That said,as

77、our case studies in this report show,retailers and brands are grappling with the issues here.One of the points that came through doing background interviews for the report is that its no good thinking of AI as a quick fix.Rather,you need to work with teams and show them how using AI can make them mo

78、re effective.Businesses need an AI strategy that includes people in the equation.Take the relatively straightforward example of copywriting.If you can automate product descriptions so that 80%of the work is done by AI,the copywriter can better focus on those areas where refining messages needs the h

79、uman touch by putting the zing in the sell,adding excitement and expectation and refining key messages.Or,to look at that another way,providing a companys data is robust and its use of both that data and technology is underpinned by a clear strategy,AI can help human beings better personalise market

80、ing.A decade on from now,we would guess,using AI in these kinds of ways within ecommerce will seem routine just a part of how the business works.1 https:/ 2024|PERSONALISATION&PERFORMANCE11|InternetRetailing|May 2024IRS215WP 2024 DIGITALX 2024|SOCIAL WHIRLSocial commerce is now an established part o

81、f the retail landscape.According to ConsumerX research,which polled 7,274 respondents across a variety of different age groups in 14 different countries over 2023 and 2024,44.2%had purchased items through social media sites.Drilling down into those figures,of those who do shop via social media,Insta

82、gram is the most popular site,with 51.7%saying they had shopped through the site.Facebook(51.2%),TikTok(36.3%)and YouTube(30.3%)were also popular.In themselves,these figures explain why retailers and brands have long tried to work out how to use social media and social commerce most effectively.Over

83、 time,and to simplify for clarity,two approaches have emerged:paid social,akin to carefully targeted advertising,and organic social,where the focus is more on being where customers are engaging in conversations.If the former is a data-driven exercise,organic social has always been more complex.Which

84、 likely explains in part why it has somewhat fallen out of fashion.We are at a point in the development of digital retail where,for good reasons,data is the thing.Paid social is on-message because it lends itself to tracking and testing:how many sales resulted from spending X on placement Y with mes

85、sage Z?According to Statista,the social media Social whirlDespite the recent focus on data-driven marketing campaigns,organic social remains an important way for retailers and brands to reach consumersadvertising market will reach US$219.8bn in ad spend in 2024.The annual growth rate in ad spend is

86、projected to be 3.86%in the years to 2028.1 In contrast,retailers and brands have been reporting a decline in the effectiveness of organic social.According to Meta,there are two main reasons for the decline in organic reach on Facebook.Firstly,Brian Boland,leader of the ads product marketing team at

87、 Facebook,has posted that:“More and more content is being created and shared every day.”2 An average Facebook user could be offered 1,500 stories a day in their News Feed when they log on,making the competition for eyeballs fierce.Although the companys workings are often rather opaque,Facebook has c

88、hanged the way News Feed works:“Rather than showing people all possible content,News Feed is designed to show each person on Facebook the content thats most relevant to them,”Boland noted,adding that the company has cleaned up News Feed spam and“gotten better at showing high-quality content”.While m

89、arketers may disagree,thats the official line.So is that it for organic social?Plus added to the issues outlined above,are the risks of retailers saying the wrong thing and being unable to control content making engaging with customers via social media too problematic?Then there are newer concerns.W

90、ill TikTok really be locked out of the US market?Should a retailer even maintain a presence on X when its owner Elon Musks vision of a kind of radical town square appears to have eroded trust in the platform among swathes of its previously most enthusiastic users?12|InternetRetailing|May 2024IRS215W

91、P 2024 UNSTRUCTURED DATA In truth,it would be a brave retailer or brand that withdrew from organic social.One major reason for this has everything to do with data.Not structured data a customers contact details,product specs and so on but the unstructured details revealed by our interactions with so

92、cial media.It may be difficult to quantify and organise but consumer behaviour via social media is often so revealing that canny retailers work out ways to gain insights from it.You can even say this is a built-in feature.For all we sometimes think of social commerce as relatively new,the term dates

93、 back to as long ago as 2005,when Yahoo!introduced Shoposphere and Pick Lists.3“We believe the community of shoppers is one of the best sources for product information and advice,”blogged Yahoo!presciently in 2005.“The Shoposphere is a place to discover interesting and cool products thematically arr

94、anged into Pick Lists by other shoppers which are a fun way to explore new products and trends.”This idea of a community of shoppers has played up to the present day,morphing along the way.In particular,citizens the term seems more appropriate in this context than consumers may talk about products w

95、hen theyre online,but that doesnt mean they have gone online primarily to go shopping.Theyre more likely be idly browsing or catching up with friends virtually.It follows that any organic social strategy needs to reflect these contextual factors.Typically,these are not channels where the hard sell i

96、s appreciated,with sales far more likely to arise from customers interest being piqued.In comparison to paid social,organic social is gradual and requires tending.The aim is typically to engage customers in conversations and build brand awareness.KPIs in organic social may need to be as much about c

97、ustomer engagement as sales and any analytics tools should be calibrated to reflect this.Increasingly,such tools are becoming widely available and effective.Organic social also needs to be authentic.This may simply mean first working out where your customers are most likely to hang out and going the

98、re rather than to other social channels.Next,the message needs to be tailored to the medium Icelands shop-floor staff videos on TikTok have become cult viewing precisely because theyre not polished.Retailers and brands also need to think about which are the most appropriate social media channels to

99、use in different territories.To return to ConsumerXs research,of those Chinese consumers who said they had shopped by social media,90.6%said they had shopped via TikTok.In contrast,the equivalent figure for India is just 6.3%.Finally,and this is a point that needs emphasising,paid social is far more

100、 likely to be effective when allied to organic social.The division between the two is false in that retailers and brands increasingly build marketing campaigns around a combination of structured and unstructured data or at least thats what those who best understand their customers do.1 https:/web.ar

101、chive.org/web/20100123163635/http:/ 2024|SOCIAL WHIRL13|InternetRetailing|May 2024IRS215WP 2024 DIGITALX 2024|RETAIL BRAND INTERVIEWFounded in 1912,The Fine Bedding Company is a family-owned business that sells direct to consumers and works with RetailX UK Top500 retailers such as John Lewis,which i

102、t has supplied since the 1970s.The company specialises in duvets and pillows but also sells bed linen.While it has a rich history from its days supplying beds and bedding to transatlantic cruise liners sailing between Liverpool and North America,The Fine Bedding Company is a forward-looking business

103、 that takes the long view.It invests heavily in product research and has its own factory,in Estonia.It puts a premium on sustainability initiatives and,in 2022,was certified as a B Corporation.In recent years,the company has also invested in a digital presence that,previously,had been underdeveloped

104、 and used as a place to clear stock.In July 2019,during the Covid-19 pandemic,it launched its new direct-to-consumer(D2C)website.“And then,all of a sudden,this was the main channel for the business,”says Laura Keay,Fine Beddings head of marketing and ecommerce.Despite the pandemic,the website was a

105、success.Not only did the bedding market stay strong but lockdown also led to many people using ecommerce for the first time especially older consumers,who realised it was easier to buy bulky bedding items online than in person.“It was fantastic to see this new generation discovering online shopping

106、and being so delighted with it,”recalls Keay.In the years since,the company has prioritised growing its online sales,although in a way that fits with wider company values.While its unusual that Keay should lead on both sustainability and marketing,there are sound business reasons for this.“We are at

107、 a premium price point because of what we do,so theres a value explanation that needs to be understood by consumers,”says Keay.“Integrity”is key.Marketing messages need to help build and maintain consumer trust.The website is a natural place for The Fine Bedding Company to tell stories about categor

108、y-changing products.“The beauty of digital is that we are able to explain,”says Keay.“Its hard to make those products and those concepts work instore,when you just dont have that communication time.”Many consumers also need help finding the products that suit them,so the website is a place to share

109、expertise.As the company has expanded its digital presence,email marketing to an engaged customer base has become particularly important.Its also an approach where its relatively straightforward to see from the data what kinds of messages drive revenue.“We invest a lot of time in making sure we send

110、 added-value emails,that its good content and its not spam rubbish,”says Keay.More generally,organic channels are important to Fine Bedding“because theyre the ones where you get the best-quality traffic”and a higher customer lifetime value.As for discovering what works,Keay is a huge believer in a“t

111、est-learn,scale-fail”approach.Being a smaller company helps here because there are no“layers of vice-presidents”to sign off on marketing initiatives.“Were actually incredibly agile and innovative,”notes Keay.Long-term thinkingLaura Keay,Fine Beddings head of marketing and ecommerce,tells us how the

112、company is developing its direct-to-consumer business14|InternetRetailing|May 2024IRS215WP 2024 DIGITALX 2024|COMPANY PROFILEHPHow the tech giant uses sponsorship to help reach a global audienceHPComputing brand HP,founded in a garage in 1939,is now one of the largest technology companies in the wor

113、ld.It reaches customers via a variety of channels from social media to TV campaigns and,most recently,the racetrack following its sponsorship of the renamed Scuderia Ferrari HP team.The HP logo appeared on its race cars for the first time at the Miami Grand Prix in May and Grand Prix coverage now fe

114、atures extensively across its digital channels.Enrique Lores,CEO of HP Inc set out the thinking behind the tie-up.“With technology,performance and exceptional craftsmanship fuelling the future,the partnership between HP and Ferrari is a natural fit,”he said.“Both brands are built on rich histories t

115、hat have endured the test of time.Through this unique collaboration,we also have an opportunity to reach new audiences,drive business growth,and create lasting impact for our shared clients and communities.Together we will leverage the global stage of racing to accelerate sustainable innovation.”HP

116、reaches its audience around the world through six social media channels including Facebook where it has 4.6mn followers for content including behind-the-scenes Miami Grand Prix footage as well as Instagram,YouTube and TikTok.The brand also focuses extensively on sustainability,which features in a de

117、dicated section on its website as well as across social media.RetailX 2024HPFeatures in:Australia Top100,Europe Brand IndexTop500,Europe Top1000,France Top100,GermanyTop100,Global Elite Top1000,Spain Top100,UKTop100,UK Top500Retail website:Most signi?cant retail markets:UK,Germany,France,Italy,Spain

118、Retail HQ:United States of AmericaCorporation:HP Inc,NYSE:HPQX(Twitter):hpHPwebtra?c:252.1mn131.6mnHP IncShareprice:32.416.3Totalrevenue:59.8bn49.7bnGrosspro?t:11.7bn9.1bn20192023Researched 02-09-2015 to 05-02-2024Sources:RetailX,SimilarWeb(web tra?c,European visitsincluded),Yahoo Finance(?nancial r

119、ecords).Green and red dotsrepresent the highest and lowest recorded data pointrespectively.Year end 202315|InternetRetailing|May 2024IRS215WP 2024 John LewisFew retailers are held in such affection as John Lewis.As the UKs largest employee-owned company,the department store is synonymous with good s

120、ervice and attention to detail.Its also seen as a bellwether of UK retail.When its results are announced,analysts and journalists pore over them to see what they reveal about the wider state of retail in the UK.The release of its Christmas advert is a national event.But even the best-loved brands ha

121、ve to move with the times.In recent years,even as the company has closed bricks-and-mortar locations,including such flagship locations as its Birmingham store,it has invested heavily in its digital offering.As long ago as 2020,John Lewis said it planned to“become a 60-70%online retailer by 2025”.In

122、part,this is down to investment in better technology.In August 2023,for example,John.Lewis announced a 100mn agreement with Google Cloud,building on its ongoing partnership with the tech behemoth.“Under the expanded agreement,more of the organisations technology will migrate to Google Cloud,harnessi

123、ng the cloud providers latest and most innovative technologies,including advanced artificial intelligence(AI)and machine learning(ML),”noted John Lewis at the time.This investment is part of an ongoing digital transformation built around personalising the RetailX 2024John Lewis&PartnersFeatures in:E

124、urope Top1000,Global Elite Top1000,UK Top100,UK Top500Retail website:Most signi?cant retail market:UKRetail HQ:United KingdomX(Twitter):jlandpartnersJohnLewis&Partnerswebtra?c:175.5mn107.9mn20192023Researched 02-09-2015 to 09-02-2024Sources:RetailX,SimilarWeb(web tra?c,European visitsincluded),Yahoo

125、 Finance(?nancial records).Green and red dotsrepresent the highest and lowest recorded data pointrespectively.Year end 2023DIGITALX 2024|COMPANY PROFILEHow the partnership is continuing its digital transformation customer experience.John Lewis is especially well placed to be innovative here.Because

126、of the trust it has built up over the years,its customers are often willing to share data,notably via its My John Lewis membership programme.On a practical level,its initiatives include making it easy to order products online that can be picked up locally,either at a John Lewis store or at one of it

127、s Waitrose supermarkets.Look beyond the use of new technologies and whats especially intriguing about the approach of John Lewis is the way it seeks to bring the brands values into the digital realm.The partnership has long been associated in the public mind with good service and the expertise of it

128、s shop-floor partners.While it is difficult to replicate these levels of service online,John Lewis has nevertheless proved especially adept at using content to help out consumers who are trying to make purchase decisions.In the years ahead,as the companys digital transformation continues,we would ex

129、pect that use of online content to extend out,notably via its app.Through personalisation initiatives,the company will be build on its reputation both for customer service and for offering advice via genuinely useful content.16|InternetRetailing|May 2024IRS215WP 2024 DIGITALX 2024|COMPANY PROFILEThe

130、 Kingfisher Group is an international company that specialises in the home improvement market.It runs more than 2,000 stores across different retail brands including such well known UK names as Screwfix and TradePoint in the UK trade market and B&Q in the consumer space and has more than 78,000 empl

131、oyees.It also sells several own-label labels such as interiors brand Cooke&Lewis.The group reported a 3.1%drop in sales on a like-for-like basis in the year to 31 January 2024,attributed to a“challenging consumer backdrop”in France and Poland,but according to its strategic plan expects to see an upl

132、ift in sales of 1.5-2.5%per annum over the medium term.Ecommerce is a key part of its plans,in particular in ensuring that Kingfishers different customers can get access to the products they need quickly and easily.(See the feature on omnichannel on page 5 for more on how Screwfix serves busy trades

133、people.)The group has an ambition to reach a point where 30%of its sales are from ecommerce.The nature of buildings and DIY projects notably the unforeseen need to buy products or tools to continue with or finish a job means click and collect will be important to making this happen.Underpinning its

134、strategy is,to quote Kingfishers corporate website,the idea that its different Kingfisher How the home improvement group is preparing for a customer-centric future“banners brands are leveraging data and artificial intelligence(AI)to build customer-centric tools and solutions,support better commercia

135、l decision-making and higher productivity”.Last year,it launched an AI-powered assistant via its Castorama France brand.The virtual assistant can answer customers DIY queries and,in addition,provide product recommendations and step-by-step advice on a range of home improvement projects.It is able to

136、 answer questions such as,“How do I install a kitchen worktop?”Kingfisher plans to roll out the technology across its brands.“Our new virtual assistant is designed to simplify the world of home improvement,making DIY projects easy and accessible for everyone,”said Tom Betts,Kingfishers group data di

137、rector when the service was launched.“Whether youre a DIY novice looking for advice getting started with a project,or an experienced DIYer in need of a technical answer quickly,our assistant will be on hand to support 24/7.Were hugely excited by the potential of this technology and look forward to s

138、eeing the response from customers.”Other recent digital transformation projects at Kingfisher have included introducing AI-powered product recommendation and personalisation engines at B&Q and Screwfix;a pilot of an AI-driven tool to optimise dealing with markdown and clearance products;and introduc

139、ing technology to improve supply chain visibility so the group can reduce inventory levels without impacting product availability.Kingfisher17|InternetRetailing|May 2024IRS215WP 2024 DIGITALX 2024|COMPANY PROFILEAccording to beauty company LOrals website,its marketing strategy is based around“Univer

140、salization”.The term doesnt mean one size fits all.Rather,the company emphasises that it“respects Differences in desires,needs and traditions”across different territories.In short,it thinks globally but,operationally,it empowers local teams that best understand key markets such as the USA,Japan and

141、India.This approach perhaps also reflects the complexity of the company,which runs 36 global brands in four different divisions Consumer Products,LOral Luxe,Professional Products and Dermatological Beauty.A central idea is that innovations that work in one territory can later be rolled out elsewhere

142、.In terms of its marketing approach,LOral has long been a leader in using technology to create experiences that help customers shopping digitally.Log on at the UK site of LOral Paris,for example,and its quick and easy to navigate to“Our Online Services”.Here,there are links to a variety of services.

143、Using Hair Color Try On,for example,customers can upload a picture of themselves and try different hair shades virtually.For customers that want a personalised service,its possible to book a Live Online 1:1 Skin Consultation.Men Shade Matcher is aimed at chaps who want to cover their greying locks.L

144、Oral LOralA company that really is thinking globally while acting locally 18|InternetRetailing|May 2024IRS215WP 2024 DIGITALX 2024|COMPANY PROFILENikeNikeThere can be few more familiar slogans than Nikes,“Just Do It,”yet even so,its still a shock to find the line dates back as far as 1987.So why has

145、 the line endured for so long?Perhaps because it embodies something about Nike products,which is to say that,however fashionable they may be at any given point in time,they are designed to help us exercise.In the 21st century,when Nikes marketing rests on techniques as varied as unconventional influ

146、encer campaigns,a state-of-the-art digital presence,the sheer stylishness of its bricks-and-mortar stories and its support for female athletes,the central message that Nike is a sports brand never gets lost.Not that this is all about the message.At a strategic level,Nike has prioritised direct to co

147、nsumer(D2C)selling,which drives growth while maintaining a tighter grip on brand image and distribution by strengthening the link between brand and sales.The company has also invested in its digital presence,eliminating friction between channels.A strong central message underpins the sports giants m

148、arketing 19|InternetRetailing|May 2024IRS215WP 2024 DIGITALX 2024|COMPANY PROFILEThe scope and reach of PepsiCo is vast.In 2023,the company generated more than US$91bn in net revenue.Its instantly familiar brands include Doritos,Quaker and,of course,Pepsi-Cola.Several of its brands in themselves gen

149、erate more than$1bn in annual sales.Two years ago,in May 2022,PepsiCo laid out the ways in which it is utilising data and analytics.These included real-time,Bluetooth-enabled updates on food to ensure its freshness;analytics-driven product innovation;encouraging regenerative farming;and data upskill

150、ing.One of the most intriguing parts of this announcement was the focus win using data to predict future demand via pepviz.“Data helps us to understand whats happening,but our research helps us to understand why thats happening,”said Ellen Webb,senior director of category leadership at PepsiCo.“We h

151、ave experts who know the business itself,who are working with the customers day in and day out,and they are partnering with data science experts.Weve brought these two teams together and thats where the magic happens.”She continued:“With pepviz we can see the future sales potential for a store.Inste

152、ad of looking back historically at sales data,we can look forward with PepsiCo How PepsiCo plans to use data to look into the future and increase sales a plan for where we think a store can grow.”This in turn allows sales teams to change priorities and to work with customers to help them grow their

153、businesses.These customers can glean specific insights into what kinds of drink sell well at their particular location.Theres also been an emphasis on using data to underpin conversations.Using a piece of tech called the Gatorade Gx Sweat Patch,for example,customers can upload their workout data and

154、 then receive personalised recommendations for hydration and nutrition.Going forward,it will be especially intriguing to see how successful PepsiCo is in promoting irs sustainability initiatives.In April,the company shared information about new initiatives in food and drink packaging.The company has

155、 been paring down the thickness of plastic bottles.In the UK,it has introduced Quaker porridge pots made with paper pulp.PepsiCo,working with Pulpex,is trying to design the worlds first 100%recyclable paper bottle.The wider point here is that large corporations such as PepsiCo are going to come unde

156、r huge pressure to reduce their environmental footprints.By getting out ahead of consumer concerns,PepsiCo can not only do the right thing,but it can highlight this in its marketingPepsiCo20|InternetRetailing|May 2024IRS215WP 2024 SainsburysSainsburysOne of the huge advantages of being one of the UK

157、s biggest supermarkets with a popular loyalty programme,Nectar,is that you have huge amounts of data with which to work.Moreover,because Nectar delivers tangible rewards,lower prices and offers,it is popular with customers,who are happy to supply data when they shop.Moreover,the fact so many of us s

158、till do at least some of our shopping instore means the company has especially rich contextual data to draw on.In February 2024,Sainsburys announced its Next Level strategy,which aims“to make good food joyful,accessible and affordable for everyone,every day”.It plans“1bn of structural cost reduction

159、,”and an upgrade in technology.In short,this will in part be a digitally transformation.It will also rest on using data.That much is clear from one of the four key outcomes the company has set out:“Loyalty everyone loves.”The company plans to build a“world-leading loyalty platform”with Nectar at its

160、 core and has vowed there will always be“transparent use of data”.The company is also making much of its environmental credentials and wants to“play a leading role in creating a sustainable food system in the UK”,which suggests that it anticipates sustainability to be a big concern of customers.Expe

161、ct this to be reflected in its marketing.DIGITALX 2024|COMPANY PROFILEBecause of its scale and popular loyalty card,the supermarket is well placed21|InternetRetailing|May 2024IRS215WP 2024 DIGITALX 2024|COMPANY PROFILESingapore-based Shein has grown fast through what it terms a“new kind of fashion b

162、usiness model”that provides customers in more than 150 countries with the products they want to buy,on demand.The marketplace,founded in 2012,engages with shoppers through discount-driven offers on its website,mobile app and on social media.Visitors to Shein are offered points to join its email mark

163、eting list,while Shein loyalty club members receive vouchers for free shipping.Digital-first Shein engages with shoppers through eight social media platforms,including Facebook where it has 31mn followers for content including product inspiration and unboxing videos as well as Instagram,X,YouTube,Pi

164、nterest and Snapchat.Social media influencers,bloggers and content creators can sign up for product trials and events through a four-step process on its website.In January,the marketplace launched this years Shein X Challenge to find the designers of the future,and in April 2024 it ran its first fas

165、hion show,in Singapore,where models drawn from its social influencers and shoppers walked the runway.At the time,Leonard Lin,Shein Singapore general manager and global head of public affairs,said the show“was introduced to not just showcase our designers work,but also to reinforce our commitment to

166、SheinSheinempower the communities we serve.We hope our customers not only discover fashion,but feel represented at Shein events.”How the fashion marketplace reaches customers in more than 150 territories22|InternetRetailing|May 2024IRS215WP 2024 DIGITALX 2024|COMPANY PROFILESpecialising in upmarket

167、womens activewear clothing,Sweaty Betty has expanded rapidly since it was founded in Londons Notting Hill in 1998 as a competitor to the Canadian brand LuluLemon.Celebrity fans include Jennifer Aniston and Halle Berry.When Sweaty Betty was sold to US-based Wolverine Worldwide in 2021,the deal was wo

168、rth close to 300mn.Like many companies in the athleisure sector,the company prospered during the Covid-19 pandemic because consumers working from home spent more online on less formal clothes.Subsequently,market conditions have changed as consumers have returned to their offices,even if only on a pa

169、rt-time basis.Looking ahead,the economic outlook is uncertain and there is evidence that even wealthier customers are spending less.Against this backdrop,in order to drive its sales,Sweaty Betty has been investing heavily in AI technologies,a way to help the company deliver personalised experiences

170、at scale.Last summer,the company reported a 62%revenue uplift via using Dynamic Yields data-driven AI and customer quizzes to improve recommendations.1 Subsequently,it has continued to invest in AI and data-driven insights in order to grow its sales.1 BettyHow the company is employing AI and data-dr

171、iven insights to improve salesSweaty Betty23|InternetRetailing|May 2024IRS215WP 2024 DIGITALX 2024|COMPANY PROFILEWhen Deckers announced its second quarter results late last year,CEO David Powers could hardly have been more bullish about one of the companys most important brands,Ugg,which had enjoye

172、d a 28.1%jump in sales year-on-year.“We currently have the most cohesive,globally aligned product,marketing and consumer-targeting strategy Ive ever seen for Ugg,”he said of a brand long associated with its sheepskin boots and Tasman slippers.Its something of a turnaround for Ugg.The brand,uber-fash

173、ionable in the noughties when the likes of Kate Moss wore the boots,had seen a drop-off in demand.So whats changed in the 2020s?Theres an element of nostalgia here and a brands time coming round again because of cyclical factors,although this was also down to clever marketing.In particular,while cel

174、ebrity endorsement is still important in making the boots and slippers desirable,three other factors stand out here.Firstly,Ugg worked closely with influencers to grow sales via social media.Secondly,Ugg focused on key products such as its Tasman slippers.Thirdly,it began its campaigns over the summ

175、er,successfully encouraging consumers to invest in sheepskin boots during July and August.UggUggHow Uggs boots and slippers have become desirable,whatever the season24|InternetRetailing|May 2024IRS215WP 2024 DIGITALX 2024|CONCLUSIONThis report may not be stored in a retrieval system,distributed or s

176、old 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)license(https:creativecommons.o

177、rg/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 c

178、hange.RetailX at InternetRetailing Media Services Ltd27 Clements LaneLondon,EC4N 7AETel:+44(0)20 7062 2525 Printed in Great B RetailX 2024RESEARCH:Researcher Anna Segarra FasFor questions about our research and to send feedback,please email the team via:Research Director Martin ShawCEO Ian JindalEDI

179、TORIAL:Managing Editor Jonathan WrightProduction Editor Cam WinstanleyDESIGN:Art Editor Lauren CoburnCover Design Freny AntonyMARKETING:Marketing and Circulation Addison Southam SALES:Commercial Director Andy James Group Creative Solutions Director Marvin Roberts ConclusionCompiling the inaugural re

180、port in any new series is always a fascinating opportunity to assess the retail industry from a new angle.So it has proved with this DigitalX report.We have been particularly struck by how the advent of AI has,in so many respects,already changed best practice in such areas as personalisation,the con

181、sumer experience and marketing.Much is new,much will continue to change and evolve over the next 12 months.But theres also a familiarity about many of the issues we encountered.Data silos remain a problem.The industry has,for several years now,been dealing with issues around consumers changing attit

182、udes to their own personal information.Competition for attention remains fierce.These long-running themes will continue to be central to retail in the future.In the meantime,we hope the features and case studies in this report offer insights to help you deal with the issues here,wherever your busine

183、ss is in its digital journey.We would like to thank all those who shared their insights,many not quoted here directly,in compiling this report.Finally,the RetailX research team is always keen to hear from you with suggestions and observations.Please do get in touch at .As always,our graphics are free to share under the Creative Commons licence detailed to the right on this page and we encourage you to do so.Jonathan Wright,Managing Editor,RetailXDownload at