《Raconteur:2022年未来消费者报告(英文版)(9页).pdf》由会员分享,可在线阅读,更多相关《Raconteur:2022年未来消费者报告(英文版)(9页).pdf(9页珍藏版)》请在三个皮匠报告上搜索。
1、1 0/02/2022INDEPENDEN T P U B L I C AT I O N BY#0786R AC O N T EU R.NE TTHE FUTURE CUSTOMERHOW CONSUMERS ARE ACTING AS REGULATORSDATA PRIVACY VERSUS PERSONALISATION1206THE PSYCHOLOGY OF DECISION FATIGUE15R A C O N T E U R.N E TT H E F U T U R E C U S T O M E R0302DESPITE THE HYPE SURROUNDING THE MET
2、AVERSE,MOST CONSUMERS ARE UNINTERESTED OR UNAWAREUS consumers interest in using virtual or augmented reality while shoppingR A C O N T E U R.N E T03/future-customer-2022ow would you like to meet up with some interesting-looking new people at a virtual coffee shop?Youll sit at home sipping your own b
3、rew,but wear a virtual reality(VR)headset to experience the caf and mingle with your new acquaintances as a cartoon avatar.Or how about wear-ing a waterproof headset and ent-ering a swimming pool to simulate the sensations of space travel?Or letting your avatar walk round a clothes store and try ite
4、ms on for size?Virtual fitting will be an exact process,because your avatar will be measured up for all your vital statis-tics,from inside leg to collar size.These are just a few of the experi-ences that will be made possible by the metaverse,the giant VR network that the tech industry is building.“
5、The metaverse proposes to trans-form the internet,which is largely a transfer of information from a server to a user,into a more immersive,real-feeling experience that can be shared by an unlimited number of users,”says Doug Stephens,founder of consultancy Retail Prophet.A space where you can exist
6、as an avatar,character or player,the metaverse offers either an immer-sive virtual world or enables virtual experiences to be superimposed on to the real world.Youll probably need to wear a headset,which could be a deal-breaker for some people 3D cinema has never really taken off because of those ir
7、ritating glasses.But,for those willing to put up with this,the metaverse promises a pro-fusion of experiences that could vastly improve consumers lives.Inevitably,though,there could be some serious downsides.“We have rampant problems on the internet,including bullying and fraud,that we havent even b
8、egun to tackle,”Stephens says.“To simply hurtle forward into a more immer-sive and persistent version of that would be reckless,to say the least.”Could the metaverse really turn out to be an unwelcoming world of virtual vendettas and 3D thievery?How will its inhabitants be protec-ted from harm?Steph
9、ens believes that we need to appeal to our“better angels”to cre-ate a positive vision of the metaverse.Jonathan Manzi,co-founder and CEO of blockchain provider Beyond Protocol,has just such a vision,fore-seeing an autonomous virtual realm that will be democratic,decentral-ised and enabling.Manzi ent
10、huses about the possibilities for building a better experience than that offered by Web 2.0,which has been over-shadowed by the dysfunctionality associated with some social net-works.The metaverse will be part of the next stage of internet develop-ment known as Web 3.0,he says.This will use blockcha
11、in technology to create the truly egalitarian,par-ticipatory internet that was origi-nally envisaged by its inventors.The most recent wave of Web 3.0 hype was triggered by the renaming of the parent company of Facebook,Instagram,WhatsApp and Oculus from Facebook to Meta Platforms in October 2021.Met
12、as co-founder and CEO,Mark Zuckerberg,gave a pres-entation showing the possibilities offered by the metaverse,revealing that his company had invested$10bn(7.45bn)in developing the techno-logy that year alone.This sparked an ideological battle between tech-nologists and human rights activists about t
13、he nature of the metaverse.Would it be dominated by corporate interests?How would its users be shielded from invasions of privacy and the misuse of data?How could real consumer choice be enhanced?Manzi says that new blockchain-based unions,called decentralised autonomous organisations(DAUs),will giv
14、e consumers the power to control their private data and the experiences they have in the metaverse.A DAU would serve as a trusted intermediary,run demo-cratically in the interests of its members,who join it through an immutable blockchain ledger and vote on their relationships with brands and retail
15、ers by means of so-called smart contracts.Imagine that a group of employees are working in a virtual office space and lunchtime rolls around,Manzi says:“You could have those users information flow through the DAU,which decides whether its appropri-ate to serve them an advert about the food from trus
16、ted restaurants in the area.The ad is served,the food is delivered and money is exchanged to pay for it,all on a smart contract.Thats something that adds value.Its good marketing something thats helpful to my life.”This contrasts with the invasive advertising practices that have become a characteris
17、tic of Web 2.0.Some advertisers use psychological profiling to find peoples weak points and target them with adverts for inappropriate or even harmful products and services.“The DAU framework has checks and balances inherent in it all the way through something that hasnt been possible in Web 2.0,”he
18、 says.But such developments are still thought to be at least five years away.The metaverse will be a native world for generations Z and alpha.It will require users to have an under-standing of DAUs,blockchains,cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens,which will act as exchange systems.So it wont be
19、everyones cup of tea,sipped virtually or not.The early indicators of how it will work are already available,though,in meeting apps such as Gather Town and gaming platforms such as Animal Crossing and Roblox.Kathryn Bishop is foresight editor of LSNG,which highlights trends predicted by The Future La
20、boratory,a brand consultancy.She points to South Korea as a soci-ety thats already making strong advances in metaverse tech.It offers apps such as social network Zepeto,which uses facial recognition sys-tems to create 3D avatars of users that can already interact virtually.Meanwhile,Ralph Lauren has
21、 released a collection on Roblox and even runs a virtual coffee shop.The fashion giant and other brands that have been getting involved in early metaverse spaces all view this as a way to connect with the next genera-tion of customers.As a consumer using such spa ces,“you can meet other people and h
22、ave a completely alternative brand expe-rience from one youve been used to,”Bishop says.“Its a great way to discover new products or perhaps unlock some kind of loyalty bonus.”Stephens acknowledges that the shopping experience could be vastly improved by Web 3.0.In essence,ecommerce is“digital catal
23、ogue shopping”in its current form,he says.“Its not social,its not engag-ing and its certainly not fun.The metaverse could change that.”Whos averse to the metaverse?THE FUTURE CUSTOMERraconteur/raconteur_londonSome believe it will offer a cornucopia of heightened consumer experiences;others fear itwi
24、ll become a dystopia.But theyre unlikely to find out for at least another five yearsDistributed inDavid BenadyPublished in association withAlthough this publication is funded through advertising and sponsorship,all editorial is without bias and sponsored features are clearly labelled.For an upcoming
25、 schedule,partnership inquiries or feedback,please call+44(0)20 3877 3800 or email Raconteur is a leading publisher of special-interest content and research.Its publications and articles cover a wide range of topics,including business,finance,sustainability,healthcare,lifestyle and technology.Racont
26、eur special reports are published exclusively in The Times and The Sunday Times as well as online at The information contained in this publication has been obtained from sources the Proprietors believe to be correct.However,no legal liability can be accepted for any errors.No part of this publicatio
27、n may be reproduced without the prior consent of the Publisher.Raconteur MWestend61 via Getty ImageseMarketer,2020*W E B 3.0David BenadyA writer,editor and analyst whospecialises inretail,marketing,IT and the media.His work ispublished by The Guardian,NYT and B.Virginia MatthewsA Fleet Street-traine
28、d business writer,editor and columnist with extensive experience of news reporting and feature writing for daily and weekly publications.Oliver PickupA multi-award-winning journalist specialising inbusiness,technology,sport and culture.Emily SearesAn award-winning editor and business journalist who
29、writes for a wide range of publications.David StirlingA freelance journalist writing articles for national publications including newspapers and business magazines.Chris Stokel-WalkerA technology and culture journalist and author,with bylines in The New York Times,The Guardian and Wired.Contributors
30、Publishing manager Flo WilkinsonDesign/production assistant Louis NassDesignKellie JerrardCelina LuceyColm McDermottSamuele MottaSean Wyatt-LivesleyDesign directorTim WhitlockIllustrationSara GelfgrenDeputy editorFrancesca CassidyManaging editorSarah VizardSub-editorNeil ColeReports editorIan Deerin
31、gHead of productionJustyna OConnellHUse it regularly2%Have not used it,but are very interested11%Have not used it and arent interested45%Have used it,but not regularly7%Have not used it,but are somewhat interested23%Are not aware of it12%R A C O N T E U R.N E TT H E F U T U R E C U S T O M E R0504RE
32、PORTS OF THE HIGH STREETS DEATH ARE EXAGGERATEDProjected value of in-store purchases versus etail sales worldwide($tn)ne of the most obvious socioeconomic effects of the Covid crisis has been the way it has boosted the ascent of ecommerce.Online channels now account for about 3 of every 10 inretail
33、sales in the UK,compared with 2 before the pandemic star-ted,according to the Office for National Statistics.To match this increase in digital spending,retailers have been work-ing to enhance the customer expe-rience they provide online.Yet a laser-like focus on ecommerce can come at the expense of
34、the many consumers who still shop the ana-logue way.Research published by Deloitte in August 2021 revealed that 21%of UK consumers dont have access to a laptop PC and 8%of consumers still dont own a smart-phone.Companies that disregard the needs of this group risk alienat-ing many potential customer
35、s.“If brands make choices based purely on economics without con-sidering their impact on certain stakeholders,it could prove a prob-lem in the med ium term,”warns Ross Sleight,chief strategy officer at Somo Global,a digital product agency.“Such considerations are particularly important in key areas
36、of the high street.For instance,the closure of a local bank branch can asset in reaching new people,but also that it leaves many others behind.For the latter group,its not only a question of having access to an internet-enabled device such as a smartphone or a personal com-puter.Its also about havin
37、g the ability to use them.”Katie Thomas,lead at the Kearney Consumer Institute,agrees that the digital divide is not only a function of the“growing income and wealth gaps across the UK”,although these are clearly a strong contributory factor.People who are getting left behind by the online revolutio
38、n may well be able to afford the latest smart devices and high-speed access to the internet.Its a matter of choice too,she stresses.Some people simply shun digital technology,choosing not to partici-pate in online transactions because they prefer a traditional,in-person retail experience,which could
39、 include using cash instead of card payments.A brand may take a cal-culated risk,knowing that these consumers are generally older and will eventually be replaced by new generations of digital natives.But choosing to ignore their preferen-ces could damage its standing,Thomas warns.“Racing towards the
40、 future but losing customers loyalty on the way is not a sustainable strategy,”she argues.“If a businesss moti-vation to be innovative is making the firm outpace the slow process of consumer change,its time for it to slow down.”Moreover,while companies may have a strong desire to race ahead with the
41、ir digital transformations,cheered on by their most IT-literate customers,they need to remember that the laggards whose needs theyre ignoring are being left a long way behind.According to research published in September 2021 by Comdata,29%of Britons“have very low digital engage-ment”.People in this
42、group arent necessarily lacking an internet con-nection.Many of them have online access and digital skills,but they simply dont want to use them.Theyre the type of high-street shoppers who,when asked at the till if they want to be sent a digital receipt rather than a paper one for environmental reas
43、ons,will dec-line to share their email address.An independent poll of 2,100 UK adults by YouGov in January 2021 found that 8%had shopped solely at bricks-and-mortar stores over the previous 90 days.While that was half of the number whod shopped exclusively online during that per-iod,this finding ind
44、icates that a significant number of consumers remain tied to a non-digital world.The study found that consumers inability to interact physically with products was the second-highest barrier(after their unwillingness topay delivery charges)dissuading A small yet significant proportion of consumers st
45、ill havent joined the online shopping revolution.Any firm that ignores these analogue laggards does so at its perilThomas Barwick via Getty ImagesChris Stokel-WalkerThe pandemic has taught us that digitalisation can be a huge asset in reaching new people,but also that it leaves many others behindTur
46、ned back,tuned out,logged off:dont discount the digitally disconnectedStatista,2020evoke high emotion among those in the affected community who feel disenfranchised and on the wrong side of the digital divide.”He continues:“One of the biggest barriers to a companys successful digital transformation
47、is how to change customers behaviour.Con-sumers who are so accustomed to undertaking certain tasks in a par-ticular way cannot be expected to change them immediately and embrace digital methods.”Sleight suggests that,in order to ensure that no one gets left behind by this transformation,brands shoul
48、d work with customers to help them develop digital literacy skills.Commercial featuret seems counterintuitive to everything that brands have been working to achieve in their marketing strategies over the past decade,but today the best way to win a customer is through a simple invitation.Businesses a
49、re walking a tightrope when it comes to customer trust and loyalty,following a two-year period where digital proficiency has risen,and a wealth of choice is being unearthed.Consumers can afford to be more fickle than ever before,and they are not nec-essarily willing to offer second chances.This lack
50、 of tolerance may come from poor service provision,fulfilment or customer service.But more and more,it comes from an eerie feeling of being watched almost stalked.Such is the scope of data analytics and AI in the present day.Customers have had enough.“Data surveillance and intrusion has run its cour
51、se and exclusive offers are making a resurgence for higher prof-its and better data,”explains Jake Weatherly,CEO of SheerID,a company that,for the past 10 years,has explored the role of data relationships to help eliminate friction and fraud,and to champion the importance of personal-ised marketing.
52、He adds:“As consumers take more interest in who they trust with their personal data,SheerID provides mar-keters with a new approach where they can create an exchange by giving gated,personalised offers to consumer com-munities that share a core attribute,such as their life stage or profession.”This
53、concept has evolved from the theory that consumers are actually happy to share personal,zero-party data,but only when being offered something of real value in return.By truly getting to know the individual,A transition from data surveillance to invited personalisationIf companies are to attract long
54、-term customer trust and improved revenue as a result,then the era of data stalking must come to an endbrands can offer customers a more personal invitation to what theyve said they want,rather than something based on predictions of what they might want.“In terms of digital marketing,were entering a
55、 future where invited person-alisation will become commonplace.That is,one where the consumer raises their hand and knowingly opts into an offer they want,”Weatherly affirms.“This approach differs significantly from traditional forms of personalisation where the marketer secretly tracks the prospect
56、 online and tries to add data and attributes without consent.”Taking a more subtle,patient and transparent approach may seem coun-ter productive to companies that have had concepts like big data optimisa-tion shouted at them for so long.But the evidence clearly shows that invited personalisation is
57、the way forward.Consumers have expressed a willing-ness to be invited,rather than stalked,and brands must trust in this method if they are to instil trust in return.Weatherly continues:“If they hav-ent already,marketers need to begin shifting away from a dependence on third-party data.Not only is it
58、 noto-riously inaccurate,but changes to Apples iOS and Google Chrome will make it virtually impossible to run cam-paigns based on third-party cookies moving forward.”This transition doesnt have to be a solo pursuit.SheerID has been helping brands gather zero-party data through verification of potent
59、ial customers for more than a decade.Each individual is invited to provide their details,not only to verify their standing as a target customer,but to ensure that they,in return,only receive recommendations or marketing campaigns that they have already put their hand up for.This enhancement of consu
60、mer con-trol in the provider-buyer relationship has already become an expectation for many.People want personalisation,but on their terms.And it can all start with a simple invitation.Weatherly concludes:“Data gathered directly from consumers allows mar-keters to understand them on a deeper level,an
61、d establishes the difference between identification(what demo-graphic they fall into)and identity(who they actually are).“When you steer away from stalk-ing consumers online and adopt this approach instead,then we have already seen that you can build a longer-term relationship truly built on transpa
62、rency and trust.”For more information,please visit surveillance and intrusion has run its course and exclusive offers are making a resurgence for higher profits and better dataC U S T O M E R E X P E R I E N C EOthem from shopping online,with 45%of respondents citing this as a deterrent.By contrast,
63、only 5%said a lack of web access was an obsta-cle.In the medium term,the emer-gence of virtual and augmented reality offers a potential solution.But,as businesses look forward and start adopting these new techno logies,they also risk widen-ing the gap between the digital natives and the analogue hol
64、douts,further alienating a significant cohort of potential customers.“At Metro Bank,we see lots of peo-ple who want to use both channels and there are certain customer experiences that I would still rather have in person,”Robinson says.Keeping that in mind is crucial,as is not getting carried away b
65、y the endless promise of technology.“In this business,we always start with our customers.What kinds of customers might come through the journeys we are offering?Can we put ourselves in their shoes?We need to know how these journeys look from their perspective,”she stresses,adding that the online and
66、 offline experiences offered by the bank ideally offer the same quality.“This is about how organisations stand up and ensure consistency across their channels.”More than 1,200 of the 2,000 con-sumers who responded to an online poll by YouGov for Metro Bank in August 2020 agreed with the sug-gestion
67、that British banks had given up on having a high-street presence.Just over half of those surveyed said that they still liked to speak to someone face to face when making a bank transaction.Among respondents aged over 55,the proportion rose to 62%.“There has clearly been a huge acceleration towards d
68、igital chan-nels throughout the pandemic,”says Kat Robinson,Metro Banks customer experience director.“The digital revolution in services could be felt most profoundly by older people,who tend to be less digitally literate.Falling on the wrong side of this digital divide could be a life-changing worr
69、y.”Dr Angelika Strohmayer is a senior lecturer in the design school at Northumbria University,where she studies interactions between humans and computers.She notes that“the pandemic has taught us that digitalisation can be a huge 2020224Physical retailEcom
70、merceR A C O N T E U R.N E TT H E F U T U R E C U S T O M E R0706Consumers have gained tremendous power over businesses that meet their disapproval.Many firms should have more to fear from concerted activism on social media than they do from a regulatory knuckle-rapsector had attracted a storm of cr
71、iti-cism on social media for failing to prevent vulnerable consumers from running up high levels of debt.In October 2021,the Treasury pub-lished a consultation paper setting out its plans to impose tight regula-tions on BNPL credit agreements and put the Financial Conduct Authority(FCA)in control of
72、 the UK market.Abbie Morris is co-founder and CEO of Compare Ethics,a search platform that helps eco-conscious consumers to find brands that match their values.She is pleased that the authorities have started catching up with organisations that have been publicly criticised as exponents of greenwash
73、ing.Only recently have“governments started to impose tougher legislation following the reaction of consumers”,she says,cit-ing BPs“Possibilities Everywhere”ad campaign as a recent example.“The energy firm caused public outrage when it highlighted its solar and wind energy projects,having also reveal
74、ed that about 96%of its annual spending went on fossil fuels.This prompted authorities to step in and present the case that fossil-fuel companies should not be able to buy a good reputation for their climate-damaging products through adver-tising,”Morris says.In terms of consumer pressure prompting
75、firms and legislators to act,advertising is an interesting topic,says Vikki Williams,customer experience officer at Starling Bank.“Phishing attacks are on the increase”,she notes,“and many of these attempted frauds are genera-ted through ads on social networks he closing lyrics of Beyond the Son,a s
76、ong by Swedish electro-jazz duo Koop,offer the perfect sign-off for any cordial correspondence:“May the winds be at your back,the dice be kind and the gods turn the occasional blind eye.”The track was released in 2006,the year of Twitters birth.To brands,the millions of consumers who use the social
77、network have become the gods who never turn a blind eye.They con-stantly demand transparency from organisations and are incredibly quick to upbraid any whose behav-iour falls short of their expectations.If the online clamour isnt handled adroitly by those on the receiving end,it can soon turn into h
78、ysteria.At that point,the traditional media will often notice and pile on too.Even-tually,if the furore is sufficient,an industry regulator may get involved.But the serious reputational damage will already have been done by then.Boohoo,Nestl and Zara are among anumber of brands that have been shamed
79、 on social media for various reasons and boycotted by consumers in recent years.“Social media is vital in bringing bad practices to the notice of a wider audience,including industry regu-lators,”says Rick Evans,strategy director at marketing company R/GA London.“Because social media ena-bles the imp
80、act of consumer action to be amplified,companies will often change before the slow wheels of reg-ulation and legislation move.”Evans cites the case of buy-now-pay-later(BNPL)finance as an exam-ple of how public pressure can help to trigger legislative action.The 2.7bn SOPA Images/Contributor via Get
81、ty ImagesOliver Pickupwhich is why it no longer pays Meta(owner of Facebook and Instagram)for advertising.Moreover,Williams and her colleagues have lobbied the government to extend its online safety bill to cover fraudulent ads.They have also spoken to“tech giants directly,to encourage them to follo
82、w in Googles footsteps and rethink their advertising practices”.Williams has noted“encouraging signs of progress”on both fronts.A recent parliamentary report strongly advised amendments to the draft leg-islation,while Meta has announced that it will change its advertising policies.“Its proof that bu
83、sinesses and their customers can achieve real change working together,”she says.Consumers are more willing than ever to praise good experiences and Ganging judges:how the court of public opinion rules OKincluding Facebook and Instagram,which dont require financial servi-ces providers such as crypto
84、plat-forms to be regulated by the FCA.”Starling Bank has recognised that this lack of regulation is problematic,The trading and compliance landscape has changed dramatically.Companies mustwake up to this fact andrespond accordinglyACTIVISM ASIDE,MOST CONSUMERS ARE PASSIVISTSShare of UK consumers tha
85、t have taken action against companies whose behaviour they have found disagreeableC O N S U M E R A C T I V I S MTcarp about bad ones on social media.Recent research by reviews platform Feefo indicates that we are 29%more likely to leave feedback about our dealings with businesses than we were befor
86、e the pandemic.Businesses and regulators alike have little choice but to listen as the public become increasingly vocifer-ous about a range of key topics.This year,data privacy will be one such topic,predicts Rafi Azim-Khan,part-ner at law firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman and leader of its cyber
87、-security practice in Europe.“In the digital economy,even if a regulator in one country is slow to respond to a complaint,regulators in other nations will take direct action.For instance,Frances data privacy regulator has recently fined Google and Facebook in the US,”he says.In addition,more“US-styl
88、e class actions”are being brought in juris-dictions where previously such cases were rare.Take Lloyd v Google,for instance,which reached the UK Supreme Court last year.Richard Lloyd,a former director with the Consumers Association,brought a representative compensation claim under the Data Protection
89、 Act 1998 on behalf of about 4 million people who,he argued,had been affected by a workaround enabling Google to col-lect browser-generated data from their iPhones in 2011.The court found unanimously for Google,over-turning the Court of Appeals land-mark ruling,but Azim-Khan argues that the directio
90、n of travel is clear.“The trading and compliance land-scape has changed dramatically.Companies must wake up to this fact and respond accordingly,”he says.“When the court gave its verdict,sev-eral newspapers and commentators trumpeted that it slammed the door on the possibility of US-style class acti
91、ons in the UK.But they were missing an important point:even though Google was victorious on the facts before the court on this occa-sion,the verdict wasnt a bar to any-one bringing representative actions that take a different approach.”Stressing the significance of the case,Azim-Khan says:“The upsho
92、t is that firms are facing a kind of double jeopardy:if regulators dont punish their missteps,customers could still do so through the courts.Were at the start of a new phase of increased lia-bility for businesses.Its the calm before the storm and companies are sailing into dangerous waters.”Given th
93、at the consumer gods are becoming even less inclined to turn a blind eye to any firm that veers off the approved course,businesses will be hoping that theyll at least have the winds at their backs.Posted about it on social mediaUnfollowed a company on social mediaBoycotted a companyPosted about it o
94、n social mediaShared information with friends offlineShared information with friends onlineSent a complaint to the companyShared a call to boycott onlineShared a call to boycott offlineTook part in a public protestOtherDid not take anyaction18%14%12%10%10%7%7%5%4%4%55%1%Statista,2020usiness has been
95、 talking about a volatile,uncer-tain,complex and ambig-uous world since 1985 when the acronym Vuca lurched into com-mon parlance via the economists Warren Bennis and Bert Nanus.These features of life were magni-fied in 2007 by the smartphone revolution.Since then,political upheaval,a climate emergen
96、cy,changing attitudes to the concept of work and,of course,the Covid pandemic have made volatility and uncertainty the norm.In business,leaders have to be comfortable with constant change.With full irony,this seems likely to be the one thing that wont change.Good marketers have always led through un
97、certainty,so our roles as leaders are essential right now.But how do we equip ourselves for whats next when we dont know what that will be?My conversations with successful leaders have revealed that ambi-tious,thoughtful change-makers have been working on honing a particular skill:vision.Its not nec
98、essarily the leadership doc-trine of vision,which articulates strategies,goals and the dreams of teams.While that is critical for decision-making and motivation,those who want to connect with the customer of tomorrow need to sharpen something else.Leaders in organisations must be the ones looking fo
99、rward,up and around.This type of foresight is difficult,because its easier to lean on experience and yesterdays data.As Warren Buffett puts it:“The rear-view mirror is always clearer than the windshield.”The danger in a fast-changing world is that pattern recognition can place you in the past.Recomb
100、inant innovation occurs when two ideas from different areas come together to form some-thing new.David Epsteins book Range demonstrates the benefits of cross-category skill building,and,indeed,game-changing entrepre-neurs repeatedly find inspiration in different areas.Phil Knights waffle-iron techno
101、logy made Nike a winner,Steve Jobs calligraphy class in college helped lead to the clear design aesthetic of Apple.Staring down at a spreadsheet wont make revenue grow.Sparks of innovation rarely come from focusing on the category in which youre already competing.And your ability to anticipate whats
102、 next can come from cross-category understanding.So those who want to lead change in a fast-changing world will succeed not by looking down or back,but by sharpening their peripheral leadership vision to spot risks and opportunities more quickly.Its hard to explore tomorrow when the pressures of tod
103、ay take up all our time.Looking up and around is challenging when we have our heads down.To build the peripheral vision we need to use the smartest shortcuts other sto-ries,other ideas and other peoples experiences.Mark Earls,fellow of The Marketing Society,explains that intelligent marketing deci-s
104、ions often come from adapting others ideas:“copy,copy,copy”.The easiest,fastest way?Connect yourself with smart,like-minded peers.Members of The Marketing Society help each other with ideas and inspiration,for instance.A network of connectors helps you look ahead,around corners and rel-ish the excit
105、ing potential of change.Dealing with something new?A different perspective helps with your navigation.Someone you con-nect with may have seen a parallel situation.People from diverse backgrounds approaching similar challenges might give a sideways perspective for your thinking.We are stronger togeth
106、er than alone.Whatever is coming next,insights and inspiration will reach us faster and our peripheral vision is strengthened by being part of a community of the curious.Isnt that an idea worth looking at?To build peripheral vision we need to use the smartest shortcutsBO P I N I O NSophie Devonshire
107、CEO,The Marketing SocietyCommercial feature021 was the year of the great resignation.Dissatisfied with their employee experience,workers up and left.Life is too short to accept a raw deal and candidates now dictate the job market more than ever.But workers arent the only ones voting with their feet,
108、an altogether more silent revolution is taking place.One that will make 2022 the year of the great customer resignation.While its true that the people are the lifeblood of a business,a company is nothing without its customers.And particularly in the B2B space,custom-ers are fed up with the poor expe
109、ri-ence they are receiving.Increasingly,they are emboldened not to tolerate it any further.Alarming research in an upcoming SugarCRM report shows customer churn is worsening.Yet while organisa-tions recognise the churn,many strug-gle to understand which customers are unhappy.If this is the case,thei
110、r cur-rent CRM system is costing them time and money.Meeting the threatFor too long CRM systems have not delivered on their promises,and mar-keting and sales departments have failed to work together to put the cus-tomer first.To bring to an end the cus-tomer relationship crisis this is causing,and t
111、o avoid being left behind,organi-sations must now go back to basics and build the entire customer experience with the customer journey in mind.But where to begin,especially when customer expectations are evolving at an ever-greater pace?A good place to start is with a broader understanding and adopt
112、ion of CX tools that provide a clear view of customers not only based on data residing inside the business The great customer resignation is here are you prepared for it?While organisations are still getting to grips with the so-called great resignation,lurking beneath the surface is an arguably gre
113、ater problem with their customersbut also taking full advantage of the data that exist outside their walls.In such a dynamic business environ-ment,companies need to accentu-ate their value proposition and,most importantly,differentiate to retain their existing customers.But dissi-pated data and an i
114、nability to anticipate customer needs can quickly diminish interactions with brands.And as most CRM systems lack context-rich infor-mation,they offer only a fragmented view of the user journey,which soon results in very frustrated customers.While consolidated software and data appear an obvious solu
115、tion to many critical business pain points,a complete customer view is rarely implemented and available within companies.A holistic historical over-view of customer interactions,how-ever,allows a business to monitor cus-tomer journey evolution and achieve a high-definition customer experience.A cons
116、olidated and intuitive CRM system also allows salespeople to focus more on revenue generation and less on finding information across siloed software.Clear customer insights and contextual data can ensure higher competitiveness levels because of their potential to utilise artificial intel-ligence in
117、CRM and other operations.But not all AI is created equal.The power of true AIA true AI-fuelled customer relationship system is more than just simple automa-tion.It can not only aggregate data from different sources-including in-house sales,marketing and service tools-it can also interpret it and ide
118、ntify patterns in interactions.On top of this,it can com-pile user data with open-source data-base information to offer deeper cus-tomer insights.AIs prediction precision adds certainty when understanding cus-tomers and enhancing their experience.As the world becomes more digital,the correlation bet
119、ween customer loy-alty and profit is growing.Companies that invest in tactics and technolo-gies to bring them closer to custom-ers can unlock steady revenue growth.Although the inclusion of personalisa-tion and investment in technology is vital,organisations must listen to cus-tomer feedback or risk
120、 losing business.It is more important than ever to retain customers and ensure they play a part in your companys growth,rather than your competitors.Understanding that intelligent technology is a key ena-bler in creating an impactful customer experience will allow businesses to reap the benefits of
121、long-term satisfied customers.Those that deliver a fantas-tic customer experience in 2022 will be better poised to benefit,not lose out,from the great customer resignation.For more information,visit in the B2B space,customers are fed up with the poor experience they are receiving2R A C O N T E U R.N
122、 E TT H E F U T U R E C U S T O M E R0908 In the competition for patronage,businesses are finding that consumers are more demanding and less forgiving than ever before.Customer loyalty is dwindling,while research suggests that an overwhelming majority of consumers are unwilling to offer a second cha
123、nce to any company falling short of their expectations.Firms do say that the customer is king and customers have indeed become accustomed to being treated like royaltyTHE FICKLENESS OF YOUTHLoyalty behaviour towards brands among generation Z since the Covid crisis startedONLINE CLOTHES SHOPPERS EXPE
124、CT FREE DELIVERYShare of UK respondents indicating the following are important or very important for online fashion delivery and returnsPATIENCE AND EXPECTATIONShave become loyal to brandshave become less patient with poorly functioning websiteshave become more willing to try new brands online91%89%
125、66%56%48%Free deliveryFree returnsNext-day deliveryClick and collectSame-day deliveryof consumers expect companies to know their purchase history regardless of the method of communication72%consumers expect omnichannel servicecustomers expect businesses to respond to negative reviews within three da
126、ys9in101in3of consumers will stop doing business with a brand after only one bad customer experience79%CXT,2019EIGHTY-THREE PER CENT OF CUSTOMERS EXPECT COMPANIES TO REPLY WITHIN 24 HOURS TO QUERIES SUBMITTED THROUGH SOCIAL MEDIA CHANNELSCustomers expectations of response times to social media quest
127、ions or complaints,global averageWithin an hourSome time that dayI dont expect a responseImmediatelyMicrosoft,2019ON A SCALE FROM ZERO TO 10,HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE?Customers evaluation of businesses customer experience capabilities,by regionAmericasAsia PacificEuropeOtherMiddle East and Africa0%012
128、3456789100%0%0%0%0%0%0%0%0.3%0.3%0.7%3.6%0.8%0.5%10%10%10%10%40%20%2.8%1.1%7.2%12%22.7%23.2%15.5%15.5%0.3%1.1%2.8%6.4%10.9%23.3%26.8%18.6%8%0.2%0.4%1%3.3%7.9%14.7%18.3%27.2%17.9%8.3%4.6%11.2%13.3%24.1%17.1%1.3%24.8%Nippon Telegraph and Telephone,2021PR Newswire,2021will abandon a purchase and/or pos
129、t a negative review after a poor digital shopping experience37%57%63%80%18%28%37%17%TheIndustry.fashion,2020R A C O N T E U R.N E TT H E F U T U R E C U S T O M E R1110The lockdown restrictions on high-street retail have obliged many manufacturers to start selling directly to consumers.Their new cha
130、nnel is proving valuable to them in some unexpected waysStraight-line appreciation:when D2C is the A1 choicene of the main effects of the Covid crisis has been the way it has separated peo-ple,yet many manufacturers have treated this existential threat as an opportunity to get closer to consum-ers a
131、nd understand their changing preferences.Who knew that some families preferred holding perfume parties to playing board games last Christmas,for instance,or that the humble pencil case has become hot property among schoolchildren?Manufacturers have gained such insights by cutting out middlemen such
132、as retailers and adopting a direct-to-consumer(D2C)business model.This is based mainly on ecommerce but can also include telephone sales and even standalone stores,from pop-up shops to less temporary outlets.Some brands,such as sportswear group Nike,are generating a third of their sales income throu
133、gh its D2C channels.Fragrance maker Pairfum London started selling its own products D2C online after the governments lockdown restrictions obliged its 100 high-street retail partners in the UK to close their doors.“The main benefit has been the direct contact its given us with our customers,”reports
134、 Huib Maat,the firms founder and perfumer.“Were no longer just a bottle on a retailers shelf.Weve had people calling us to say how our perfumes are affecting their lives.They feel closer to us.”Callers have included the couple who told a bemused Maat how much they loved his“dance perfume”.They expla
135、ined that this was the nickname they had for a particular fragrance they would put on before going out to their dancing classes.“Weve even heard from people who told us that they had swapped play-ing their usual family board games at Christmas in 2021 for spraying perfumes from our gift boxes on eac
136、h others wrists,”he says.Stationery manufacturer Pukka Pads reports that its creation last year of a D2C site aimed at British consumers after two decades of selling through intermediaries has strengthened its ties with customers and even with the retailers it has started to circumvent.“By putting o
137、ur entire catalogue online,we have given our customers the pick of everything we have to offer,”reports the companys pro-curement director,Darryl Corbin-Jones.“Weve been seeing particu-lar demand for our pencil cases from schoolchildren they hadnt been aware that we had offered these before.Retailer
138、s have also been getting in touch with us to say that they have seen something new on our website that they want to display in their stores.”Barclays Corporate Banking has predicted that UK manufacturers total D2C sales income will increase from 96bn in 2020 to 120bn in 2023.Its found that consumers
139、 are becoming more inclined to buy directly from manufacturers where this is an option,in the expectation of finding better prices.Chris Dunn,an independent busi-ness consultant,notes that consum-ers using the D2C channel have a better chance of finding what they want in stock than they would if the
140、y went to a retailer.Theyre also likely to receive more knowledge-able after-sales service,given the manufacturers expertise in the workings of its own products.Adopting a D2C model requires a significant outlay.In 2020,Barclays estimated that the average invest-ment required to set up such a chan-n
141、el was 288,000.Pukka Pads had to set up its ecom-merce function from scratch,says Corbin-Jones,noting that the com-panys products“used to market themselves to retailers.Weve had to hire both internal and external teams to run the website and now we pick individual items in the ware-house.This has be
142、en a big invest-ment with no savings as yet.But this is a long-term strategy.”Dunn would advise any manufac-turer considering the D2C route to examine the likely costs,benefits and risks in great detail beforehand.One key advantage of the model,he adds,is that it enables producers to put new items o
143、n the market more quickly,as it frees them from retail-ers standard purchasing cycles and costs such as slotting fees.Maat reports that selling directly to consumers has improved his SourceKidvelo,a manufacturer of lightweight no-pedal bikes to help children learn tocycle,was launched last year by t
144、wocouples:Karen and Gary Wood,basedin the UK,and Nicole and AnthonyKotarac,based in Australia.Theychose to sell D2Cto give them full control of the process that brings products from the factory in Asia to theircustomer base,which includes cycling instructors and schools as well asparents of young ch
145、ildren.“We can deliver them into the hands of riders quickly and in perfect condition,”says Karen Wood.“With no middlemen,wehave a direct line to our customers andcan get to know them.If they have a query,theyll get answers from us much more quickly than they would if they had to ask a retailers sho
146、p assistant.”Wood adds that the cost savings her company has achieved through bypassing wholesalers and retailers have been passed directly on to the customers.“Thishas made us more competitive and flexible with our offers.”She reports that finding affordable spaceto store stock has been one of the
147、main challenges that Kidvelo has had to deal with in the UK.“Were less able to move quantity in bulkto,say,a retailer to reduce the amount of warehousing space we require.This obviously means high costs,but our approach is ultimately still cheaper than going through retailers,”Wood says.“Nobody has
148、more passion for your own product than you do.Nearly everyone remembers learning to ride a bike and we can help to share that feeling.”Cycle path:how Kidvelo is taking the direct route to successDavid Stirlingfirms cash flow.All sales it makes this way are sales for which it wont have to wait three
149、months to see the money after invoicing a retailer.Cash freed up this way can then be reinvested in D2C-focused activities such as social media marketing.Despite this,both Pukka Pads and Pairfum view maintaining a mix of D2C and retail as their best long-term channel strategy.“Were looking to expand
150、 our web-site to cover the whole of Europe,but we have no plans to use fewer retail-ers,”says Jess Stott,online account manager at Pukka Pads.“We dont want to become reliant on just one route to market.”Maat says that he would miss interacting with customers and get-ting to know them better if Pairf
151、um were ever to abandon its D2C chan-nel.“We used to receive infrequent calls from our retail partners,”he says.“Nowadays,our phones are lighting up,but the conversations were having with customers are much more beautiful.”S A L E S C H A N N E L SOCommercial featureMaking the web accessible to the
152、worldCompanies that fail to address web accessibility are missing vital opportunities to engage with an audience that wants to connect with their brandseamless online customer experience has become increasingly important for businesses,especially during the last two years of the pandemic when digita
153、l interactions have soared.While most of us take ease of access for granted,around 1 billion people live with a dis-ability,including conditions that may affect their ability to navigate the web.According to a survey by Nucleus Research,as much as 70%of web content is not sufficiently accessible,pre
154、venting millions of potential cus-tomers from interacting with brands online.This flies in the face of World Wide Web inventor Tim Berners-Lees belief that the power of the Web is in its universality.Digital experience analytics plat-form Contentsquare is on a mission to help brands build great digi
155、tal expe-riences that are accessible to all.In 2020 the company acquired tech startup AdaptMyWeb,and in 2021,it launched a non-profit organisation,the Contentsquare Foundation,with the aim of raising awareness about the issue and helping to shrink the acces-sibility gap.Contentsquare Foundation dire
156、ctor Marion Ranvier says:“Knowing where to start to make your digital proper-ties accessible can be overwhelming,but we need to raise awareness on this topic.One of the challenges is the fact that 80%of disabilities are invisi-ble,so we need a much better under-standing of what disability is,and how
157、 it impacts peoples lives and their ability to access websites.”The scale of accessibility challengesWeb accessibility issues affect people with many conditions,including visual,auditory,physical and cognitive impairments,from colour blindness and cataracts to deafness and dys-lexia.There are some s
158、imple steps that organisations can take to improve web accessibility quite quickly,for exam-ple,increasing text font size,including alternative text to website images,and adding subtitles to videos.But main-taining an accessible website must become part of a long-term strategy.“Things are constantly
159、 changing,”says Ranvier.“Even when a website has been audited,and had its accessibility issues corrected,the company still needs an ongoing focus on accessibility to ensure any new digital content can be accessed and navigated by everyone.”The case for improving digital acces-sibility extends beyond
160、 the moral obli-gation of building accessible websites for all.Given that the global population currently stands at 7.9 billion,the global figure of 1 billion people with disabili-ties is immense.To give a sense of its size,it would take 32 years to count to 1 billion.Research has shown that 71%of c
161、ustomers with a disability will leave a website they find difficult to use,while 81%of consumers will pay more money for the same item on a competitors website if that site is more accessible.Missed opportunitiesCompanies that fail to address web accessibility are missing a huge opportunity to engag
162、e with an audi-ence that fundamentally wants and needs to connect with their brand.A brand that demonstrates a commit-ment to accessibility for all can enjoy a strengthened brand presence and an increase in positive sentiment and word-of-mouth recommendations.“The world has never been more con-necte
163、d or more reliant on digital,as so many people have experienced over the past two years of the pandemic,”says Ranvier.“Daily life without access to the internet has become very hard to imagine.”Many companies have understood the need to prioritise accessibility as part of their commitment to diver-s
164、ity,equity and inclusion(DE&I),and the importance of building accessible environments,both offline and online.Regulation is another important factor,as governments worldwide are now implementing web accessibility standards for online content.In the UK,owners of commercial websites are required to ma
165、ke reasonable adjust-ments to ensure access to people with disabilities in line with the Equality Act 2021.Compliance benefits everyone,including businesses.Designing for inclusionThe work of the Contentsquare Foundation is focused on three pillars:equal access to education and cul-ture,advocating f
166、or inclusive design,and social responsibility with tangible impact.The Foundation plans to work closely with the community to support external projects that will help people with disability in their daily lives.One of the challenges for businesses is understanding the difficulties of those who have
167、to deal with access barriers in their everyday lives.“Its important to try to put yourself in the shoes of someone for whom digital content is inaccessible,”says Ranvier.“Encouraging businesses to speak to some of their differently-abled cus-tomers about the experiences they have on their website wi
168、ll make it easier to address the issues,and also speaks volumes about the company and its brand.”Ultimately,the Foundations goal is to raise awareness about digital accessibility among businesses and public institutions to drive change on a much larger scale,as Ranvier explains.“Companies today unde
169、rstand that they have the potential to impact society for the better,and putting digital inclusion at the heart of your business model rec-ognises the fact that everybody is enti-tled to online access,”she says.Over the last two years of the pan-demic and successive lockdowns,dig-ital has become mor
170、e important than ever,allowing people to maintain some form of continuity amid large scale dis-ruption,from retail to telehealth and online learning to remote work.To stay abreast of the rapid pace of change,many organisations have embarked on major digital projects to re-plat-form and reposition th
171、eir brand.This also presents an opportunity to make accessibility a foundational part of the design of their new platform or web-site,rather than having to completely re-engineer something that is already well established.Ranvier says:“My dream is to create a digital world that is accessible to ever
172、yone,and we all have a role to play in achieving that.But we have to do it step by step and gain a real under-standing of the needs of people with disabilities and impairments.Access by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.It is a fundamental human right.”For more information,ple
173、ase visit by everyone regardless of disability is an essential aspect.It is a fundamental human rightATHE SCALE OF ACCESSIBILITY Its difficult to comprehend the sheer volume of differently-abled people around the globeTHE STATE OF WEB ACCESSIBILITYIts clear that many companies are still failing to m
174、eet the accessibility needs of their users 1 billion Number of people with disabilities(globally)296 million Number of London Underground journeys(20/21)150 million Number of Amazon Prime members(globally)67 million UK populationof digital content is not accessible to people with disabilities of hou
175、seholds have at least one disabled personof working age adults in UK have a disability70%of website users with accessibility needs will leave a website they find difficult to use71%of website users with accessibility needs would spend more time on websites if they were more accessible82%people are b
176、lind or visually impairedmen are colour blind1in251in1240%19%2020Value of D2C salesNumber of parcels delivered D2CNumber of jobs linked to the D2C salessector2023THE RISE OF D2C RETAILProjected development of D2C retail sector in the UK between 2020 and 202385million110.5million96bn120bn500,000618,0
177、00Barclays,2020Kmatta via Getty UmagesR A C O N T E U R.N E TT H E F U T U R E C U S T O M E R1312of privacy requirements,yet there has also been a boom in hyper-personalised subscription services over the past 12 months.These businesses rely on collecting per-sonal data from customers and,in many c
178、ases,far more sensitive data than Facebook has access to,including information about peo-ples health.“The difference is that theyre not collecting data to target adverts,”explains Lee Wilson,head of ser-vices at marketing agency Vertical Leap.“Theyre doing it to build unique experiences for customer
179、s and help individuals to find the perfect products for them.”Wilson cites the example of sub-scription company Vitamin Buddy,which uses information supplied by customers to build a two-way relationship.“Every piece of data submitted by a user improves the quality of the products they receive.that t
180、hey have little control over how its being used.”Personalisation is an effective marketing strategy,but the feeling that a brand is following you around online,or even eavesdrop-ping on your conversations,is a disconcerting one.The negative response from consumers to what many view as surveillance,r
181、ather than benign attentiveness,has prompted some remedial reaction from the tech industry.Google has announced that it will stop the use of third-party cookies in its popular Chrome web browser by the end of 2023,for instance.In the process,it will fall in line with Apple and Mozilla,which have alr
182、eady ditched the tracking tech-nology from Safari and Firefox respectively.Apple has also intro-duced a privacy feature called App Tracking Transparency to iOS 14.5,the mobile operating system used by its latest iPhones.And Facebook has deprecated the Advanced Its crucial that each data point serves
183、 a tangible purpose that ultimately adds valueetail has entered a new era:consumers want more than products;they also want experiences that connect them with their chosen brands.To meet this demand,retailers and marketers must discover more about who their customers are.They are using data and perso
184、nal-isation methods to engage with shoppers in meaningful ways,helping to build relationships that feel authentic.Yet at the same time,consumers are generally becoming more cautious about sharing their personal informa-tion,as their concerns about ensur-ing data security increase.“The ability to per
185、sonalise allows a brand to differentiate,creating more experience and value around its product in a competitive,price-driven market,”notes Andrew Frank,research vice-president at Gartner.“But consumers are real-ising that they have been giving upmore data than intended and experience(CX)strategies t
186、hat do not rely on third-party cookies and surveillance marketing will show your customers that you have heeded their concerns and its also the best way to future-proof your business,argues Niki Hall,chief marketing officer at web analytics specialist Contentsquare.“Online customers are providing a
187、constant source of feedback on your brands digital experience as they navigate your website or use your app,”she says.“How they browse,what paths they take to achieve their goals,where they get stuck all this data provides clues as to how good an experience they are having.”Using such information wi
188、sely and being transparent about requests for further customer data should be the cornerstone of an approach to personalisation thats based on digital trust and CX excellence.While there isnt a firm answer for how much material customers are willing to hand over,Hall says that the consensus is that
189、theyd prefer not to share overly personal data.Rather,they want to know more about what is being collected from them and how its being used.“Brands must closely scrutinise what data theyre asking for and why,”says Stephen Gilbert,loyalty solutions director at CX specialist Collinson in EMEA.He adds
190、that retailers need to ask themselves what the purpose of each piece of data is and also what the cus-tomer gains from sharing it.This added value could come in the form of targeted offers and exclu-sive rewards or simply a better shopping experience.“Its crucial that each data point serves a tangib
191、le purpose that ulti-mately adds value to the business and/or its relationship with the customer,”Gilbert says.Its a strategy thats working for Victor Lugger,co-founder and CEO of restaurant group Big Mamma and hospitality payment app Sunday.He reports that he uses opt-in data purely to improve the
192、CX his busi-nesses offer.Lugger explains:“A vegetarian may want to see only the vegetar-ian options on a restaurants menu.Someone with a particular food intolerance will be keen to look only at the dishes they can enjoy.Does the restaurant need to have their full personal data for this?No.But a cust
193、omer who dines there regularly may benefit from a loy-alty programme and be rewarded with special offers,so they may share their email address.Each case is different and so must be treated differently.”This is where striking a balance between a tailored approach and one that might be considered inva
194、-sive is key.One of the privacy functions of Apples iOS 14.5 obliges apps to seek permission before they can collect tracking data from iPhone users.Of those users with the new operating system installed on their devices in September 2021,about one in five(21%)opted to allow such tracking,according
195、to Statista.Companies such as Facebook have been hit hard by the strengthening At the same time,this allows the company to increase the relevance of each recommendation and so retain the customer for longer,”he says.“Intent is important and so is value perception.”One of the ways a business can tack
196、le the issue of relevance head on is by conducting a data audit,suggests Rodolpho Cardenuto,president of applications at US telco Vonage.This would entail an exhaustive review of all the points at which it obtains and processes personal data,along with the legal justifications used and permissions g
197、athered,he says.This can provide an informed starting point to ensure that any data collected is seen to be serving the customer first and foremost.In addition,Cardenuto advises companies to give customers the option of deciding when their data is erased.This can empower them to manage their complia
198、nce require-ments more easily and reframes the collection of data as a consensual element of the relationship between business and customer.Although privacy measures will only become more stringent in thecoming years,businesses that arealready building relationships around the exchange of data and s
199、howing the value of personalised experiences are likely to gain a competitive edge.Online shoppers crave convenience,yet theyre becoming less willing to share information that would help etailers to refine their customer experience.Can they have it both ways?Personalisation versus privacy how the co
200、okies are crumblingEmily SearesMobile Measurement programme,which means that advertisers on the platform receive far less detailed information about users than they had grown accustomed to.But such decisions present chal-lenges for both businesses and consumers,according to Gartners senior principal
201、 for marketing research,Mike Giblin.“We are at an interesting point,where customers think they can geta good,personalised experience D ATA P R O T E C T I O NRRaconteurs new campaign product suite gives marketers the best of both worlds.Email to plan your campaign now.Want the power of print media c
202、ombined with best in class lead generation?Customers are concerned about the way their data is being used,sold and otherwise profited fromwhile also being very protective of their data,”he says.“By pulling away data access,they will make their experience less personalised and reduce its quality.”A g
203、lobal survey published last year by US software firm Acquia found that 40%of consumers did not trust all brands to handle their personal data properly.Moreover,82%of the respondents reported receiving marketing communica-tions that they couldnt recall ever being asked to allow.“Customers are concern
204、ed about the way their data is being used,sold and otherwise profited from by firms that they dont believe have a right to it.”So says Jennie Gerum,chief marketing officer at software firm Voyado,who adds that people have little recourse beyond choosing to shun a given service,since these firms ofte
205、n do have a legal right to use their data.So how do retailers get the bal-ance right?Developing customer DATA ANALYTICS FACES RELUCTANT CONSUMERSHow worried are UK adults about the collection of their personal data?Measure Protocol,202139.5%29.8%15.8%12.5%2.4%A little worriedQuite worriedVery worrie
206、dNot at all worriedNot sureR A C O N T E U R.N E TT H E F U T U R E C U S T O M E R151416%14%7%7%7%4%Slimline tonic:why retailers are finding out that less choice is moreThe UKs big four supermarket chains have stopped stocking thousands of products in recentyears.Whats behindthis move and will it p
207、rove a win-win for them and their customers?hen people have no choice,life is almost unbearable,”wrote American psycholo-gist Barry Schwartz in his 2004 book The Paradox of Choice.“But,as the number of choices keeps growing,negative aspects of hav-ing a multitude of options begin to appear At this p
208、oint,choice no longer liberates,but debilitates.”Ever since Schwartz argued that having too much choice is not good for our mental health,there has been a seemingly relentless prolif-eration of products ranging from energy drinks to smartphone apps.Yet,among UK supermarkets at least,the tide has bee
209、n turning in recent years.Spurred by the success of their no-frills competitors Aldi and Lidl,the nations grocery giants have been calling time on unnecessary shelf-blockers,quietly abandoning many of their less popular offerings and streamlining their product ranges in the process.According to mark
210、et research firm Kantar,the UKs four biggest supermarket chains Tesco,Asda,Sainsburys and Morrisons have delisted about 5%of their products a year since 2018,consigning thou-sands of items to retail history.“Rationalisation is a trend that began before Covid.Taking stock out of the mix is the only d
211、irection of travel,”says Kantars head of retail and consumer insight,Fraser McKevitt.“As low-assortment dis-counters Aldi and Lidl continue to ride high,despite having smaller stores and offering far less choice,the days of building new hyper-markets to house vast numbers of products is well and tru
212、ly over.”Asda,which has ditched about 6,000 lines since 2019,believes that there is demand from its cus-tomers for“a simpler,streamlined shopping experience”.Its move towards“smaller,more carefully curated ranges”is freeing up space in stores for the company to expand its partnerships with third-par
213、ty fashion brands such as New Look and Missguided.“All retailers are after that perfect Goldilocks scenario:not too much choice,not too little,but just the right amount.Yet there are several competing forces at play,”says Bryan Roberts,founder of retail consultancy Shopfloor Insights.“Stocking fewer
214、 product lines means that there are fewer suppli-ers to negotiate with,fewer trucks to manage and less work to do on gap-scanning and maintaining price integrity.But it also means a reduction in lucrative listings fees from suppliers.And,if you cut the wrong things,it may even lead some shoppers to
215、desert you.”For example,any supermarket chain that ignores the increasing demand for genuine innovations,such as allergen-free products or plant-based meat substitutes,will do so at its peril,Roberts adds.“If research tells you that most of your customers are clamouring for the latest wheat-free cra
216、ft beer or must-have veggie burger,you need to find room for it,even if that would mean jettisoning other reasonably profitable stuff,”he says.With ongoing supply problems hindering many foreign brands from reaching the UK,shortages on shelves have been joined by an inflation-fuelled decline in livi
217、ng standards.Given this combination of factors,there may not be a better time for retailers to drop more of their weakest lines and adopt a short-term pain,long-term gain approach to choice overload.So says Dr Cathrine Jansson-Boyd,consumer psychologist and reader at Anglia Ruskin University.“Aldi a
218、nd Lidl have capitalised brilliantly on the prevailing buy British mood among consumers,”she notes.“With international sup-ply still a key issue in fast-growing categories such as dairy,they are working to replace hard-to-source foreign brands with locally pro-duced equivalents that will cost them a
219、nd their customers less.”The ultimate responsibility for introducing brand extensions,big-ger sizes,new flavours and innova-tive packaging formats lies with the brand owners,nearly all of which view product innovation as the key to growth.But are they tak-ing a different approach of late,having real
220、ised that there is such a thing as offering consumers too much choice?Jansson-Boyd points out that“Unilever is streamlining its entire product portfolio in a bid to boost efficiency,while there are signs that other fast-moving consumer goods firms are also taking advan-tage of the current state of t
221、he supply chain to take stock of the situation.Consumer attitudes may not be their prime motivation for all this rationalisation,but cus-tomers and brands are on the same page on this occasion.”found.But,when it comes to items that we might use to make a state-ment about ourselves clothes or cars fo
222、r example,we both expect and relish a far bigger selection.Humans are“cognitive misers with limited attention spans”,dec-lares Patrick Fagan,co-founder and chief scientific officer of Capuchin Behavioural Science,a consultancy that uses psychological principles to show its clients how consumers ment
223、ally process and conceptual-ise brands and products.“Given that one-third of the prod-ucts in a big supermarket stocking up to 50,000 items are not even looked at,there is a lot of wasted space that could be used to improve the shopping experience,”argues Fagan,who was lead psychologist at Cambridge
224、 Analytica before it went into administration in 2018.“The thing about shopping as an experi-ence is that its far more emotional than rational.If a retailer can genu-inely make our lives easier by offer-ing us fewer,better-chosen products that we actually want to buy,we will become incredibly loyal.
225、”Humans are creatures of habit we tend to buy the same items again and again.But we also crave convenience.So,while a small proportion of customers may com-plain about the delisting of a pre-ferred product or simply vote with their feet,most will swiftly forget yesterdays favourite ice cream or tinn
226、ed soup and instead seek out the closest alternatives.In the case of most everyday prod-ucts,six options are the upper limit when it comes to our ability to han-dle the cognitive pressure involved in choosing one,psychologists have Noel Hendrickson via Getty ImagesVirginia MatthewsAll retailers are
227、after that perfect Goldilocks scenario:not too much choice,not too little,but just the right amountP S YC H O L O GYCommercial featureHow AI makes customer conversations more humanConversational AI allows brands to connect with consumers in a more personal way on the messaging channels they use most
228、magine a company that treats you like a valued friend.Instead of putting you on hold,they use the same messaging channels that you use every day.And instead of depersonalized interac-tions,they offer meaningful,emotion-ally rich conversations.Wouldnt that be a more human way of engaging?The answer,o
229、f course,is yes.But its hard for businesses to interact in a more human way when theyre dependent on call queueing systems,generic websites and robotic-sounding emails.“Human beings are inherently social and share a need to connect,but the experiences we have with brands are becoming more and more f
230、aceless,”says Rob LoCascio,founder and CEO of LivePerson.“Consumers are looking for deeper,more meaningful connec-tions,so any brand that can provide them will differentiate themselves.”Somewhat surprisingly,the best way to do that at scale and shift from clicks and cookies to more natural-feeling c
231、onversations is to introduce some automation.LivePersons AI-powered chatbots,for instance,work together with human experts to fulfil consumer intentions at scale.This helps create a direct link between companies and their customers,and results in a more human approach to doing business.Thousands of
232、companies around the world now use LivePersons technology to create these conversational rela-tionships with consumers.It gives them the ability to tap into the convenience and comfort of the messaging channels consumers use to chat to their friends and family,such as SMS and WhatsApp.This quick,int
233、uitive way of interact-ing can also be customised to suit the overall tone of the brand,or deployed through their own app or website.Whats more,LivePersons tools allow companies to harness the asynchro-nous messaging we take for granted when were conversing with our friends and family.Put simply,thi
234、s means you can easily start a conversation with a brand,put your phone down,and con-tinue it later on right where you left off.As LoCascio says,this means“putting consumers,not companies,in charge of conversations.”In fact,LivePersons Conversational AI is purpose-built for these kinds of customer i
235、nterac-tions.“Weve been laser-focused on understanding consumer intent and behaviours in the natural flow of con-versations,and we have decades of conversational data underpinning our technology,”adds Joe Bradley,chief scientist at LivePerson.Creating communityBELLA,a messaging-based challenger bank
236、,exemplifies this approach to cus-tomer engagement.LivePerson,which works with some of the largest banks in the world,designed it to demonstrate a new kind of financial service one built around the human qualities of love and empathy,and the immediacy and per-sonalisation of cutting-edge AI.The user
237、-interface system is fully conversational,so there are no menus to navigate.Instead,users simply type in what they want to do and BELLA car-ries it out.As with any bank,BELLA accounts check all of the standard boxes for safe and secure banking.But they also offer some unique experiences that aim to
238、build a community,and then take care of that communitys financial wellbeing.“For example,BELLA includes Karma accounts for random acts of kindness,”says LoCascio.“These pay-it-forward accounts let members set aside any amount at any given time to cover other members expenses,ranging from springing f
239、or a surprise treat when a member buys coffee,to a donation to someone youve never met who hap-pens to be in need.”BELLA also includes 24-hour mes-saging support with real people that get to know and care for the com-munity.Members can message with the BELLA team anytime,anywhere,about everything fr
240、om TV show recommendations to completing everyday tasks,or help planning for long-term goals.Last but by no means least,BELLA features an algorithm that rewards members with random surprise cashback of between 5%to 200%when they use their BELLA debit card.Its an important offering,as“rewarding membe
241、rs is at the heart of the BELLA DNA and creates the advocacy to build a community of members,”says LoCascio.Building conversationsConversational AI doesnt only change things for consumers it changes them for contact centre agents too.“Just a few years ago,everyone thought that bot builders needed to
242、 be highly tech-nical,or even data scientists,”says Joe Bradley.“The reality is far different:contact centre agents,the people who know how to have productive,empa-thetic conversations,are the best people to design bots.”The trick is to make it easy for them to do so through tools like LivePersons C
243、onversation Builder.“When you take a low-to-no code approach and com-bine it with a point-and-click interface,you can help any contact centre agent become a bot manager or conversa-tional designer,”LoCascio explains.In other words,conversational AI isnt removing jobs its making them more rewarding.“
244、Its true that traditional contact centre jobs,where people pick up the phone or type responses to customers,will go away as automations increasingly take over these functions,”says LoCascio,“but the world is going to need many,many more bot builders and conversation designers.”He points to the inter
245、net of things,or even the much-touted metaverse,as potential drivers of these new jobs.“Every brand with a product you inter-act with via a conversation,or a pres-ence in the metaverse you talk to,will need people to design and optimise those interactions,”he says.“They will need to understand your
246、lan-guage,your emotion,and even your personal language quirks to interact with you.Thats where contact centre agents come in,and being able to build these high-empathy,high-satisfaction experiences will be invaluable to their future careers.”Ultimately,the combination of con-versational AI and peopl
247、e power opens up new experiences for both consum-ers and call centre agents.It makes the former happier,as theyre no longer left on hold or forced to wait days for a response to an email;while the latter are able to develop more varied and fulfilling careers that align with the future of communicati
248、on technol-ogy.In short,conversational AI simply makes life more human.For more information,please visit WOULD RATHER INTERACT WITH A CHATBOT INSTEAD OF A HUMAN FOR ACTIVITIES SUCH ASCONSUMERS HAVE ALSO BECOME MORE COMFORTABLE WITH USING CHATBOTS TO HANDLE COMMON INTERACTIONS SUCH ASbooking an appoi
249、ntmentfinding a product for them updating their addressproviding their account balanceReordering regularly purchased productsReminding them to order presents for upcoming holidaysRenewing a contract83%63%61%of consumers worldwide would browse or buy products in messaging conversations of consumers s
250、ay messaging with a company would make them feel a more personal connectionhave a positive view of chatbots,up from 31%in 202060%56%50%53%60%54%51%“WNATURAL DESELECTION ON THE SUPERMARKET SHELVESProduct delistings by UK grocery chains between March and June 2020AsdaStock-keeping units(SKUs)Share of total SKUsMorrisonsOcadoSainsburysTescoWaitrose2,9062,7141,8111,7127343,847Associa Price&Promotion Analytical Platform,2020