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Knowing the difference between must-have CX technologies and what can wait
Forrester VP and Principal Analyst Brendan Witcher shared insight on what retailers need to be doing when it comes to customer experience technology and what they don't need to worry about – at least for now – at the fourth annual Aptos Engage 2019 conference taking place this week in Orlando, Florida.
May 3, 2019 by Judy Mottl — Editor, RetailCustomerExperience.com & DigitalSignageToday.com
One big challenge retailers face, in striving to enhance the customer experience, is determining what technology they need to tackle first and which CX strategy to embrace.
It's not an easy landscape given the dozens of in-play, emerging and on-the-horizon technologies to choose from and where to invest critical dollars, manpower and operational resources.
The starting point is identifying what really matters as no retailer has unlimited resources or unlimited time, according to Brendan Witcher, vice president, principal analyst at Forrester, a research consultancy.
For retailers the start line is understanding that omnichannel is today's top facing digital business initiative, and that's because today's shopper is an omnichannel shopper.
"That's why we need to understand the customer, and if you don't, you make poor decisions," Witcher told attendees at the Aptos Engage 2019 conference, which is taking place in Orlando, Florida this week.
The Aptos Singular Retail Commerce platform is in play with more than 1,000 retail brands and its expansive suite of applications includes everything within a retail environment, from customer engagement to supply chain to merchandising.
In his presentation on Wednesday, May 1, entitled "Hot or Not — The (Actual) Top Tech Investments For 2019," Witcher provided a list of priorities and tech initiatives to jump on as well as a list of what to avoid or ignore, at least for the present.
What's hot and most important
Witcher defined omnichannel commerce as having three specific segments: engagement with the consumer and providing a connected journey, product and price, and fulfillment capabilities that gives the consumer what they want wherever they want it. These three segments sit on top of a critical foundation — a clear and concise view of the customer.
"If you don't know how to engage with the customer you are in trouble," said Witcher
To make that happen, advanced data analytics and data analysis is needed. Retailers need to invest in a data team and need to know what's going on with their shoppers.
"How can you compete if you don't know what your customers are doing?" he asked the audience of retailers.
Attaining that critical data insight and developing predictive insights allows retailers to craft a personalized experience for the consumer.
Retailers need to provide a "real time tailor experience," and to do that requires capturing, managing and interpreting customer data, he said, noting that research reveals 71% of consumers are willing to pay more for a product if it involves a personalized brand experience.
Personalization, he added, is well beyond product recommendation at this point. It involves content, local store engagement, promotions, reminders and alerts as well as mobile app experience.
Where AI comes into play
Next on the hot tech to tap list, after personalization, comes artificial intelligence, though Witcher acknowledged there is "no proven business case as yet." However, AI is fast becoming the path to automating business intelligence, reducing manual workload and fostering cost efficiency — all business aspects that ultimately can and will impact the customer experience.
"It's early days," he said, noting that 81% of retailers admit they are unclear when it comes to AI, which is defined in simple terms of mimicking human intelligence through experience and learning.
Yet 28% of retailers believe AI could prove efficient and increase worker productivity.
He cited examples such as Lowe's Holoroom, which helps consumers visualize how appliances and home décor will look in their own living environments, as well as Walmart's AI efforts in back-end operations.
Delivery, chatbots, marketplaces
The list "hot" tech retailers should have front and center also include tech strategies for product delivery, essentially same-day delivery given consumer expectations, experience centers within the store where consumers are engaged with the brand and the customer service chatbots.
"Put them on the website," said the analyst, admitting the technology is still proving to be a challenge.
He also recommends that retailers consider establishing and moving into new marketplaces.
"Amazon and Alibaba are great user cases and prove it works. Consumers love aggregators," he said.
Last on the top tech list are smart speaker apps [Alexa order dog food] and automated checkout.
"The smart speaker app is the most dangerous channel for retailers to fall behind on, you need to be thinking of a strategy today," said Witcher, citing research that consumer adoption is expected to double by 2022.
What not to worry about
The list of "not hot" tech for retailers is nearly as long as the hot tech to-do list.
At the top are subscription services, virtual reality, augmented reality as well as Internet of Things and robotics.
"No one expects it," said Witcher, adding that blockchain doesn't deserve any attention as well at this point."Few understand it," he noted, though the currency is likely to come into play within payments, he added.
In closing his presentation, the analyst provided one more "to do" for retailers.
"Tech is just one piece of the puzzle," he said. "You need to fix the culture, focus on the organization and get the right metrics. You don't want to be behind the customer, but not too far ahead of the customer."
"Invest in technology that solves customer pain points. You need to be customer obsessed."
About Judy Mottl
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