5 Practical strategies to enhance retail customer engagement in 2023
1. Create an omnichannel strategy
Customers expect a consistent, personalised experience across multiple channels. Make sure you never miss an opportunity to impress or delight your customers by being available over all of their preferred channels.
To build a robust omnichannel strategy, you first need to identify the platforms, channels, and devices your customers use regularly. You need to learn about their preferences, experiences, and pain points, as well as how they interact with them. You also need to unite all channels tracking the shopping experience across every touchpoint and connect it with others to ensure user experience remains uniform throughout.
In that way, you can give them a consistent experience via shoppable social media, your website, your store, and other channels, which does give users a reason to “escape” but instead keeps them continuously engaged.
2. AI personalisation
The concept of personalisation in 2023 requires much more than simply adding a customer’s name to an email. Product suggestions, sizing, and cross-selling are all examples of how shoppers expect personalisation.
Brands need to prioritise AI & automation to individualise their strategy, understand shopper intent, and provide relevant recommendations that add value in real-time. It is an area where your competitors will likely invest their resources. 79% of retailers invest heavily in personalisation, more than any other industry, so it is necessary to remain on equal footing with those around you.
By investing in personalisation capabilities, brands can build strong relations with consumers, which can result in significant returns for brands.
AI-powered retail personalisation optimises the shopping experience by delivering a unique experience to every shopper. As soon as a shopper clicks on the eCommerce site, they are presented with a dynamically personalised version of the website, receiving this experience across all other channels and touchpoints.
Another key use case of AI is providing product recommendations based on previous data. In its latest feature, DTC e-grocer Misfits Market automatically places items in shoppers’ carts based on its algorithm predictions. With the “preferences” option, customers can choose whether they like or dislike the items Misfits selected for them. It not only helps shoppers save time but also increases basket sizes for brands.
3. Experiential retail
Experiential retail is all about creating memorable shopping experiences, and it is essential to provide an immersive shopping experience in-store and online. It may sound like a lot of work. Still, experiential retail is now among the top five most popular trends in retail customer service as it:
- Creates brand communities
- Stimulates customers’ senses
- Provides a shareable experience
- Prioritises customer engagement