The Record - Issue 21: Summer 2021

145 R E TA I L & C PG capabilities and introduce new services such as kerbside pick-up to continue serving customers. “Meanwhile, retailers that previously had e-commerce platforms have seen demand surge and they’ve been experimenting with new tech- niques to improve the quality of their digital content and marketing collateral to differentiate it from the competition. For instance, some are try- ing live streams or using influencers to promote and endorse their products via social media.” According to Tadepalli, the most effective way to attract and retain customers in the post-pandemic world will be to deliver personalised experiences that allow individuals to choose how, when and where they shop. “Some people will only shop in physical stores, others prefer to purchase products online, and most like to switch between channels throughout the shopping journey depending on what is most convenient for themat the time,” he explains. “The speed, ease and convenience of online shopping has led to the significant growth of e-commerce over the past few years and its ever-increasing popularity during the pandemic has confirmed that it’s certainly here to stay, but physical stores still have an essential role in the shopping journey for many customers. Hence, retailers must offer both physical and virtual shopping experiences – and deliver a seamless and consistent experience across each channel – to ensure they can cater to the needs of all their customers.” To develop the types of services and experiences that will delight consumers and foster loyalty, retailers must first gain a full overview of every individual customer. This can be achieved by implementing a customer data platform (CDP) with built-in analytics, AI and machine learning capabilities, such as Microsoft Dynamics 365 Customer Insights. “Retailers already collect vast amounts of data across multiple customer touchpoints, but it is often trapped in siloed systems, so it’s largely underutilised,” explains Tadepalli. “Dynamics 365 Customer Insights enables them to aggregate data from both their internal systems and other external sources in one unified platform, then use AI and machine learning to derive actionable insights and build accurate 360-degree profiles for every customer. “Once they have a full understanding of everything from their customers’ product pref- erences to their shopping behaviour, retailers can easily personalise advertising campaigns, communications, product recommendations and more for every individual across every channel in real time. Sales associates can also identify new upsell and cross-sell opportunities to increase customer lifetime value, retention and loyalty.” US-based gift retailer Edible Arrangements, for example, has rolled out a CDP built on Dynamics “Retailers must unify siloed data to develop a full view of the customer”