The Retail TouchPoints Connected Consumer Series webinars, which will be broadcast from March 27-31, will delve into some of today’s hottest retail topics — from leveraging Artificial Intelligence and deepening personalization to creating truly modernized mobile experiences. During these eight sessions, retailers, analysts and subject matter experts will share practical insights into building better relationships with consumers by creating a seamless, friction-free shopping journey.
The Retail TouchPoints editorial team reveals which sessions they’re looking forward to and why.
Debbie Hauss, Editor in Chief: Apparently Millennials fear credit and debt. To help create a more open, honest financial environment for today’s consumers, PayPal Co-Founder Max Levchin founded Affirm, which presents different payment options with no fees or hidden costs. Executives representing two Affirm retail customers — Rad Power Bikes and Garmentory — will speak during this session, titled 4 Ways Modern Credit Boosts E-Commerce Sales, to share their insights and success stories: Rad boosted sales 21% and drove a 50% increase in customer acquisition, and Garmentory reported a 60% increase in Average Order Value. I’m interested to learn more about how a new look at credit and debt can help all types of businesses increase sales and improve customer loyalty.
Adam Blair, Executive Editor: Artificial intelligence is the latest buzzword in retail, but in this case there’s data behind the hype. I’m looking forward to the webinar, titled: 2017 Imperative: Mastering AI-Driven Personalization, which will feature results from Club Monaco’s use of AI to create one-to-one experiences with its customers. The retailer’s Zachary Martz will discuss how the use of AI-driven algorithms to personalize product recommendations increased per-session revenue by 4.9%. Additionally, machine learning to improve its message testing helped Club Monaco boost email sign-ups by 73.9%.
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I’m also eager to hear the five practical strategies for boosting mobile ROI that will be presented during the webinar, titled: How To Create Modernized Mobile Experiences. Eliza Novick, Client Solutions Manager at Curalate, will reveal how retailers can use vertical video, optimized mobile apps, localization and other techniques to bring their mobile experiences up to the level of customers’ expectations.
Tim Parry, Managing Editor: Personalization is no longer just about how to be relevant across all touch points, but how best to measure the impact of those efforts. I’m looking forward to the webinar, titled: Perfecting Commerce Marketing With Deep Personalization, in which Greg Zakowicz of Bronto will offer tactics for effectively personalizing every step of the shopping journey, using automated solutions that tap into customer, browse and purchase data. Zakowicz is going to show retail attendees how to decrease online shopping roadblocks, deliver browse recovery messages, better engage following cart abandonment, increase second orders, and build long-term brand loyalty.
I’m also looking forward to the session, titled: Tackling Omnichannel Challenges With Technology, which will feature key highlights from the RSM Retailer Omnichannel Survey. The survey reveals that 87% of retailers that have implemented omnichannel strategies have achieved good to significant ROI. During the webinar, RSM’s Brion Reusche and John Nicolopoulos will discuss the technology solutions that successful retailers are using to increase first-time purchases and boost overall sales volume.
Glenn Taylor, Senior Editor: With more retailers aiming to optimize the in-store experience, they’re going to need to learn how their employees fit into their goals. In the webinar, titled: 5 Success Stories Of Employee Empowerment, speakers from Boston Retail Partners and Inkling will provide attendees with solid real-world examples. As technology becomes such a huge part of the sales floor and back-office environments, retailers can further apply it to the employee onboarding process, training experiences and engagement strategies.
Given that content curation continues to gain steam in retail, I’m also looking forward to the session, titled: Turn Visual Social Content Into ROI. Heidi Burns and Cat Nunnery of Bazaarvoice will share strategies on how brands can leverage content to activate their consumer base, develop more nuanced product launches or seasonal campaigns, and better measure performance to increase ROI.
Klaudia Tirico, Features Editor: Retailers are constantly faced with the challenge of deciphering the best tools and tactics to implement for their customers. But as the retail industry evolves, so do consumer behaviors and needs. In the upcoming Connected Consumer Series webinar presented by Kibo, titled: The Million Dollar Retail Question: What Do Consumers Actually Want?, I’m looking forward to learning more about what actually drives the consumer’s path to purchase. Kibo’s CMO Tushar Patel will uncover key findings from the company’s 2017 Consumer Trends Report around the evolution of consumer behavior, as well as personalization and fulfillment. It will also be very interesting to hear about how retailers can act on these findings to deliver exceptional in-store and online experiences for consumers.
