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Why Retail And Hospitality Are Getting Personal

0aaAndy Winans PCMS

Technology has certainly shaped how we shop.

Today’s retail and hospitality strategies reflect companies’ responses to ubiquitous consumer technology. Smartphones alone have dramatically shifted power from companies to consumers by giving consumers abundant retail research, hospitality reviews and mobile commerce at their fingertips. As a result, consumers have come to expect an experience that acknowledges their individuality with relevant service.

Now retailers and hospitality providers must adapt to today’s tech-savvy shoppers with omnichannel personalization.

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Omnichannel Personalization: The Basics

Breaking down this term into its two parts, omnichannel refers to serving consumers across online and offline channels — physical stores, e-Commerce web sites and even social media buy buttons. These options allow consumers to browse and buy anywhere, anytime from the convenience of their smartphones.

Meanwhile, personalization means understanding shoppers at an individual level rather than in generic terms. Paying attention to individuals’ consumption and engagement behaviors can make consumers feel understood and cared for. That’s because it proves the retailer or hospitality provider is paying attention.

Yet personalization extends beyond simply knowing about a consumer’s habits — it means companies transform those insights into meaningful, customized marketing and service. It helps companies create relevant, effective communications that prompt consumers to act.

Why Omnichannel Personalization Is Essential

To stand out and sell more, retailers and hospitality companies are embracing the convergence of physical and digital offerings. Omnichannel personalization efforts differentiate their offerings and engage consumers using the channels each consumer prefers most.

Bottom Line: It Pays To Get Personal

As many as 73% of consumers prefer to buy from retail companies that personalize their shopping experiences,according to Accenture. In addition, eMarketer found 56% of marketers say personalized content marketing drives higher engagement. Another study found companies with omnichannel customer engagement strategies retain 89% of their customers (vs. 33% of companies without one).

How Companies Can Get Personal

For personalized, omnichannel marketing that successfully engages consumers, retail and hospitality companies are turning tocloud-based solutions. To truly understand consumers at the individual level and serve them better, companies are using these technology solutions to unify their diverse sources of consumer insights, including in-store transactions, online browsing, loyalty points and social media.

Companies can personalize the customer experience by giving each consumer a unique identifier (a physical loyalty card, QR code, mobile app or fingerprint scan) to collect rich insights on individuals.

By applying those insights, companies can create multi-offer, omnichannel marketing campaigns customized according to shoppers’ promotional preferences. For instance, a consumer may prefer to receive dollar discounts, free products or services or access to exclusive events. Customers can also select their next reward from a list, and easily share promotions with their social networks and communities, boosting consumer engagement and word of mouth.

By centralizing real-time omnichannel marketing insights, the management system unifies all the information and automatically triggers rewards for a seamless customer experience across all channels. Companies can give shoppers rewards by email, social media, SMS or a message at the store checkout. The system also triggers location-based promotions, including push notifications on a mobile app for digital coupons and exclusive offers, to engage in-store shoppers — and influence their purchase decisions while they shop.

To measure their marketing success, companies receive real-time data on a marketing campaign’s performance. In addition, the integrated system reduces fraud by immediately identifying when a consumer redeems a voucher code or loyalty program promotion.

For a superior customer experience and deeper engagement, retailers and hospitality providers are offering personalized, omnichannel marketing. By applying consumer insights gathered across all channels, companies can deliver relevant, customized marketing that resonates and drive sales. Companies need to take omnichannel personalization seriously given its proven effectiveness at giving companies a competitive advantage.


Andy Winans, CEO of PCMS North America, has more than 25 years of retail industry experience and leads business strategy and overall growth for PCMS North America. Winans’ deep retail experience includes executive roles with The Nielsen Company, Netezza (now a division of IBM), MicroStrategy, Tandem (now a division of HP), NCR, QuantiSense (now a division of Aptos) and with Walton Creek Ventures. Follow PCMS via Twitter or LinkedIn.

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