Retail TouchPoints: AVP of Merchandising in Cognizant Business Consulting Says the Age of Customer Co-creation in Retail has Truly Arrived

“The forces of globalization, the Internet, social media and emerging sourcing models have drastically and permanently changed the retail dynamic—giving customers new choices for where to shop, what to buy and how to buy it,” writes Colleen Coleman. “Under this change, retailers have access to new information that allows them to truly understand their customer and their shopping preferences. Winning retailers are capitalizing on this digital shift to reshape their strategies, processes, organizations, and technology infrastructure to stay ahead of customer demands and keep competitors on their toes.”

In the first article of a two-part series, Coleman addresses two myths related to how retailers are moving beyond the traditional model and reinventing the ways to support new business realities: The first myth is that “large retailers compete against other big stores” and the second is that “product design and development is best left to professionals.”

“Retailers that will thrive in the new retail economy will need to reinvent their traditional views of competition and competitive intelligence,” writes Coleman. “Traditional market research remains important, but competitive intelligence also means observing trends to understand what shoppers are buying and what they are talking about in social media circles.”

Coleman notes, “Traditional stores can drive sales by reshaping the supply chain to offer true customization. With the lines between online and offline blurring, customer co-creation is here, giving customers new ways to trumpet not only their designs but also their satisfaction.”

Click here to read the first article of Coleman’s two-part series.