Retail In Asia: Cognizant’s Vice President of Consulting Says Understanding and Engaging with the New Consumer is an Imperative for Retail Businesses

“Today’s consumers are better informed and always-connected. It is therefore hardly surprising that they come with very high expectations and settle for nothing less than the best experiences and the most compelling deals,” writes Sandy Gopalan. Excerpts:

“Retailers around the world are undertaking initiatives to revamp their business models (involving, for example, buy-online-pick-up-in-store and other omnichannel capabilities), innovating on numerous fronts—merchandize assortments, distribution, sales, marketing—by leveraging technological advancements.

The digital divide between ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ of smart consumer devices—be it phones, tablets, laptops, glass and so on—is steadily decreasing. The retailers’ market today largely comprises technology-savvy consumers, who are out there in search of better products, better deals and better service, leaving their digital footprints with every ‘like’ or swipe of a card, and being forthright about their wants, complaints and opinions in social media.

Indeed, each step of the retail journey—research, shop, transact and post-sale—is now performed in multiple or even simultaneous channels. Shoppers demand ultimate flexibility from how they shop, pay or take delivery, regardless of engagement touch points, expecting responses and interactions to be consistent, convenient and coordinated across these channels. Retailers and brands have to strive harder to retain loyalty by providing exceptional customer value, experience and service.

The power of digital, which includes social, mobile, analytics and cloud (SMAC) and the Internet of Things (IoT) technologies, among many others, cannot be underestimated. Devising a cohesive, consistent and compelling customer empowerment strategy is necessary for retailers to drive business value and maintain competitive advantage.

To start with, retail companies should look at all channels via which their businesses interact with customers and rationalize all points of engagement (physical and digital) to make the retail company appear as a single entity. Retail companies should also recognize their customers as individuals, with a unique set of preferences and needs. By tapping into data analytics, companies can unlock a customer’s digital behavior, via their digital footprints, which produce high volumes of information that create a unique virtual identity—what we call Code Halos.

The next step is for businesses to establish what they are trying to accomplish—gain market share, drive more value from existing customers, attract more traffic to digital channels, improve online conversion rates, and more. There is no one-size-fits-all tactic that is pitch-perfect for all companies, but going according to the targeted customer segments will drive desired business value.

Understanding and engaging with the new customer is an imperative for retail businesses. Retailers must shift towards a customer-centric business model, leverage technology, use analytics to understand customers, establish business goals, and identify the highest value tactics.”

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