Tag Archives: retailers

Appointments, News

AWS technology leader joins Sorted to scale SaaS business and support retailers globally

  • New Chief Technology Officer brings a wealth of senior technical leadership experience from Amazon Web Services and The Hut Group
  • Company sees 219% growth in shipments since 2019, demonstrating demand for exceptional SaaS driven delivery experiences

London, 11 July, 2022: Sorted, the Delivery Experience Platform, has just announced the appointment of technology innovator Peter Ennis as its new Chief Technology Officer to scale its cloud platform globally. His focus on SaaS innovation will enable Sorted to deliver a best-in-class value proposition to both SMB and enterprise retailers as demand continues to soar.

At a time where 63% of consumers say a poor delivery service would stop them from purchasing from a company again, more brands are embracing software that streamlines ecommerce journeys. Peter Ennis has experience of building world-class cloud software and recently held senior technical leadership roles at Amazon Web Services (AWS) and The Hut Group (THG). His appointment as CTO will see the continued roll out of the Delivery Experience Platform to a wider base, offering market-leading delivery and returns solutions to retailers of all sizes.

In June 2022, the company saw a 49% increase of shipment volume through its Ship platform compared to the previous year, while its Track product saw a 127% increase during the same period. Retailers are turning to Sorted for more efficient carrier management and delivery tracking systems, to reduce the pressure on warehouse and customer service teams.

The platform, which grew its customers by 114% over the past three years as demand for ecommerce and online deliveries accelerated, is now looking to deliver exceptional delivery experiences to SMBs across the globe. Over this period, Sorted has also added Colin Tenwick as Non-Executive Chairman to the team, opened offices in London, and appointed Carmen Carey as its new CEO.

“Peter is a highly experienced leader with a strong track record of managing successful, technologically-driven organisations,” said Carmen Carey, Sorted CEO. “Throughout his 20+ years in the industry, he has combined his practical and business skills to deliver quality, scalable products and services in the most demanding of environments. This represents the next stage for Sorted as we pivot our cloud offering to support small and medium business internationally.”

“Customers are looking for gold-class customer service in ecommerce and it’s about how our technology will offer frictionless experiences for consumers, not to mention efficient and low-cost delivery and returns for small businesses all over the world,” said Peter. “In the face of yet another potential squeeze on retailers as inflation rises, brands need to invest in software that can help them navigate such a competitive market. Sorted helped customers thrive throughout the pandemic, and now is the time for us to scale our offering to do the same globally to help the new generation of SMB retailers.”

News

New plug and play offering delivering 15% sales uplift

Catalina, a leading CPG (consumer packaged goods), brands and retail adviser, has launched a new plug and play gamification solution for UK retailers which engages customers and has been shown to significantly increase online sales.

New to the UK, Shop & Play is a simple to use e-commerce offering which gives customers a chance to ‘win their basket’ by playing an interactive game when shopping online with a subscribing retailer. The solution includes the entire customer journey from awareness of the competition and rules of entry to customer reward, and it links the purchase of specific products as the qualification needed to access the ‘game’.

Following checkout and validation of a linked purchase, a pop-in appears on screen inviting shoppers to play a casino-style fruit machine game which features a bespoke design to include the retailer’s logos and other relevant, brand-related images. The shopper then clicks on a black lever to activate the game and they’re given instant notification if they’ve won a prize. Through the platform Catalina can work with a retailer to facilitate any type of reward including cash-back, loyalty points or any other incentive.

Shop & Play is already running with a number of European retailers, including French supermarket group Carrefour, where it has delivered an impressive +15% uplift in e-commerce basket sales and a +20% uplift on advertised product sales.

Catalina’s UK Managing Director and VP, Prem Patel said: “We’re delighted to roll out Shop & Play to the UK market – it’s a unique and scalable solution for retailer’s websites that rewards customers, builds loyalty, and generates online sales. The platform is ideal for large retailers with multiple partner brands as it supports campaigns to drive full-priced sales of certain products or product categories.

“The impact of Shop & Play has been significant with stats from European retailers highlighting a major uplift in online sales among those which have embraced the platform. With a focus on customer engagement and an opportunity to add an element of differentiation to the e-com shopping experience, we look forward to working with UK-based retailers as we grow its presence here.”

Catalina is a leading global customer activation business working with some of the UK’s leading retailers to drive genuine long-term shopper loyalty, delivering personalised offers that engage shoppers and increase sales.

News

Zero-party data, a major opportunity for brands in 2021

The last 12 months have profoundly and irreversibly transformed consumer shopping habits. More than ever, companies need to better understand their customers by putting data at the centre of their strategy to deliver an experience that is relevant, personal and engenders brand loyalty.

The broader global economic and health context; increased competition; and the upcoming end of third-party cookies are driving marketers to refocus their resources on their own customer data. Between “first-party data” or “zero-party data”, what data should brands focus on to deliver a premium experience that respects customer privacy? How do they transform this data into actionable insight that adds business value? Russell Loarridge, Director, UK, ReachFive, explores.

Regulations, the end of third party cookies: a revolution in the data world

Businesses are under increasing pressure from customers who demand a relevant and personalised online experience that matches what they have been offered in-store. Personalisation is not something that can be improvised; rather it must be based on in-depth and timely customer knowledge. Until recently, “third-party” data (that which has been aggregated from multiple sources) has been the primary source of customer knowledge and was considered something of a marketing magic bullet. Today, however, technological barriers – such as the disappearance of third-party cookies – and regulatory changes (IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers) on iOS, AAID (Android advertising ID) on Android, GDPR in Europe or CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) in the United States) are putting consumers back in control of their data. As such, a strategy based mainly on third-party data is a strategy that is destined to fail.

Harnessing the potential of first-party data

First-party data – that which companies collect directly from their audiences, customers and prospects via purchase histories, interactions on their sites or applications, or loyalty programs – is an interesting alternative. 52% of marketers aim to collect more first-party data in 2021 as part of their digital strategies.

However, if “first-party data” is essential to drive a better understanding of an individual user and allow marketers to make more informed decisions in order to optimise their marketing strategies, it is not the panacea.

Any marketing strategy based mainly on this historic customer behaviour data, is, in fact, going to be subjective, based on probability and inference and therefore not enough to satisfy the demands of today’s discerning consumer. We should not make the same mistakes in 2021 that we have made over the past decade and exploit data without truly understanding who our customers are and what their real-time and future needs are. This is where zero-party data comes in, data that is voluntarily and intentionally shared by customers to improve their online experience.

Stop guessing with data, 2021 is the year of zero-party data

Until now, brands have built their digital marketing strategies on probabilistic data, and not on the much more reliable and objective deterministic data. While the concept of zero-party data may seem confusing at first glance, it offers the capability to transform how brands market to their consumers.

Guessing what customers want is no longer necessary: just ask them. A zero-party data strategy is not implemented by forcing users to fill in their data, but by creating a relationship of trust. In providing a ‘give to get’ value proposition, consumers are more likely to share their information, sometimes even in larger quantities, in exchange for a more qualified customer experience and customised content that will bring them value. Handled correctly, this data can be the next holy grail and companies need to start preparing for it now to master its workings.

How do you implement an effective “zero-party data” strategy?

To successfully implement a zero-party data strategy, brands need to collect the data, information and permissions they need to create personalised marketing at all stages of the customer lifecycle. The first step is to manage customer preferences in real-time. To do so, brands must ask customers relevant questions or solicit them through different methods such as quizzes, surveys, interactive experiences, etc… as soon as an individual creates a customer account. But beware, asking for too much information at once may have an adverse effect, so the trick is to ask for this data gradually, throughout the customer journey. The goal is to establish a relationship of trust with a customer – hence only asking what is necessary to offer the best possible shopping experience.

Customers need to be able to manage how they want a brand to communicate with them and update this at any time. Brands, therefore, need to provide consumers with the ability to easily manage their consents from the outset of an engagement. Today, to be satisfied, a customer needs to feel unique.

Finally, once all this information is gathered, it is important to be able to share it, in a completely secure manner, with all the brand’s customer relationship and omnichannel solutions. In order to be effectively managed and value gleaned from it, this data must be structured and unified in a single database rather than scattered across various data silos.

In the majority of cases, marketers rely on overburdened IT resources to manage these huge amounts of data; but to absorb, sort, analyse, and make it quickly actionable, marketers need robust technologies, now more than ever. These solutions will enable them to handle the increasingly complex task of managing and integrating identities across all internal solutions.

The personalisation of the customer experience will become even more important in the coming months. In order to design effective marketing strategies, companies – most of which have started to actively use first-party data in their marketing – will also have to rely on zero-party data. In order to provide a deeply personalised experience and generate the most value, merging these data sets appears to be the most appropriate way forward.

Only companies that have already implemented solutions, such as CIAM, will be able to offer their customers the unique experience they expect.

It enables a brand to identify their users and personalise their experience through a customer journey based on their preferences and a relevant – and regulatory compliant – use of their data.

Marketing, PR and SEO, News

Neil Stone: Examining the Options for Beleaguered Brands Trying to Survive the Continuing Fallout of Covid 19

By Neil Stone, Head of Marketing, SmartSurvey 

Having pre-warned us about the dire financial consequences of another month-long lockdown, retailers are once again licking their wounds as the latest industry victims including Debenhams and Arcadia, owner of the Topshop, Burton and Dorothy Perkins brands are all set to close following lockdown 2.0.

In the weeks leading up to Christmas shoppers typically spend around £50bn on goods other than food as they look to buy gifts for friends and family and decorations for their homes. With what should have been one of their most lucrative month’s in the lead up to Christmas with the inclusion of Black Friday, the closure of non-essential retail stores during November’s lockdown in England, left the high street missing out on even more than the £1.6bn of lost weekly sales they experienced during the spring lockdown. According to the British Retail Consortium, this poses a significant threat to the viability of thousands of shops and hundreds of thousands of jobs countrywide.

While the relaxation of trading hours announced by the communities secretary, Robert Jenrick, may help some retailers recoup their lockdown losses such as Primark, already operating 24-hours a day in some of its stores following the move back to the three-tiered regional system of restrictions, for others particularly smaller retailers it may still not be enough. This becomes more obvious when you consider that the profits smaller retailers usually make in the lead up to and during the festive period, often determines whether they will still be continuing to trade into the new year.

What more can be done to help retailers survive?

Well, a good place to start is to look at those parts of the industry that are still doing well.

One area of the economy that isn’t seeing decline is the e-commerce sector that has been predicted to grow by an extra £5.3bn this year. It’s a significant number and a sign to keep positive – however that growth has been fuelled by the change in consumer behaviour resulting from Covid 19, which is something that all businesses need to take note of.

This behavioural change is hardly surprising when you consider that for many months now Government advice has been to stay home and save lives. COVID-19 has sadly taken the lives of many loved ones already. You can’t see or hear it; all you can do is your best to try and avoid it. It’s scary and the risk of infections sticks in the back of our minds when we leave the house and will be at the heart of current and future consumer behaviour for some time, even with the prospect of game changing vaccines now on the horizon.

For many, with COVID-19 in general circulation, the thought of walking into a busy high street store to buy a new pair of jeans is simply not worth it. Why place yourself at risk when you could order those jeans online, from the safety of your sofa?

Subsequently, since the start of lockdown we’ve seen a significant increase in the number of e-commerce app installations, alongside a big rise in e-commerce spending, as people become more comfortable and engaged with online shopping, which has created a real tipping point for brands. They will either hedge their bets, get on board and embrace all things digital, or they won’t, as for some brands it’s a lot more challenging to change their business model to one that’s digitally centric.

Primark is a great example of this, according to John Bason, finance chief.

“Look at a £2 T-shirt. Everyone thinks it’s clickety-click but one third of clothes get returned.

“That means someone has to pick it up, someone has to deliver it, someone in the store has to take it back, refold it. It doesn’t work at the lower price point.”

For brands that were able to pivot to a more digitally focused operating model, taking action sooner, rather than later was always going to be critical to remaining competitive. It could also offer them an element of future proofing should we potentially face a future where customers no longer wanted to shop in traditional bricks and mortar stores in a post pandemic world.

This becomes even more poignant when you consider that many analysts were predicting that the high street shutdown would push even more shoppers into the arms of online specialists such as Amazon, which certainly seems to be the case when you consider their third-quarter results for 2020 showing a 37% increase in earnings. Yet despite this many well-known retailers including John Lewis, Marks & Spencer and Curry’s PC World were able to keep competitive by shifting their focus to e-commerce sites when forced to close their physical premises before the first lockdown. Infact, Marks & Spencer were already ahead of the game long before this, by investing £88.9m in their digital operations by the end of September 2019.

Keeping pace with changing consumer perceptions

However, for any digital transformation project, it’s vital to keep track of changing customer perceptions and understand what’s at the root cause of your consumer’s behaviour, as without responding to their exact needs it’s unlikely to be a major success. This is where analysis of consumer data is so critical, as armed with better insight businesses are far better positioned to think about how they can pivot their operating models to address those concerns and continue to drive growth.

There are many solutions available to track and understand consumer behaviour, such as working with traditional market research agencies, to leveraging online services like survey software and consumer panels to connect and gather feedback from existing customers and target audiences. Consumer panels are particularly useful for rapid research, connecting businesses with millions of respondents across multiple countries that can be segmented to meet their target customer profile.

For businesses acutely affected by COVID-19, survey software in particular offers a cost-effective way to engage with their existing customer base and rapidly collect insight on their current perceptions. Run regularly, surveys can enable business to track and monitor changes in customer perception for a very modest cost.

So, what’s next?

While there’s been an ongoing decline in Highstreet footfall for a number of years now, due to COVID-19 this has dramatically accelerated to levels never seen before. So, when we do eventually come out the other side, I think it’s going to be challenging for retailers to continue with their traditional bricks and mortar stores. It may even lead to more retailers opting for experience stores with little to no staff, very much like Tesla where you can see and touch the product, but the ordering and payment all occurs online.

What we can be sure of however, is that the coming months will be a crucial time for the retail sector. I suspect they will be reviewing their budgets, particularly looking towards new build and store refurbishments with a view to investing this money into digital assets, whether that’s apps, websites or digital marketing, to engage with those customers in the environment they currently feel safe and confident to shop in – online.

Keeping strong by taking more digital actions now

When it comes to their digital capabilities, I think the first thing that retail business owners should be looking at is their web presence and asking themselves, is our site well designed and does it provide a great user experience that makes it quick and easy for our customers to find and buy products?

It’s also important to ensure help is on hand when customers need it. Tools such as live chat enable businesses to provide store assistant advice to visitors of their website or app. Live chat is an important bridge between the virtual and real-world connecting users with a team member who can answer their questions that turn a browser into a customer.

Next, it’s about looking at what you can do to generate more digital footfall. Web traffic can be generated in a plethora of ways with numerous advertising channels to choose from. There are many cost effective email and social media marketing tools as well as creating content such as blogs, articles, podcasts, and networking with influencers. Gymshark, now a global sports brand is a great example of how digital can enable growth. The key to their initial success was influencer marketing which helped them scale from a founder in his parents’ garage to £170 million turnover in just 8 years.

Business owners will need to think about whether they have the in-house resource to do the work, or whether they need to outsource. For those short on time or lacking skills there are agencies that can support or sites like People Per Hour or Upwork that can connect them with freelancers to help complete their projects.

Alternatively, for the tech savvy there’s the option to build something yourself, through the many tools available from Etsy, Amazon Marketplace and eBay to Shopify, Squarespace and WordPress. These all offer low-cost solutions to build quality storefronts or e-commerce websites, to start selling products online.

It’s also paramount to keep connected with your customers

Given that the number of furloughed workers during lockdown 2.0 was estimated to be as much as 5.5 million and government warnings that the UK unemployment rate could be as high as 2.6 million by mid-2021, it’s not surprising to hear that consumers are saving more and spending less.

So, what more can retail brands do to reassure them and get business moving again?

Probably the best approach for businesses right now is to be doing everything they can to stay in touch with their customers and understand their concerns, wants and needs – essentially getting feedback wherever they can.

Collecting feedback may seem daunting at first but a simple and effective approach is to draw out a customer journey map. Put yourself in your customer’s shoes and think about the different touchpoints on their path to purchase with you. From here you can quickly map out a number of potential interactions and then different ways to collect feedback such as exit intent surveys for those didn’t buy first time, post purchase surveys, support and service surveys and advocacy surveys for existing customers.

Businesses that continue to operate with a more traditional model, could consider looking to engage customers by text message, email or incorporating a survey into a digital experience for instance after ordering food or drink via the web.

We are more distanced than ever from customers and feedback loops are a great way to start reconnecting and rebuilding consumer confidence by better understanding what’s working, what isn’t and what needs to be improved. Bill Gates famously said, ‘your customers are your greatest source of learning’, yet many businesses fail to ask customers what they want. Your first survey could uncover amazing insights such as customers who would purchase though an app, why they feel uncomfortable in store and what needs to change or that they would be happy to sign up for a subscription service because they love your products and want them every day, week, month or year.

Steve jobs said, ‘It’s not the customer’s job to know what they want’. Mr Jobs was on the money, it’s up to businesses to figure out what needs to change. The innovators will survive and those that don’t adapt will die. It’s a difficult time for businesses across the world but talking to your customers will help to get through this challenging period and the simple survey could be the key to future success.

SmartSurvey is the UK’s leading Data Collection platform helping over 300,000 customers make better decisions every day. Trusted by leading brands and the Public Sector SmartSurvey is ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus accredited, GDPR compliant and has a 100% UK based team with UK data storage and back-ups. SmartSurvey also offer a ringfenced solution to ensure data is not transferred outside of the UK.