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Ecommerce and Retail Customer Experience 2021

6 CX Trends That Will Stick Post-Pandemic

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About This Report
Across brick and mortar and ecommerce, the customer experience landscape has changed dramatically—and permanently—during the pandemic.
Table of Contents

Executive Summary

The customer experience (CX) landscape has changed dramatically over the last year as pandemic-induced lockdowns and social distancing pushed many consumers to try several technologies and experiences, such as click and collect, proximity payments, and augmented reality (AR).

Are pandemic-inspired ecommerce and retail experiences here to stay?

Most of these experiences aren’t going away, and even while some such as click and collect and mobile payments won’t sustain last year’s growth rates, they’ll grow nonetheless—implying consumers are satisfied enough to stick with them.

How are online and offline transactions becoming more frictionless?

In brick-and-mortar locations, proximity mobile payments are becoming a popular payment option. Additionally, more brands and retailers with ecommerce options are cutting down on friction by offering buy now, pay later (BNPL) options, guided selling, and more.

Why are marketers focused on first-party data?

With the pending cookiepocalypse—the death of the third-party cookie—brands and retailers are concerned about the accuracy of their ad retargeting and behavioral advertising. A first-party data strategy mitigates that and allows organizations to become more effective direct marketers.

WHAT’S IN THIS REPORT? This report discusses some of the top CX developments in both online and offline retail, including first-party data, AR, contactless payments, click and collect, and frictionless checkout.

KEY STAT: Since the onset of the pandemic, advanced CX firms report seeing significant improvements in customer lifetime value (30% of respondents), customer advocacy (30%), and basket size (23%) as a result of investing in digital CX.

Here’s what’s in the full report

2files

Exportable files for easy reading, analysis and sharing.

20charts

Reliable data in simple displays for presentations and quick decision making.

18expert perspectives

Insights from industry and company leaders.

    Table of Contents

    1. Executive Summary
    2. Rapidly Shifting Aspects of Ecommerce and Retail CX
    3. Collecting—and Making Sense of—First-Party Data
    4. Data-Driven Personalized Promotions
    1. Virtual Try Before You Buy
    2. Click and Collect
    3. Reducing Checkout Friction
    4. Returns
    1. Key Takeaways
    2. Insider Intelligence Interviews
    3. Sources
    4. Media Gallery

    Charts in This Report

    Interviewed for This Report

    Brian Berger
    Mack Weldon
    Founder and CEO
    Interviewed March 12, 2021
    Heidi Bullock
    Tealium
    CMO
    Interviewed March 23, 2021
    Lauren Cooley
    RetailMeNot
    Senior Vice President, Retailer and Brand Solutions
    Interviewed April 6, 2021
    Garth Fasano
    TaskUs
    Vice President, Consulting
    Interviewed April 1, 2021
    Jamie Fontana
    Vuori
    Senior Director, Ecommerce
    Interviewed March 10, 2021
    Jason Grunberg
    Sailthru
    CMO
    Interviewed March 12, 2021
    Will Crocker Hay
    Braze
    Vice President, Customer and Partner Marketing
    Interviewed March 26, 2021
    John Helmle
    Inmar Intelligence
    Executive Vice President and President, Fintech
    Interviewed March 26, 2021
    Jayme Jansky Beck
    Unilever
    Shopper Marketing Lead
    Interviewed April 14, 2021
    Ivonne Kinser
    Avocados From Mexico
    Head of Digital Marketing and Ecommerce
    Interviewed March 25, 2021
    Sai Koppala
    SheerID
    CMO
    Interviewed April 5, 2021
    Emilie Maunoury
    Clarins UK
    Director, Digital, Ecommerce, and CRM
    Interviewed April 7, 2021
    Erin Murray
    Peace Out Skincare
    Vice President, Brand and Consumer Marketing
    Interviewed March 19, 2021
    Donny Ouyang
    BlackCart
    Founder and CEO
    Interviewed April 16, 2021
    Catherine Pike
    Vuori
    Senior Director, Retail
    Interviewed March 10, 2021
    Pete Stein
    Merkle
    Global Lead, Experience and Commerce
    Interviewed April 8, 2021
    Adam Vitarello
    Optoro
    Co-Founder and President
    Interviewed April 13, 2021
    Tabassum Zalotrawala
    Chipotle
    Chief Development Officer
    Interviewed March 15, 2021

    authors

    Jeremy Goldman

    Contributors

    Suzy Davidkhanian
    Principal Analyst, Retail & Ecommerce
    Amy Rotondo
    Director, US Research
    Blake Droesch
    Junior Analyst
    Jillian Ryan
    Principal Analyst
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