Why Digital-First, Customer-Centric Experience Is Essential for Retail Brands

Amplience is a Business Reporter client.

“The only constant in life is change,” declared the Greek philosopher Heraclitus. If the last few years have taught us anything, it’s that he was right. 

Yet when change happens, we are often surprised. 

There’s no denying the monumental shift to digital channels throughout the Covid pandemic. We have seen consumer behavior changing based on safety and security, with the rise of contactless checkout and curbside pickup, and new demand for digital-centric shopping experiences across all segments and demographics. 

This change has extended into an uncertain post-lockdown period and led to challenges that retailers and brands must face head-on: the Great Resignation, as employees reevaluate their life choices; a global economic recovery, with inflation changing consumer behavior; and supply chain problems becoming more obvious than ever for the average shopper, among other issues. 

So, what does this mean for your company’s digital experience, and how can you adjust your approach to remain competitive? 

The rise of the digital-savvy consumer

Customers today are armed with more information than ever, and are more sophisticated and have higher expectations. Retailers and brands that don’t keep pace with today’s digital strategies face accelerated decline. 

The decline of retail shopping districts should be evidence enough. To survive and thrive, commerce brands need to become experience leaders and must deliver digital-first, personalized, localized and consistent experiences across all touchpoints and devices to beat the competition and stay relevant. 

The real-world, destination-based, linear shopping experience is dead. In its place is a complex customer journey that dips in and out of brand touchpoints and the wider web. Customers are in the driving seat and can easily take their business elsewhere if they are unsatisfied. 

Leading consumer brands have capitalized on their ability to deliver customer-centric experiences to meet these demands and have redefined customer experiences in their market segments within the last decade. All markets are undergoing rapid transformation and becoming digital-first, reshaping commerce experiences forever. 

Generic websites that simply replicate brick-and-mortar stores can only go so far. To beat the competition, brands need to differentiate themselves with compelling customer-centric experiences that connect with and engage their customers, providing them with value before, during and after the point of purchase. 

Mounting pressure from multiple angles

Customer demand has put a huge strain on retailers and brands to keep up with consumers, and this can be felt across three dimensions: 

• Legacy technologies and solutions reduce the scope of innovation. Many of these products were designed and implemented before the rise and adoption of smartphones, limiting a company’s understanding of their customers.
• Antiquated, heavily governed waterfall processes with endless gates, checks and reviews slow down the rate of change and time to market.
• While digital transformation has been accelerated, the very fabric of a business’s organizational structure and ways of working have undergone a fundamental shift with the rise of remote and flexible working. There is no way to put that genie back in the bottle, despite calls from some to return to the office full-time.

Businesses need to solve these challenges internally if they are to compete and succeed in the 21st century and beyond. If they don’t, they risk being toppled by the next disruptive competitor. 

So how do you stay relevant and compete in today’s retail landscape? It comes down to fully embracing a customer-centric mindset. Retailers and brands need to deliver holistic experiences and products, using modern digital processes. 

If history has taught us anything, those who embrace change are those who succeed.

Amplience is a commerce experience platform that takes the heavy lifting out of digital content, giving your technical and marketing teams the freedom to create digital experiences without limits. The platform’s MACH Alliance-certified architecture delivers maximum speed, agility and scalability. More than 400 of the world’s leading brands use Amplience, which has 200 employees globally and has raised over $180 million in investment.

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