What Does the Future of Commerce Look Like? Hint: Data Reigns Supreme
Today, more than half (56%) of customers say that businesses treat them like a number. That’s because an overwhelming amount of data, new channels, and siloed workflows can lead to customer experiences that feel disjointed and impersonal. If the last few years were a period of unprecedented expansion, the future of commerce is about bringing cohesion and harmony to all that new growth.
To thrive in 2023 and beyond, businesses will need to create a more seamless journey, complete with hyperpersonalized and intelligent shopping moments that make customers feel deeply understood. The right tools and strategies will help you build trust and loyalty by showing customers that you can anticipate their needs. It all comes down to customer data and how you harness it to deliver shopping experiences that feel like magic. Here’s what the future of commerce will look like — and the major role that real-time data will play.
You’ve probably heard this one before, but it bears repeating: inflation, supply chain issues, and a labor shortage have rocked the commerce market in 2022. But through all the change and challenges, the importance of customer relationships remains. Ultimately, customer satisfaction is always the main goal. That’s why commerce professionals overwhelmingly named “deepening customer relationships” as a top priority in 2022.
To tackle new challenges and keep customer satisfaction front-and-center, leaders are focusing on two things: streamlining operations to reduce costs and improving the customer experience to win loyalty. This means tightening up order management, automating repetitive and tedious processes, adding new payment methods and revenue sources, and scaling personalization. The key to all of this? Real-time data. Up-to-the-minute information about your customers and business operations gives you a competitive edge for the future because it can be turned into insights as soon as it’s collected.
With real-time data at your fingertips, you can efficiently track and manage all your operational processes, and respond to business needs as they arise. Real-time data is especially useful when it comes to differentiating your user experience. With an in-the-moment view of your customer, you can instantly update messaging, send pertinent offers, and draw shoppers’ attention to all the right products to increase conversions.
The future of commerce is multichannel. Today, customers turn to an average of nine different channels to communicate with companies. A customer can discover new products on social media, read reviews in an app, add items to their cart on desktop, and check out on mobile. New channels crop up often and are adopted faster than ever. The metaverse, TikTok, and social shopping — channels that have only recently joined the ecommerce ecosystem — have quickly gained momentum as valuable parts of the customer experience.
