Please tell us about the major factors that affect customer behavior on digital platforms?

Key factors are: easy access; control of content/contact; useful and relevant information; timely response; and privacy, along with an assurance that shared personal data will actually be used to create personalized communications and experiences.

How do ecommerce companies like Amazon and Walmart influence shopping trends across all retail channels?

Their strength lies in the competitive power of their size, assortments, ubiquity, pricing, convenience, high standards of order servicing (speed, accuracy), and related communications.  Underpinning it all are the resources and sophistication to apply their vast data assets to optimizing audiences, messaging and overall customer contact/journey.transaction management.  These developments have been hugely successful over the past two decades, and this success has fueled further ecommerce growth, and also contributed to the steep decline in brick and mortar retailing, and the demise of many retail institutions.

The pandemic has only intensified and accelerated this pattern.

We have seen advertising and video marketing platforms playing a major role in pushing e-Commerce sales. Could you share some of your analytics-based observations and experiences?

 While we don’t quote proprietary data, it’s well-known — and highly visible — that all major e-commerce players use television and digital video advertising as important contributors to driving website traffic.   This usage applies basic marketing principles involving the importance of integrating communication channels, which principles existed long before e-commerce and digital media.  The critical difference is that, while TV and other video can contribute to general awareness, other channels — especially now digital — are far more effective at supporting sales to targeted audiences of product assortments curated at the category or item levels.

Biggest impact of COVID-19 on retail experience management and the future of consumer data science?

The pandemic has provided further proof of commercial email’s importance as an agile, rapid, effective communications channel, especially — as in this case — in an emergency.

The email channel enables personalization by applying location, behavioral and geo-tracking data to understanding customer needs and managing customer relationships, including the details of individual sales transactions (e.g., home deliveries; store pickups).  In most industries not adversely affected by the pandemic, email activity has increased during this period, rather than decreased.  Obviously, industry sectors like travel and entertainment have been unfortunate exceptions.

Thank you for answering all our questions!