Senior Director, Marketing

Shop.org Recap: Transformation in the Retail Industry

Rise, along with our partner Quad/Graphics, co-sponsored and exhibited at the National Retail Federation’s (NRF) 2017 Shop.org event in Los Angeles at the end of September.

The Quad + Rise team was excited to showcase our joint Print Personalization capability and talk to retailers about tying together their customers' online and offline behaviors and the importance of a consistent multichannel experience.

The Quad and Rise team at 2017 Shop.org event

Shop.org’s key theme was centered around transformation and staying relevant in today’s digital marketplace. At Rise, we couldn’t agree more on the need for brands to embrace change in order to stand out from the competition and be successful. Our team prides itself on continual innovation and we’re witnessing a number of our own clients try new tactics within the retail realm.

Here are a few more key themes discussed at the show that we’re also seeing ring true:

  • Customers know what they want and they want it now. Customers are everywhere and they’re the ones in charge. Not only are your customers online, offline, on mobile, and in-store, but they are also more informed than ever and desire immediacy (think 24/7 customer service and same-day delivery.) Brands need to take a customer-first mindset to connect all of the dots along a customer’s journey. This will enable consistent and relevant marketing messages that deliver what customers want to see, when they want to see it, and how they want to see it.
  • It’s vital to explore new technologies and tools. Technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning aren’t new, but they are becoming more engrained in the industry. It will soon be table stakes for brands to create personalized 1:1 messages that customers want. However, the event also discussed two of the newer technologies to break into the retail space: voice and virtual reality. As these and other new technologies continue to enter the marketplace, brands that focus on innovation and testing new tools are going to make a splash.
  • More retailers are using data to help make decisions. Many brands talked about being driven by metrics and the need to focus their business on conversions and personalization to increase customer acquisition, retention, and ultimate satisfaction. The discussion wasn’t around acquiring data, but how to use the data you have to help move customers through their path to purchase.
 

Overall, the event further proved that retail is a rapidly changing industry with a wealth of opportunity for marketers. If you are interested in learning more about how Quad + Rise can help you use the power of data to integrate your customer’s online and offline interactions, visit www.powerofdata.com.

10/20/2017 at 02:13