Customer Experience in Retail: Transformations and Technological Impact

Introduction

• Speakers:
  • Hara Gavati, Senior Customer Experience at AWS
  • Fabus Kolar, Director of Design and Product Development at Selfes
  • Dwayne Brown, Principal Customer Experience and Data Strategist at AWS
• Discussion focus: Customer experience landscape in retail and the role of Cloud technologies, data, AI, and ML in shaping this landscape.

Changing Consumer-Retailer Relationship

• Transformation driven by:
  • Advancements in technology (e.g., generative AI)
  • Social media and mobile phone adoption
  • Increased consumer awareness of social and environmental issues
  • Global events (e.g., COVID-19 pandemic)
  • Rise of digital technologies and e-commerce
• Customers seeking:
  • Personalized, seamless experiences across all channels
  • Importance of omni-channel strategies

Impact of Cloud Technology on Customer Experience

• Key Points on Cloud Technologies:
  • Consumers disrupt retail by leveraging technology for expectations.
  • Retailers need connected channels for customer interactions.
  • Access to large data sets and rapid environment setup in the Cloud benefits organizations.

Role of Data and AI/ML in Customer Engagement

• Importance of data in understanding customer behaviors, preferences, and improving interactions.
• AI/ML enables better personalization, leading to increased customer loyalty and engagement.
• Example of a membership program (Selfes Unlocked) driving loyalty through tailored experiences.

Challenges in Customer Acquisition and Retention

• Key Challenges:
  • High acquisition costs due to saturated market and competition.
  • Price pressure from competitors and a plethora of choices for consumers.
• Suggested Solutions:
  • Focus on retention strategies rather than just acquisition.
  • Create a community around the brand to foster loyalty.

Creating Personalized Experiences

• Importance of technology, data, and AI/ML in crafting unique customer experiences tailored to preferences.
• Example of implementing personalized carousels on apps, leading to a significant increase in engagement.
• Importance of maintaining consistency and leveraging cross-functional teams to enhance customer interactions across channels.

Culture of Experimentation and Innovation

• Emphasizes the need for a culture of experimentation within retail to create competitive advantages.
• Retailers should not be afraid to fail fast and iterate on ideas to achieve effective results.
• Importance of maintaining a focus on customer needs rather than just technological capability.

Future of Customer Experience in Retail

• Back-office productivity improvements due to advancements in technology.
• Consideration of generative AI's potential in both back-office and front-office operations.
• Importance of identifying real use cases for AI rather than adopting it for the sake of being trendy.

Advice for Peers in Retail

• Key Takeaways:
  • Focus on building a common vision for customer-centric solutions.
  • Ensure data accuracy and trust before applying AI/ML technologies.
  • Identify problems that need solving and start small with targeted projects.
  • Embrace failure as part of the experimentation process and link transformations to tangible business benefits.