How to Wrap Up More Sales With the Gift of First-Party Data

While the festive holiday shopping season is in full swing, this year retailers and consumer goods companies face a pressing challenge: a shorter period between Thanksgiving and Christmas. With five fewer shopping days and economic pressures making consumers more price-sensitive, companies need to act fast if they want to engage shoppers.

Amid these challenges lies a key opportunity: first-party data. By harnessing this invaluable asset, retailers can build deeper customer relationships, foster loyalty, and boost sales — not just this season, but for years to come. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.

Unwrapping the Power of First-Party Data 

Retailers are navigating a complex landscape. Even with global retail sales projected to reach $30.6 trillion in 2024, success is far from guaranteed. Companies that rely solely on traditional, third-party data are finding their strategies less effective due to evolving privacy regulations and a shift in consumer attitudes toward data transparency. As a result, first-party data isn’t just a luxury anymore, it’s a necessity.

First-party data — collected directly from customer interactions with a retailer’s website, app, and other owned channels — is inherently more reliable and transparent. This data not only provides a clearer picture of customer behavior, but also builds trust since it’s collected with consent. When customer-facing teams are empowered to access and act on unified customer data in real time, they can move beyond basic demographic insights. Instead, they can segment audiences with precision and create personalized experiences that truly resonate with customers at every touchpoint. Insights and activations from these audiences can power both online sales as well as sales in the wholesale/retail channel.

'Tis the Season for Personalization 

Personalization is no longer optional; it’s a fundamental expectation for today’s consumers. First-party data empowers retailers to deliver highly relevant, personalized experiences across touchpoints, from paid media campaigns to in-app interactions. By understanding customer preferences, purchase history, browsing behaviors and more, retailers can tailor their interactions to resonate deeply with each customer.

Amid the noise of holiday ads and promotions, it’s this level of targeted communication that helps brands stand out. With unified, actionable data in hand, teams can craft personalized offers for each shopper, increasing the likelihood of purchases and repeat visits — both in-store and online. This personalized approach cultivates customer loyalty that extends well beyond the holiday season.

Putting it Into Practice: A Sleigh-Full of Strategies for Seasonal Success

So, how can retailers turn first-party data into tangible returns during the holiday season? Here are some key strategies for success during the holiday season and beyond:

1. Capture data across touchpoints.

Every customer interaction offers an opportunity to collect valuable insights, from website visits to in-store purchases. By gathering relevant data across these touchpoints, retailers can build a comprehensive customer profile, enhancing their ability to personalize experiences. However, data collection doesn’t end there. Interactive experiences such as quizzes, polls and surveys provide additional opportunities to gain deeper insights into customer preferences. These engaging elements not only make data collection feel seamless, but also create opportunities to transform every interaction into a meaningful exchange. And with the right tools, retailers can launch these experiences in as little as one week to drive meaningful results this holiday season — no need to wait until next year.

2. Unify data across channels.

Once collected, this data needs to be unified. Disjointed data from various touchpoints can lead to fragmented customer insights and inconsistent experiences. By unifying first-party data into comprehensive customer profiles, retailers ensure they can deliver a cohesive, personalized experience. This unified data foundation also enables more precise targeting, both within customer interactions and through paid media strategies on platforms such as Google and Facebook.

3. Turn insights into action.

The true value of first-party data lies in how it’s used. To deliver real-time personalized experiences, frontline teams need access to data they can act on without relying on technical resources. With unified data and user-friendly tools, teams can personalize web and app experiences in real time and run models like next-best-action to make relevant, timely decisions. For instance, next-best-action models can pinpoint the most effective offers for each customer, ensuring they're both timely and relevant. This smarter, faster approach empowers teams to excel at their roles and drive better returns for the business — every single day.

First-Party Data: The Gift That Keeps on Giving

In a shortened holiday shopping season, retailers must make the most of every opportunity to engage customers. With access to unified and actionable first-party data, retailers can empower their teams to consistently offer what customers want, season after season. It’s the gift that keeps on giving — helping brands not just survive but thrive in an increasingly complex retail landscape.

Jeff Hyde is an account director at BlueConic, the operating system that puts customer data into action for marketing and growth doers.