Customer Data

In episode 233 of Total Retail Talks, Editor-in-Chief Joe Keenan interviews Jan-Willem Driessen, former vice president of global marketing and direct-to-consumer at Black Diamond Equipment, a global retailer specializing in climbing, hiking and skiing apparel and equipment. Listen in as Driessen discusses Black Diamond Equipment's growing direct-to-consumer business, its transition away from being a primarily wholesale brand, and why the brand is changing its focus to D-to-C.

Technology has changed the way consumers shop and relate to brands. As digital channels, platforms and devices continue to evolve, consumer behaviors do too. Consumers today are digitally savvy, and many have become masters at navigating the omnichannel landscape. Accustomed to being everywhere at once, they’ve become channel agnostic, turning upside down the traditional concepts…

Consumer trust in brands has continued to decline in recent years, and much of that can be linked to the seemingly endless examples of companies mishandling personal data. No organization has been immune: financial institutions, social media networks, and technology giants have all experienced the fallout associated with improperly or unsuccessfully protecting their customers’ personal…

While predictions of the impending retail apocalypse are passed off by some as fear-mongering, there’s no doubt large brick-and-mortar retailers faced major challenges this past decade. 2019 ended with a new high of store closures in the U.S., which topped out at over 9,300 ⁠— a figure that almost doubled in a single year. These…

As brands turn to automated intelligence to meet expectations for great customer experiences, new restrictions are being placed on the data collected to inform those experiences. On Jan. 1, California enacted the nation’s strictest data privacy law, following on the heels of Vermont, which has been regulating online data brokers since January 2019. In Europe,…

Rooted in increased regulation such as GDPR and CCPA and general customer backlash, a growing emphasis on collecting consent and ensuring privacy of customer data exists. In this environment, the “cost” of compliance is a top-of-mind factor for retailers, but how “cost” is considered varies from organization to organization. Irrespective of an organization’s approach, the…

For all the prognosticators out there trying to predict which digital commerce brands and retailers will be the winners and losers in 2020, there’s a simple litmus test: the customer experience. Without a doubt, succeeding in 2020 will require companies to have 20/20 vision into how consumers want to experience a brand — both online…

The advertising industry is undergoing rapid change, and buckle your seatbelts, retail is next. The new era of advertising is called “programmatic,” which simply means the work done by yesterday’s ad agencies and media buying firms is now done by computers. We’re entering the programmatic era of retail, and the survivors will be masters of…

How many times have you found yourself walking into Target for a new toothbrush and exiting with backup cleaning supplies (for next year), new toys for your dog, and a state-of-the-art popcorn maker? America’s favorite department store recently announced its new loyalty program, called "Target Circle," where customers now receive special discounts based on data…

The point of the broad-based California Consumer Privacy Act of 2018 (CCPA), signed by California Governor Jerry Brown in June, is to protect consumer data. For retailers wondering if the CCPA will impact their business, time is limited to figure out if and how. If you're a retailer selling products online and already compliant with the General Data…