Customer Retention

We've recently passed the one-year mark for the pandemic economy, with all of its volatility, uncertainty and disruptions. Among the most emphatic takeaways is that direct to consumer (D-to-C) has proven incredibly resilient through these changes. In some sense, it seems obvious in retrospect, that brands built on the potent combination of direct distribution, online…

Consumers came out of 2020 having undergone a radical shift in priorities and preferences in their retail experiences. Retailers have mostly managed to address the shift to an all-digital retail experience, but need to continue to adapt their strategies to address the new era buyer persona and earn their long-term loyalty. Many loyalty programs were…

Customer experience (CX) expert Shep Hyken provides a couple of sayings that resonate with today’s retail environment: “Satisfaction is a rating. Loyalty is a brand,” and “There is a big difference from a satisfied customer and a loyal customer.” Ultimately, satisfaction = good. Brand loyalty = 100 percent better. We all know this is true,…

Customer experience (CX) was gaining importance as a competitive differentiator well before the pandemic. Now, after a year of retailers and brands pivoting to vie for consumers’ attention and dollars online, there's a new definition of great customer experience — one forged by 2020’s drastic shifts in the way we buy and sell. One result…

2020 presented challenge after challenge for the retail industry. While COVID-related online shopping resulted in an estimated revenue boost of $175 billion, the industry itself took a loss, with total sales dropping 10.5 percent — a number not seen since 2016. This unique combination created new challenges for retailers and brands of every shape and size,…

After the onset of COVID-19, the world was abuzz with how the retail industry would fare. There were early signs that online shopping was surging, but nobody expected e-commerce penetration to grow by 27 percent in only eight weeks. Looking back at an unprecedented year for online retail sales, there are other trends that we…

Since the onset of COVID-19, consumers appear to have re-assessed their priorities when they’re shopping online. Today, consumers are expecting higher levels of authenticity, seeking out brands they can trust will deliver on promises and that also align with their own values. In fact, 52 percent of respondents from Euromonitor’s Lifestyle Survey in 2020 agreed…

With the COVID-19 pandemic further shifting consumer retail buying habits online, it's more important than ever for companies to utilize tools that help them thrive in an increasingly competitive landscape. According to a recent McKinsey & Company report, “the shift to online retail is real, and much of it will stick.” However, only 60 percent…

In part one of this series, we discussed the importance of earning your customers’ ongoing support, and how increasing customer retention by just 5 percent can boost profits by an average of 75 percent. While retention marketing has been around for a while, this area of business will only continue to rise in importance as…

We’ve entered the next stage of combating COVID-19 as vaccinations roll out across the country. While this may be the next step towards getting the pandemic under control, consumers remain wary. In fact, vaccine or not, most Americans said they would hardly change their current shopping behaviors — an important finding for retailers currently planning…