RETHINKING PERSONALIZATION AND DELIVERING ON SIGNATURE MOMENTS
This time last week we were wrapping up our 8th annual RichRelevance Personalization Summit in EMEA. As always, we sought out a unique venue removed from the hustle and bustle of the busy streets of London where we could bring together international brands and retailers for an evening of networking and dinner, followed by a day of thought leadership, personalization success stories, and announcements of innovation on what’s to come for RichRelevance in 2019 and beyond.
NRF 2019
It was just two years ago in 2016, that headlines everywhere were talking about the demise of retail, but this year at the annual National Retail Federation 2019: Retail Big Show, which opened on Sunday, January 13th, NRF Chairman Christopher Baldwin, chairman, president and CEO of BJ’s Wholesale Club stating what we all know to be the more accurate truth, “retail never went away”, and that today the “industry is more healthy, vibrant, innovative and exciting than ever.”
Throughout the year and especially at this time of year, there are days and holidays where you know, with certainty, that traffic and conversion will increase (hello Black Friday). The question is, how do you ensure shoppers on your mobile and ecommerce sites will actually find what they’re looking for, or be inspired enough by your shopping experiences to complete their purchase? If you consider the path a frenzied and frantic shopper might take when they’re deal hunting, making a last-minute time-sensitive purchase, or seeking out a specific item, especially on mobile, you might conclude (and accurately) that they’ll take the fastest route possible. And the fastest route possible should be Search.
Despite the shifts in customer expectations and the strategic focus on creating a customer centric experience, today’s Search has failed to deliver an experience that considers the customer context and behavioral affinities in addition to the content in which an individual is searching.
Personalization is often synonymized with relevance, and relevance is delivered effectively when there is an understanding of the context of a situation.