September approaches, of course (as it always does) – but this time, with a red-letter day on the 13th as PSD2 takes effect.
As readers of these digital pages know, the European Union directive mandates that bank customers can use third-party providers for financial services. The latest PSD2 Tracker, via joint efforts of PYMNTS and Whitepages Pro, found that though PSD2 looms,…
Voice assistants continue to gain momentum, but there’s still little clarity around how this new interface affects the brand-consumer relationship, and how brands need to reposition themselves in light of this. With strong chances of more growth on the horizon, stakeholders in voice tech are having to consider questions that underline its durability and monetization potential.
Above all, they’re grappling with the…
Nonstop innovations including expanded shipping capabilities, faster delivery times and cashierless stores make Amazon a force to be reckoned with. The e-commerce giant’s constant developments pose a threat to traditional brick-and-mortar retailers for obvious reasons. However, though they may not realize it, brick-and-mortar stores are in a position to compete with Amazon quite successfully. …
Those times are long gone when we simply filled in the address at an online store and hoped that the parcel would arrive, sometimes even after several weeks. Nowadays, parcels are moving fast and customers closely follow the journey of their parcels. And versatile delivery types have also become significant factors in customer satisfaction. For customers, the ease of pick-up is…
For three digitally native brands, brick-and-mortar locations are for consumer education — and more. The days of pure-play retail are in the rearview mirror for digitally native brands. Over the next five years, the burgeoning cohort of direct-to-consumer companies could open up to 850 stores. But don’t expect them to serve the same purpose as, say, a Macy’s, Target or…
People do not want to speak with robots while shopping in-store or online according to a new study conducted by Oracle NetSuite in partnership with Wakefield Research and The Retail Doctor, a retail consulting firm created by expert consultant and business mentor Bob Phibbs. The global study of 1,200 consumers and 400 retail executives across the U.S., U.K. and Australia…
The cross-platform feature, which is self-service and runs on a CPA model, had test partners including teen favorite TikTok and Sony’s Crackle streaming platform. Amazon announced a new self-service loyalty offering called Amazon Moments, which doles out both physical and digital rewards for marketers that are fulfilled, shipped and delivered by the online retailing giant. The cross-platform feature, rolling out to…
Manufacturers are developing two packaging designs for the same product: those destined for the retail shelf, and those sent directly to consumers. Tide created a stir when it introduced e-commerce packaging for laundry detergent, shifting to a cardboard case holding a bladder of liquid detergent. Comparisons to boxed wine ensued, with its meta depictions of the original Tide bottle printed onto…
Today e-commerce websites and in general online merchants are facing a big challenge on a daily basis: the reduction of frauds and chargebacks. Login and password details get often hacked, credit cards are sometimes cloned, as a result fraudulent transactions as a serious threat, both to the security of the customers, and to the reliability of the merchant, who has to…
Data storytelling bridges two worlds: the creative and the formulaic; emotive communication and hard data. While nothing new, storytelling is fast becoming the most effective way to reach today’s consumers. More and more brands are looking to deep consumer insight to shape meaningful stories that resonate with their audience. Here’s why.
What is Data Storytelling?
Data storytelling is about making connections, using…
In addition to the big digital money makers like Amazon, Shopify, eBay and Alibaba, social media platforms have become one of the most effective vehicles for brands to drive e-commerce sales. The thing that kick-started it all? Creators.
The rise of influencer marketing has been sparked not only by the trust that consumers place in their favorite social superstars; findings that show…
Giant travel search engines such as TripAdvisor, Expedia, Kayak, and Google Flights have all but replaced travel agents as most consumers’ travel advisors. Soon, independent curating engines like these could trigger the next wave of disruption in retail. The first stage of the digital shopping revolution saved consumers time and money by letting them buy things they already wanted without…
In the world of retail innovations, merchants are looking to reach shoppers by interacting with them through multiple touchpoints. They are turning to cross-channel strategies to improve the customer experience, and even working with other companies to help execute these visions. Old Navy and Lyft, for instance, linked up in the lead-up to the holidays: The ridesharing service provided free…
In honor of Data Privacy Day (Data Protection Day in Europe), the European Commission (“the Commission”) released a statement on the status of the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) which took effect on May 25, 2018. The joint statement by the Commission’s First Vice-President Timmermans, Vice-President Ansip, Commissioners Jourová and Gabriel stressed the importance of the GDPR in light…
As announced in our earlier newsletter ‘Netherlands finally implements PSD2’, the Dutch Senate approved the legislative proposal transposing the second Payment Services Directive (Directive 2015/2366 – PSD2) into Dutch law on 4 December 2018. At that time, it was expected that the effective date of this legislation would be 1 January 2019 (acknowledging that the draft decree implementation PSD2 (dealing…
Savvy and subtle innovation — not robots, drones and flashy screens — are what’s needed most. Tens of thousands of retail and tech professionals descended on New York this week for the National Retail Federation’s Big Show, an annual industry confab where exhibitors show off new innovations and the crowd collectively scoffs at the idea of any kind of looming retail apocalypse. The great sport…
Customer care through Facebook, Twitter and other channels has changed the way consumers interact with brands through every step of the customer journey. It was recently found that 93 percent of brand tweets are 1:1 interactions with customers, which means only 7 percent of brand tweets are traditional marketing content. Meeting customers where they are for 1:1 conversations is only…
Data’s very concept is changing. It has become a commodity: its ownership can be transferred, it can be marketed, reused, aggregated, transformed, bought and sold. The real potential comes from public sector information (PSI) or Open Public Data. Public sector bodies produce and possess huge quantities of data with huge value for individuals, businesses and society as a whole, by…
Two in five consumers (41%) say they are more comfortable and confident that brands are handling their data correctly thanks to the introduction of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) in May 2018. Furthermore, fewer people find themselves often questioning how a brand got their data in the first place than a year ago, according to the ‘ Consumer email…
Research shows that monetary rewards are not the only driver for customer loyalty programs and that increasing experiential rewards provides greater long-term benefits. Loyalty programs are supposed to unlock great value for companies by driving higher sales and boosting brand affinity. So why aren’t they doing this? Although more and more companies now have loyalty programs (they’re growing at 9% a…