Omicommerce is a convergence on 1:1 brand : consumer engagement.
There have been several pieces of research and surveys published since the start of 2024 from Mintel, UoM, Capgemini, and Qualtrics.
Mintel’s report identifies five behavior trends shaping consumer markets beyond 2024 and their insights cover topics like sustainability, personalization, and changing consumer expectations.
UoM found that consumer sentiment rose significantly in January 2024, reaching its highest level since July 2021 and year-over-year consumer sentiment also showed a substantial increase.
Capgemini’s “What matters to today’s consumer” survey of 10,000 people, in 10 countries just one vital question “What matters to you?” It found that in its focus on consumer behavior in the consumer product and retail industries, it could come up with strategies for success in innovation and new product development that focus on the impact of emerging technologies and changing consumer expectations.
Qualtrics’ survey was based on responses from over 28,000 consumers across 26 countries. focused on preferences, complex customer journeys, and rising expectations with some valuable insights for businesses aiming to build meaningful connections with consumers.
The results reveal some important trends and sentiments amongst consumers to create compelling and positive experiences.
The combined reports emphasize the significance of human connection in customer experiences alongside the rise of AI technologies.
- Consumers prioritize human interaction for critical tasks but accept AI for simpler activities. As such successful AI strategies entail understanding customer preferences for human versus digital interactions and leveraging AI to augment these connections.
- There has been a resurgence in in-store shopping and continued strength of eCommerce – OmniCommerce and the Phygital. As a result quality customer service and post-purchase experiences foster consumer loyalty more than price competitiveness. Organizations that invest heavily in frontline employee training and service quality stand to gain customer loyalty.
- Digital support experiences trail human interactions in satisfaction but present significant improvement opportunities. Enhancing digital experiences is vital for customer retention and loyalty.
- Consumers are also inclined to provide less direct feedback, necessitating diverse listening tools beyond traditional surveys. Integrating operational data with feedback from various sources provides insights into customer sentiments and behaviors.
- A trend towards direct ordering (D2C) from brands, signaling a shift in purchasing behavior supports the view that there is an increased importance accordingly, of efficient delivery and fulfillment services, particularly in certain retail categories.
Consumer priorities are centered around healthy, sustainable living, influencing purchase decisions. The reports determined that there are four key actions for brands and retailers to capitalize on these trends.
There is accordingly a blurring distinction between online and in-store shopping, with consumers expecting comparable levels of service and experience across both channels. All this underscores the need for organizations to prioritize human connections, improve customer service quality, enhance digital support experiences, and adapt to changing feedback dynamics to meet evolving consumer expectations in 2024 and beyond.
These insights provide valuable guidance for retailers and brands aiming to navigate the evolving consumer landscape, emphasizing a customer-centric approach, data-driven decision-making, ethical data practices, personalization, real-time insights, multichannel engagement, and sustainability.
Customer Master Data Management in this context
In the context of the evolving consumer landscape, the relevance of Pretectum CMDM is clear.
The resurgence of in-store shopping and continued support for eCommerce pushes for the prioritization of personalization and the need for organizations to enhance digital support experiences through better use of customer data and adapt to changing feedback dynamics to meet evolving consumer expectations in 2024 and beyond.
Pretectum’s Customer Master Data Management plays a crucial role in offering a comprehensive customer data management solution that goes beyond that offered by traditional customer data systems. Pretectum CMDM focuses on creating a centralized, accurate, and up-to-date repository of customer information, providing a unified view of the customer by consolidating the customer data entity from diverse sources and departments. This approach allows businesses to craft a 360-degree understanding of the customer, enabling improvements in personalized marketing and tailoring experiences that resonate with the individual off their own personal data.
By leveraging sophisticated algorithms and ML and AI, CMDM equips businesses with the means to derive actionable insights that enable them to stay ahead of the curve in understanding consumer preferences and behaviors.
Pretectum CMDM aligns well with the current consumer trends identified in the research reports by offering a platform that enhances data governance, supports scalability, facilitates personalization, provides interoperability with innovation, and promotes improvements in overall customer relationship management.
By investing in CMDM like Pretectum’s solution, businesses can unlock the unparalleled potential to forge enduring connections with customers, drive innovation in their offerings, and navigate the dynamic consumer landscape successfully all while remaining compliant.