Marketing & Loyalty

Marketing & Loyalty

Omnichannel Retail Index​ 2022

Recharging Marketing and Loyalty Efforts

 

From acquisition to engagement, conversion, and ultimately loyalty, a marketer’s work is never done. In a perfect omnichannel world, social media, display advertising, and loyalty programs work seamlessly together across all touchpoints.

In an ideal world, all marketing efforts are supported by data, everything is personalized to the individual shopper, and all activities are attributable. In the real world, for most, this is not the case. Despite a wide range of technologies available to support acquisition, retention, and overall user experience efforts, too many retailers and brands are still working on getting the basics right.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the drastically increased demand for online shopping meant acquisition numbers increased for many retailers and brands. Today, those same organizations are challenged with how to retain these new customers. As a result, loyalty programs and retention marketing strategies have gained renewed focus and making their way to the top of the digital roadmap.

Email/SMS
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For many organizations, email is still one of the most cost-effective marketing channels for customer acquisition and retention. Yet, many retailers and brands are not taking full advantage of basic opportunities to build their email list and capture valuable customer information to make email programs even more effective. For instance, most retailers in the index hide email signup in the footer, and only half offer an incentive for shoppers to share email and mobile details.

Loyalty
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The majority of retailers and brands in ORI offer a cross-channel loyalty program. Some retailers and brands are re-engineering how they think about loyalty – building new initiatives that may not be considered traditional loyalty programs - which could explain why the index shows a slight adoption decrease. Many loyalty programs are still built upon traditional point systems to reward shoppers. A renewed focus on loyalty, however, has introduced a wide range of exciting new loyalty programs that go beyond the traditional point systems. These programs focus more on relevant experiences and complimentary services, and introduce new ways for customers to gather points by becoming brand advocates.

Social Media/Affiliate/Retargeting
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​Most retailers and brands in the index have mastered basic social media tactics. The vast majority have a solid presence on all major social media channels, including TikTok which increased significantly since 2021. But beyond basic social media activities, many can benefit from a more engaging social media approach across all customer touchpoints. Social influence through customer photos, aggregated reviews, social proof messaging, and customer-generated FAQs can significantly boost conversions online.

How Do You Stack Up?​

You dedicate time, resources, and budget toward delivering the best customer experience possible. But, are you truly meeting customer expectations? How do you compare to your competition? See how you perform against the Omnichannel Retail Index to help prioritize your digital roadmap and make smarter investment decisions.