The Customer Adaptive Imperative
In my last several blogs, I spoke at length about the retail industry’s current transformation from omnichannel to customer adaptive retailing (see The Transformation Beyond Omnichannel Retail). To recap, every retailer typically has one or more channels in which they sell products to customers. Examples include a physical store, a catalog, a website, mobile phones, and social media communities (multichannel). However, consumers began demanding seamless, frictionless experiences between these channels forcing retailers to transition their business model accordingly (omnichannel).
- Multichannel: the focus is the product, and the experience is transactional and typically different between channels
- Omnichannel: the focus becomes the customer, and the experience is now seamless across channels. A single shopping experience can shift between channels without friction, and no one channel has exclusive benefits.
- Customer Adaptive: the focus becomes highly relevant to individual customers, intelligently predicting their needs while adapting to them “in-the-moment” to create compelling, personalized experiences that transcend satisfaction by adding value to their life in a way that, if done consistently, projects the retailer as a valuable extension of their life.
The Customer Adaptive Challenge
The customer adaptive transition will be difficult for most retailers as it involves more than just adopting and assimilating new technology via digital transformation. Success in this business model requires a customer-centric culture. Every business process must shift to a single, adaptive focus on the customer. It’s a daunting challenge, no doubt, but it’s no longer optional. Today’s digitally mature customers expect retailers to cater to their personal needs and values as a business prerequisite. And they will gravitate to those retailers that cater to their needs.
The Five Pillars of Adaptive Retailing
In my latest SAP Podcast entitled The Customer Channel: Five Pillars of Adaptive Retailing, I’m joined by my colleague, good friend, and retail industry expert Randy Evins. Between us, we have over sixty years of direct retail experience. We discuss the challenges and opportunities that retailers face with this transition and describe the five core business pillars required to achieve customer adaptive retailing:
- Single View of the Business
- Customer Trust
- Personalization
- Unified Commerce
- Connected Digital Supply Chain
This episode is the first of an eight-part series. We’ll explore each pillar, discuss the importance of a customer-centric culture, and end with how to get started on this compelling but rewarding journey toward becoming a customer adaptive retailer. We’re hosting a live webinar on this topic on Wed, Oct 13, 2021 11:00 AM EDT / 10:00 AM CDT and you can register to attend at this LINK.
Link to the Podcast: The Customer Channel: Five Pillars of Adaptive Retailing
For more information see SAP’s website The Customer Channel
