2020 saw unprecedented disruptions to shopping and consumption patterns. For Christmas, Australians found new ways to find and buy gifts for loved ones by embracing online shopping to keep the spirit of the season alive.
With COVID-induced limitations around shopping, most Australians have become comfortable with the concept of moving seamlessly between physical and online channels for their shopping experience. Retail has responded by blurring the lines between physical and online stores, so they are not viewed in isolation anymore – the hybridisation of retail. This looks to be a change that is here to stay.
2020 was a challenging year for everyone. Yet it was also a period of opportunities to fuel innovation and turn over strategies in a matter of days or weeks rather than setting monthly or annual plans. According to Precisely, almost 90% of organisations have updated their customer experience (CX) strategies in response to the pandemic.
Preparations are well underway for Australian brands and retailers to capitalise on the upcoming holiday shopping season. As a key trading milestone – where Australians dig deep into their pockets to make Christmas purchases for their loved ones – brands and retailers are doing everything in their power to make the most of this festive retail period.
It’s our business to know how to get our clients’ products into the hands of their customers. With traditional physical retailing being challenged by technology and the ever-changing behaviour of the hyper-connected consumer, brands and retailers are being forced to rethink their businesses and approaches.
In conjunction with Swinburne University’s CXI Research Group, we recently held a breakfast seminar in Sydney & Melbourne on how brands can amplify their CX deliver.
At our recent CXI Inspiration Breakfast Series with Swinburne University, one of our keynote speakers – Associated Professor Sean Sands, CXI Co-Director – shared his latest thinking surrounding Australia’s CX state of play and explored “What does best practice look like?”.
Customer experience is the new battleground for consumer-facing brands across Australia. Last week, in conjunction with Swinburne University’s CXI Research Group, we held a breakfast seminar in Sydney & Melbourne on how brands can amplify their CX delivery.
‘A world class service that will empower any customer’ says John Ford from Microsoft International of the experience that Microsoft has promised to deliver at their new flagship store on Pitt Street in Sydney.
This week I attended the “Highlights from the ACRS World Retail Congress” where my time was well spent hearing about merging global trends and retail best practice.
This year’s theme centred on the idea of ‘Transforming retail today, tomorrow and beyond’ to survive in an age of disruption. Retail leaders – Dr. Sean Sands and Dr. Violet Lazarevic – thoughtfully took to the stage and shared their global perspective on these interruptions and trends affecting our industry. Their presentation included key findings from the Global Retail Index plus learnings from their attendance at the 2015 Congress in Rome.
As part of ACRS Retail Insights Seminar – sponsored by CPM Australia – high-level speakers joined together in Melbourne recently to explore the challenges and opportunities faced by organisations in the current and future retail market.
In a situation of retail revolution rather than evolution, long-successful brands are battling to maintain relevance. Speaking in Melbourne at the ACRS Retail Insights Seminar –sponsored by CPM Australia – Dr. Sean Sands, Research Director at the Australian Centre for Retail Studies (ACRS), said retail disruption was a key concern for global brands today given the rapid and accelerating pace of change in the sales environment.
Retailers are discovering new ways to enrich their customer’s experience. Retailing is no longer about the product. It’s all about the emotional brand experience felt by the customer in-store – where engagement is at its strongest.
