Retail changing. What about you?

5 retail predictions you should consider now.

Year of Customer Happiness? At Splio, we think so. We want to make sure retailers have everything they need to focus on the customer. But customer happiness starts with changes from the retailer too.

We believe in the end of the battle between software and team fragmentation. We have always been convinced that unified marketing teams equipped with intuitive technology are your best assets to present a single face to your customers.

We also believe that retailers need to recognize the significant and active role that consumers—and, more specifically, Millennials—will play going forward. Digital technology is a major part of their lifestyle. They live in a world without borders and will set the pace for retail from now on.

We definitely believe it's time for omnicommerce. Prediction for 2018: you will make it work!

Omnichannel was consecrated last November with the digitalization of Black Friday. Now's the time to merge customer and shopping experiences in order to satisfy both customers and retailers.

1. Know your customer.

Consumers are over informed. Customers should be treated genuinely and as individuals. They are imposing their buying journeys and are overwhelmed with solicitations, and so are you. In 2018, focus! Store/centralize your data and use them for personalized conversions. It's time to really focus on your customers. We believe marketing is in a leading position to facilitate ecommerce and store teams progressively coming together around the customer. Marketing has the unique ability to capture strategic information on one channel and provide it to the other to be relevant.

2. Loyalty.

You know the song lyrics 'Can't buy me love'? Well, guess what? That applies to your brand too! Of course, customers should be rewarded based on their purchases online and in-store. But let's take it one step further and ensure that loyalty points are earned with other behaviors such as being active readers of your newsletters, being frequent users of your mobile app or being vocal brand ambassadors on social media.

In 2018, marketing is about rewarding consumer loyalty and brand preferences to nurture customer to move from a standard commercial relationship to a level of being a brand ambassador.

3. Clienteling.

A prerequisite for success in both online and offline commerce is ensuring that the marketing and sales teams work closely together. We believe that the human factor is essential to retailers’ digital transformation. We also believe in empowering central marketing teams to become trusted, day-to-day partners to their retail . Finally, we believe in boosting sales by equipping store staff with customer insights and actionable strategies. By leveraging this 360-degree view of every consumer, store teams can deliver a personalized and exceptional in-store experience.

In 2018, marketing is about delighting each and every visitor to your stores.

4. Distributed Marketing.

Store managers know their market, their stocks and their customers. Letting them decide what and when marketing campaigns are sent to their customers means strengthening your brand with local human intelligence. Brands should provide the store managers and franchise owners the right marketing guidelines to do so. It would boost ROI, find the right cross-channel mix and generate more traffic in-store.

In 2018, marketing is about autonomy, proximity & sales efficiency.

5. Deliverability.

Well, now you know your customers. Everything is ready to reward them. Your in-store teams have matured to offer memorable store visits. And your local store managers can address them spot on. Congratulations! But what's the point of all this if you can't reach them? So yes, last but certainly not least, deliverability is what will put you in front of the scene.

In 2018, marketing is about your reach. And that starts with, landing in their inbox with relevant GDPR-compliant communications.

At Splio, we will make sure you turn these 5 predictions into 5 achievements in 2018.