In the retail sector, understanding the behavior of consumers and addressing their needs is a gargantuan task for companies. Some get it right, while most do not. Building brand perception and driving sales growth can be a hit and miss, depending on how well-equipped retailers are with consumer behavioral data. Even when brands have consumer data, many of them are plagued by ‘digital sameness’, a term coined by Brendan Witcher, Vice President, and Principal Analyst, Digital Business Strategy, Forrester.

What is digital sameness? Most retailers today are settling for ‘good enough’ consumer experiences instead of striving to take them to the next level through personalization that is real-time and individualized. Brendan’s contention is that this collective inaction has resulted in digital sameness, due to which the majority of consumers are rather dismissive of their digital experience.

At a recent retail event, Brendan shared some eye-opening insights from a Forrester study. He revealed that not one consumer rated the digital experience as ‘excellent’. Only 17 percent said it was ‘good’, and a whopping 65 percent said it was ‘ok’.

These numbers indicate that brands are not doing enough to continually improve consumer experiences, and are just settling for ‘ok’ experiences that don’t create real competitive advantages. It appears that the quality of digital experiences has plateaued, while the expectations of the digital-savvy consumer continue to grow.

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Personalization Now Means Individualization

It is imperative that brands create new relevance in the world of digital sameness by continually enhancing their personalization. This is key to differentiate themselves from the competition or the many brands that are trying to win the attention and loyalty of consumers who are spoiled for choice today. Companies should create memorable moments that will keep consumers thinking of their brand, not just when they are about to make a buying decision but also at other times when they are not necessarily in purchase mode.

This means brands have to think beyond segmentation and deliver individualized experiences to consumers. Forrester, in a report, stated that only 40 percent of consumers say that the information they get from brands is relevant to their tastes and interests. This is a serious concern considering that 89 percent of digital businesses are investing in personalization.

Brands, while they understand that every consumer is unique, struggle to cater to this uniqueness. Brands should look beyond basic demographic information, such as gender, location, age, and income, and consider factors like tastes, preferences, and affinities that provide greater insight into buying behavior. 

Data management solutions, such as Customer Data Platforms (CDPs), have proven to create significant value in this regard. A MarketsandMarkets report revealed that the CDP market size is likely to grow from $3.5 billion in 2021 to $15.3 billion by 2026, at a CAGR of 34.6 percent during the forecast period. A CDP provides a unified, 360-degree view of a customer by integrating behavioral, transactional, e-commerce, and other types of data from both online and offline sources.

Brands should go that extra mile to understand why consumers buy from them, and that ‘why’ could be driven by quality, convenience, price, aspirations, personal views (vegans, for instance, will not buy anything leather), et al. Once they get this right, brands can drive relevant, individualized experiences to consumers and continuously improve upon them, not just on digital channels but also in physical stores.