{"id":19306,"date":"2018-03-19T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-03-19T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/?p=19306"},"modified":"2020-09-18T00:36:42","modified_gmt":"2020-09-18T00:36:42","slug":"qs-rob-garf-how-to-win-shoppers-in-the-retail-renaissance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.salesforce.com\/news\/stories\/qs-rob-garf-how-to-win-shoppers-in-the-retail-renaissance\/","title":{"rendered":"Q&A with Salesforce’s Rob Garf: How to Win Shoppers in the Retail Renaissance"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, Salesforce and Deloitte Digital launched the Consumer Experience in the Retail Renaissance<\/a> report, a global survey of more than 550 traditional retail, pure play, consumer goods, and branded manufacturing leaders. The research sheds light on what elite performers do to win shoppers and how their strategies suggest a model for success.<\/p>

The report found that we\u2019re in the midst of a retail renaissance, but what does that truly mean? Rob Garf, Vice President of Industry Strategy and Insights at Salesforce, explains this transformative period\u2019s implications for brand engagement with shoppers. He also advises brand leaders on the most innovative strategies available today to overcome the pain points that arise in the absence of unified consumer engagement.<\/p>\t\t

At a high level, can you describe what this report evaluated and what retailers need to know about the retail renaissance?<\/h2>

In the midst of one of the leading conferences for retail and ecommerce, Shoptalk<\/a>, Salesforce and Deloitte released a brand new report: Consumer Experience in the Retail Renaissance. Our report analyzes responses from more than 500 brand leaders on their business models and how they optimize for successful consumer experiences. Respondents discussed everything from their use of emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, to their core value propositions. One thing that stood out to me was the fact that 39 percent of survey respondents were members of the C-suite, so this is truly a survey with leadership clout, illustrating where shopping is headed.<\/p>

This research helped us uncover how and why certain strategies are keeping elite performing retailers (brands whose revenue increased more than 10 percent in the past fiscal year) on top during a time when brick-and-mortar stores and online experiences are converging alongside never-before-seen technologies. The combination of these variables has acted as a catalyst for an era we\u2019re now calling the \u201cRetail Renaissance,\u201d where brands are implementing new ways to provide customized and seamless shopping experiences to customers.<\/p>\t\t

Why is it so important for brands to rethink their approach to the unified customer experience, and what trends can we expect to see in the future around unified engagement?<\/h2>

Retailers now have a treasure trove of consumer data that offers unprecedented insights around shoppers\u2019 habits and preferences However, these insights are a double-edged sword. Now that retailers have access to this data, they are under critical pressure \u2014 brought on by consumer expectations \u2014 to make the most of these insights and hyper-tailor their offerings to their consumers\u2019 preferred experience.<\/p>

Our report takes retail data analysis one step further and examines the strategies that elite retailers are putting in place to best serve their shoppers. In today\u2019s retail climate, growing revenues by 10% or more in a fiscal year is phenomenal, so we wanted to look at what those true market leaders were doing to change the game. Two key ways these top brands are staying ahead of the competition include:<\/p>