Data engineers are the new fashion designers

07/25/22 • 35 min

Not that long ago, you’d only expect a personalised customer experience if you were a regular repeat customer on your local high street - or if you happened to be a VIP shopping at Gucci. But that’s no longer the case. Today, a few data points can potentially give businesses a wealth of insight into their customers. And the information is already out there - all retailers need is a good data strategy to utilise it.

Of course it isn’t always that simple, but businesses are getting better at capturing and using data. Adyen’s latest retail report revealed that 28% of businesses are using it to improve their services , and a further 27% are using it to build a better picture of their customers.. On top of that, many consumers today are happy to share data; 47% say they’re willing to supply information to brands in order to save time and personalise the shopping experience.

In this episode of Beyond Retail we explore the importance of data and how brands are using it to gain a competitive edge. From uncovering trends, to creating unique shopper journeys, we uncover a multitude of benefits of a strong data strategy. Join us as we hear from special guests, including: team lead of Unified Commerce at Adyen UK, Joe Dupre; global DTC channel director at Brompton bicycle, Chris Matthews; and data advisor, futurist and author of the award winning book, Business Trends In Practice, Bernard Marr. Together, they explain how data can strengthen a brand’s performance and enhance consumer interactions..

We discover how the pandemic affected not just footfall in-store and online sales, but how it disrupted shopper habits, creating a data black hole. Chris Matthews walks us through Brompton Bicycle’s approach to data as it shifts its business model to direct-to consumer. And Bernard Marr reveals some of the latest trends that are helping brands to gather better insights while he shares his thoughts on how GDPR is a force for good (business).

If you want to find out more about the technology and behavioural trends influencing retail, visit https://www.adyen.com/landing/online/uk/2022/retail-report to download Adyen’s latest research report.

Previous Episode

We still love getting physical

Physical stores aren’t going anywhere. And Adyen’s latest research found that consumers support this, with 59% still preferring to shop in-store. While sensationalist news headlines might try to convince us otherwise, the truth is that the internet isn’t the brick-and-mortar killer it’s been made out to be. In actual fact, the growth of the online store isn’t so much siphoning customers from high street shops as it is augmenting consumers’ physical shopping experience and bolstering brand loyalty.

High street stores, and indeed the high streets themselves, can’t rest on their laurels though. Customers still crave the in-person customer journey, but the experience needs to evolve. Stores can no longer be glorified display cases, and high streets can’t simply be centres of commerce.

Consumers want to socialise while they shop again, embrace the experiences that brands create and feel part of a community when they venture out onto the high street

In this episode of Beyond Retail, we find out why we still love getting physical and what the future of in-store shopping looks like. We also look into what retailers need to do to get customers through their doors, and why the high street can’t rely solely on retail. We hear from experts across the industry, including: in-store expert and account manager at Adyen, Milou van der Lans; business and consumer insight expert, Kate Hardcastle; chair of the High Streets Task Force, Mark Robinson; lecturer in digital economy & consumer culture, Dr. Adèle Gruen; and author of Retail Recovery: How Creative Retailers Are Winning in Their Post-Apocalyptic World, Mark Pilkington.

We discover how brands in third spaces, such as pubs and cafes, are playing host to a new kind of patron - the customer-worker - and find out how these businesses are adapting to host this hybrid consumer. And we uncover what it is that motivates shoppers to get offline and on to the high street in an increasingly digital world.

Next Episode

Platforms for growth

Brands are spoilt for choice when it comes to business tools; POS systems, CRM databases, even social media. These technologies are just a sampling of the plethora of services available to help retailers function and evolve. But one class of tool really making a difference is platforms. Platforms for E-commerce, platforms for managing business - no matter where they’re rolled out, what they really are are platforms for growth.

Platforms are allowing brands to scale faster, collect deeper insights and integrate new functionality more easily than ever before. But with more bespoke options appearing every day, and incumbent platforms continually upping their service, it's tricky to know which services to grab with both hands and which to let pass by.

In this season finale of Beyond Retail, we explore the platforms that are helping brands to stay on top in light of increasing competition and decreasing disposable incomes. Join us as we speak with leading experts in the platform economy: Chief Product Officer at Epos Now, Nathan Gill; Author of 'Embedded Finance: When Payments Become An Experience', Co-founder and Chief Commercial & Growth Officer at Fiat Republic, Sophie Guibaud; and Sunday Times Columnist, Chair of the British Association of Women Entrepreneurs, and Founder of Lily Blanche Jewellery, Gillian Crawford.

We discover which platforms are helping business owners manage their day-to-day operations and which integrations are bringing brands and consumers the financial tools they need, when they need them. And we'll find out how platforms such as EBay and Etsy are helping small businesses compete with household names and complementing big-brand brick and mortar.