The original version of this piece appeared as a Chain Store Age post. When retailers find themselves stuck with excess inventory after a holiday, the go-to solution is widespread, dramatic markdowns. But this technique can quickly eat into profit margins, and customers may even be hesitant to buy from the brand full-price.  To solve this ...

The original version of this piece appeared as a Retail Customer Experience post. Customers today want options. They don’t want to be limited to one method of shopping; instead, they expect the flexibility to visit a brick-and-mortar store, check out online, or use an app.  To meet this demand, brands need to adopt an agile ...

Top brands around the world—like SONIC, T-Mobile, and AT&T—have found tremendous success using exclusive offers to engage customers. This technique—known as identity marketing—works because it targets consumer communities whose members are united by deeply personal traits such as their job, lifestage, or affiliation.  By offering groups such as the military, students, or healthcare workers gated ...

The original version of this piece appeared as an Adweek post. Consumers today prioritize the values and ethics of the companies they support, and they are more likely to remain loyal to brands that align with their own beliefs. In fact, research shows that customers are willing to pay more for products or services from ...

The team over here at SheerID understands that marketers are looking for ways to break into crowded markets and find new customers. Part of my job is to help connect people with our product and I love introducing people to our free trial. Over the past few months, I’ve analyzed thousands of marketers have experienced ...

This piece originally appeared as a Digital Commerce 360 piece. Data gathered directly from consumers allows retailers to understand them on a deeper level, including such aspects of their identity as their life stage, the social or workgroups they belong to and their professions. Google’s recent announcement that it won’t allow cookie-based tracking in Chrome ...

This piece originally appeared as a Retail Customer Experience post. COVID has forced consumers online, and that's where they'll stay even after the pandemic is over. More consumers have gravitated in even greater numbers than anticipated to purchase online. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Americans spent $791.7 billion in 2020 on e-commerce, up 32.4% ...

This piece originally appeared as a Retail Touchpoints post. Google’s announcement earlier this year regarding “Topics” — its more privacy-sensitive solution to FLoC, or Federated Learning of Cohorts — shouldn’t be a surprise for any retailer following trends in digital marketing. The company’s move to become more privacy-compliant falls squarely in line with where everything is going. ...

This piece originally appeared as a Forbes post. It is now common to tout the importance of collecting zero-party data. This information, which consumers knowingly and proactively provide brands in exchange for value, powers privacy-safe marketing strategies and is generally more accurate than probabilistic, often cobbled-together third-party datasets. But how do brands and retailers that ...

This piece originally appeared as a Retail Touchpoints post. Marketing is often first on the chopping block during a recession, and with GDP contracting two quarters in a row, retail marketers are working hard to determine how to make each dollar go further. Many organizations will cut marketing spend in a bid to preserve margins. ...