In the past, when retailers referred to a ‘path to purchase’ they were referring to something simple and linear. Today, the path to purchase is multi-faceted and omnichannel, with customers fluidly moving between online and offline, and between wholesale and direct-to-consumer. This complex purchasing journey means retailers have to work harder than ever to attract and retain customers.
Enter EQ-Commerce: a new retail model centred on hyper-personalisation and underpinned by an omniscient ability to anticipate customers’ needs. EQ-Commerce means offering Discovery Commerce using dynamic, real-time, personalised shopping feeds that are incredibly accurate at deciphering what a person is looking for. It means moving past the influencer marketing model to invest in creating a coterie of niche but Trusted Tastemakers. And it means looking to non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and Virtual Stores, not as one-off marketing gimmicks but as opportunities to build long-lasting, loyal relationships.
While technology – especially artificial intelligence, deep learning algorithms and data mining – is crucial to building a system of EQ-Commerce, even more important is understanding what that technology can deliver and how it can align with customers’ needs. The four I’s provide a framework for using technology to build highly personalised relationships with customers:
: Intuitive – Dynamic and intuitive offerings based on real-time behaviour
: Intimate – Service-orientated beyond the product
: Individualised – Deep understanding of idiosyncratic traits and audiences
: Interconnected – Connected data systems equals interconnected shopping experiences
26 April 2023
Author: Joanna Lowry
Image: Zero10 and Crosby Studios, US
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Creating an EQ-Commerce eco-system doesn’t happen overnight. Here are some thought-starters for retailers to consider as they prepare for a new era of EQ-Commerce:
Honour the privilege
The next decade will be defined by permission and privilege when it comes to harnessing your customers’ data for personalisation. What value exchange can you offer your customers to make them feel as if you perceive them not just as consumers, but also as individuals?
Harness your inner creator
As people turn increasingly to recommendation media, they will be looking to retailers to offer them new formats for discovery. Rather than relying on social media platforms, how can you create and own the social commerce experience in your own channels?
Find humans in the algorithm
As artificial intelligence becomes even better at analysing and recommending products and services, human-in-the-loop interventions will become even more important. What human touchpoints could you offer to ensure your personalisation feels intimate, intuitive, individualised and interconnected – the four I’s of future retail?
Summary
Technologies and disciplines are converging in ways that make shopping less about a transaction and more about a predictive, proactive and positive conversation. The future of retail is Intuitive, Intimate, Individualised and Interconnected. By using EQ-Commerce and technology to build highly personalised relationships with customers, retailers will, in turn, see increased loyalty and higher profits.
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