The Covid-19 pandemic has hit businesses hard all over the world. High street chains closing their doors for the unseeable and moving to the online sphere has brought the e-commerce sector under immense pressure. With hackers finding loopholes and exploiting security systems, customers filling their digital carts had proven to be yet another challenge for IT decision-makers. A report conducted by SonicWall reveals a 264% surge in ransomware attacks on e-commerce and retail businesses over the past 12 months, resulting in more than 625 million digital attacks throughout 2021. This article aims to ease the burden of business leaders by
Retail Events (EU): Which to Attend and How to Take the Maximum Value Out of Them
Now that in-person shopping is resuming, the growth of the eCommerce industry may have slowed down to 12.2 percent in 2022 (vs 16.3 percent in 2021) according to eMarketer, but social and business gatherings are returning more robust than ever. With global events driving an uncertain market, 2022 is a great year to start or resume attending retail events. Conferences are the lifelines of interpersonal connections, as you will be able to gain insight from industry insiders and get a handle on the latest retail trends. This article will cover some of the top retail events in Europe to help
Shoptalk 2022 Europe: How to get properly prepared for the famous retail event
After so many changes these past few years, now that physical events are back on track, the need to stay connected and updated with the latest trends increases day by day. Luckily, contrary to 2020 and 2021, 2022 is a year full of interesting and useful business conferences for any eCommerce specialist or executive. This article will focus on one of the biggest events in the retail industry, Shoptalk 2022, which within only a few years has evolved into one of the top retail shows in the US. Best Part? This year it comes to Europe as well. So, without
Sainsbury’s Marketing Strategy: Becoming the Second-Largest Supermarket Chain in the UK
The name “Sainsbury’s” is familiar to people across all demographics and age groups in terms of quality and affordable grocery shopping in the United Kingdom. Rising from humble origins in the 19th Century, Sainsbury’s long-term growth remains one of the biggest success stories in the UK business world. It is the second-largest supermarket chain in the entire United Kingdom, overseeing more than 1,400 locations found all across the country, employing 117,000 workers, and holding 16% of the total supermarket sector. Given the company’s success, any business manager seeking to expand his or her operations would benefit from an in-depth look
ContactPigeon partners with Athens University of Economics and Business (AUEB) for the second year in a row
After last year’s successful collaboration between ContactPigeon and the Athens University of Economics and Business, the two organizations renewed their partnership for 2022. During the spring semester, the esteemed faculty of AUEB welcomed the Pigeons into their classrooms once again as our omnichannel customer engagement platform remains in the curriculum of the Marketing and Communications Department for the second year in a row. Students had the opportunity to explore our platform and use advanced marketing automation tools in their digital campaigns during the Digital Content & Omni-channel Marketing course. Table of Contents > AUEB & ContactPigeon: Educating the students to
The 30 Most Important Customer Engagement Metrics You Should Track in Retail
The retail business takes place where your customers are. They’re on social media, on mobile apps, and everywhere else you can imagine. But unfortunately, none of this matters if you can’t compete with other retailers in today’s omnichannel environment. That’s why 85% of marketing executives expect customer engagement metrics to be critical in choosing the right marketing strategies for their brand in 2022. Additionally, don’t forget that in order to properly monitor your marketing efforts and define your next steps, you have to set clear and measurable goals. Therefore, we gathered the most important metrics and comprised a detailed guide
The 50 most important Mother’s Day statistics for retailers
When most business leaders picture major holidays, they focus on Christmas, Easter, and Valentine’s Day. These are all important events, of course, but there’s no denying the impact of Mother’s Day on the retail sector. Whether purchased from adoring children or with a sense of obligation, Mother’s Day gifts and cards represent a clear priority for most consumers in the UK and US. Retailers that capitalize on this opportunity can see immense boosts in both online and in-person sales during the spring, not to mention enhanced engagement long after Mother’s Day has come and gone. In this article, we reveal
ASDA’s marketing strategy: How the British supermarket chain reached the top
ASDA is one of the largest and most famous retailers in the UK. Currently, it serves more than 18 million customers every week across its 600 stores. The British empire leverages machine learning, an omnichannel approach to retail, and now-iconic lines to meet emerging needs. In other words, the ASDA marketing strategy includes many cool tricks that can make a company stand out and get a competitive edge. Resuming our favorite case studies and brand stories, the purpose of this detailed analysis is to benefit other retail businesses with both inspirational and instructive marketing gems. So without further ado, let’s
The 16 Best Easter Campaigns of All Time
Retailers and growth marketers alike need to be completely aligned with the pulse of the market, if they wish to succeed and implement marketing strategies that stand out. In 2021, estimates showed immense growth in Easter spending for the retail sector. In the UK alone, the Easter shopping celebrations reached the astronomical amount of 1.22 billion GBP. These numbers indicate that, after many hardships, consumer habits are finally back to normal in the post-Covid-19 era. The holidays are always a profitable time for the retail and eCommerce sector and the best “hack” to craft a successful campaign is to get
8 Proven Easter Promotion Ideas for eCommerce
Modern eCommerce specialists drive a significant share of their sales during the holiday season. November and December, in particular, are huge months that produce major profits. That being said, opportunities abound throughout the remainder of the year. Easter ideas for business, in particular, promise to drive huge revenues if they’re creative and tailored to your unique customer base. The value of Easter promotions is simple: Consumption for this beloved spring holiday goes far beyond eggs and candy alone. Research from the National Confectioners Association reveals that 87% of parents buy or create Easter baskets, with 73% adding non-edible items such
Martech Trends 2022: 48 industry experts share their insights
The last couple of years has been at least challenging for most industries around the world. The pandemic’s impact has caused fundamental shifts in consumers’ behavior and brands’ strategy, decision-making, and mentality. For sure this forced companies across all industries and sizes, to adapt or even pivot, in order to survive the market changes but also the cybersecurity challenges the pandemic brought. But although Google recorded a +30% YoY growth in eCommerce sales in 2021, the World Bank predicts global growth to “decelerate markedly” from 5.5% in 2021 to 4.1% in 2022, due to factors such as the rise in inflation, debt, and income inequality.
How to choose the ideal retail customer engagement platform
Let’s allow the importance of retail customer engagement to sink in: When it comes to making a purchase, 64% of people find the customer experience to be more important than the price, according to Gartner Research. In a digital world where online shoppers are overwhelmed with choices, it is more important than ever to use a retail customer engagement platform that will convert potential clients into returning shoppers. This rings even more true in the post-COVID-19 era when more people are opting to shop from the safety of their own homes, and, luckily, in 2022, very few businesses do not have online
Gartner Trends 2022: What Do They Mean for Retailers?
When Gartner’s Top Strategic Technology Trends for 2022 report came out, the whole world hastened to read it. The report identifies Gartner’s trends for 2022 that are poised to change industries and business practices. Retail executives and other decision-makers need to focus their efforts on the trends that are most likely to impact their company and implement them strategically. This overview provides a primer and a plan for action. It’ll take you through all 12 Gartner trends, setting you up to take full advantage of the report’s insights. Heard it? We asked 101 experts to predict the top emerging retail trends
21 chatbot retail use cases to replicate for your brand
Adding a chatbot to your website can significantly improve your ability to service customers. That is a fact since chatbots are quickly becoming standard practice in different retail categories, and not having one could see you falling behind the competition. According to Hubspot, as of 2020, messaging apps had over 5 billion active monthly users. These numbers are completely understandable, considering that a chatbot is a direct and efficient way to resolve both complex and simple issues. It’s a win-win situation, as both the customers and the brands will benefit from the interaction. The customers get immediate answers, without waiting
The 21 best Valentine’s Day campaigns the world has ever seen
Like every commercial or social interaction, Cupid’s day was also affected by the Covid-19 pandemic but, even in the most trying times, love always finds a way to flourish and be celebrated. Statistics show that not even restrictions, quarantine, or safety precautions were enough to prevent the holiday’s revenue to reach sky-high numbers. Last year, in 2021 consumers spent approximately $21.8 billion in Valentine’s Day-related purchases, stating that haters gonna hate and lovers gonna… spend, despite the circumstances. Retailers should take advantage of this momentum seeing that 2022 will also be a year that love and Corona go hand-in-hand. In
20 Customer Engagement Strategies for the Tourism Ιndustry
Similar to retail, customer engagement extends to every sector that entails meaningful interactions between a brand and its customers. With customer retention being always crucial, numbers show that a robust omnichannel philosophy is vital for any business. On average, 89% of customers remain loyal to brands that invest in customer engagement, whereas for companies that lack such aspects, the retention rate dramatically decreases to 33%. Normally, the tourism industry could not be omitted from that long list of enterprises dedicated to making consumers feel appreciated and taken care of. New technologies brought profound competition to the tourism providers, thus making
The best 6 dynamic image generators for eCommerce
Quality product images are a key deciding factor for 93% of retail customers when considering the purchase of a product. Clearly, the way they visually represent the wares online — whether that’s through email marketing campaigns or in an online retail store — matters to customers. Dynamic images improve the online experience, allowing customers to have a complete view of products and feel more engaged in the buying process. This article takes a look at how that works, as well as some of the best dynamic image generators to use in 2022. Table of Contents > What is a dynamic
Building a 360° Christmas marketing strategy in retail
Throughout the year, seasonal marketing campaigns can be a great way to engage your audience and achieve higher revenue for your products. There’s no time this rings more true than during the Christmas season. On average, retailers count on approximately 20% of their annual sales to take place in November and December. If you want to make the most of the holiday season and increase traffic in both your physical and online stores, you’ll need a strong Christmas marketing strategy — and we can help. Table of Contents > Why a Christmas marketing strategy is critical for retailers > The components
Retail customer experience best practices in the post-COVID-19 era
Providing an assistive customer journey and foretelling customer needs is a catalyst for exponential growth, as 89% of profitable companies say. To thrive in retail, you must continually improve customer touchpoints throughout the purchase journey to earn and keep loyal customers. Building on customer experience best practices will fortify the customer journey and refine your overall customer experience quality. Considering that 73% of customers prioritize customer experience over price and product quality when making a purchase decision, it’s clear that a successful customer experience is the lifeline of retail brands. To keep turning profits, you need to implement and maintain
How Videos Can Improve Customer Experience in Retail
Videos are an excellent tool for companies in the retail industry to improve their customer experience. There are plenty of video creation tools and devices to use, so even small retail stores can get their videos done in-house without much hassle. Before the internet was a big thing, companies only used videos primarily for advertising. Nowadays, you can share a video with the whole world with just one click. Therefore, the availability and the benefits of using videos to improve a customer’s experience, leave no excuse for small or large-scale retailers to not implement it. Aside from improving the overall