SEPTEMBER - 2022 retailtechinsights.com8In My OpinionEven as recent as two decades back, the retail space was still very much focused on in-store retailing, while the banking sector continued to focus on branch banking. Online transactions were far from mainstream, and having an online presence on the marketplace was an afterthought for most retailers. However, this all changed less than a decade back. The rapid shift to online shopping of has been the biggest trend I've seen in the retail space in my 25-year career in the customer and marketing analytics field. While this trend might have gradually caught up in due course, the internet-equipped ubiquitous mobile phone in literally everyone's pocket has accelerated this shift to online, and in turn revolutionized the way people interact with retail.Amid these, the biggest challenge is always on attracting the most eyes to your brand. In the older days, this meant having a prominent store positioned on a high street. In the era when television was the most prominent medium of advertisement, QVC paid to have a high place on TV program guides. And now, in the new world where people have the whole internet to explore, we have to try as many new ways we can to grab the maximum eyeballs and match our online retail activity with what our customers are seeking for their online shopping experience. So, when we send them push notifications about our products, or when we broadcast something about our offers on air, it has to be at the right time for them to be receptive toward the offerings. A New Direction in Today's RetailSpeaking of trends, the most obvious and recent one we witnessed at QVC was a shift in product demand during the pandemic. Apparel and jewelry recorded an immediate drop, while demand for our home and garden products increased by a huge margin. Not being a traditional departmental store with a rigid product collection model, we were able to shift our product mix rapidly and expand the home and gardening range in response to the changing customer demands. Also, we kept our gardening products and offers in the spotlight by giving them more air time. This enabled us to capitalize well on our customers' needs by making the products they want easily accessible to them.Incidentally, we were also able to expand our reach into wider and more receptive audience through the pandemic. We saw a huge surge of customer interest ­ from both existing and newer clientele ­ in QVC and our brand offerings online, as most of the high street brick-and-mortar shops witnessed a massive dip in footfall due to lockdowns. To cater to them, we sought our most valuable tech media tools ­ the humble TV and the new-age mobile phone. GRABBING CUSTOMER ATTENTION IN THE EVOLVING RETAIL SPACEBy Patrick Osborne, Manager, Customer & Marketing Analytics, QVCA strong link between customer insights and marketing area is absolutely critical for driving business and translates into enhanced customer experiencePatrick Osborne
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