UK shoppers abandon retailers that charge for returns

More than a quarter (26%) of Brits have switched from a brand they were once loyal to due to the introduction of paid returns, according to the latest research from SAP Emarsys.

The study, released ahead of the Shoptalk retail tradeshow, reveals that 18% of UK consumers actively describe the introduction of returns charges as “unfair”; 13% have even thrown away an unwanted item after failing to return it.

With almost half (49%) of shoppers abandoned a brand they were...

30 March 2023 | Big Data

Braze native WhatsApp messaging helps build customer relationships

Someone using WhatsApp on their phone.

Braze, a customer engagement platform that powers interactions between consumers and the brands, has made native support for messaging channel WhatsApp generally available.

Through this direct integration with WhatsApp, which had more than two billion active users as of 2022, marketers will be able to create, orchestrate, and send WhatsApp campaigns directly from the Braze platform to strengthen customer relationships with context-rich conversational messaging that can drive...

21 March 2023 | Customer Experience

Businesses are losing customers due to disjointed digitisation

Digitisation efforts begun in the pandemic must now be reconciled in light of today’s customer needs, according to the findings of research released by customer engagement platform Twilio.

The study has uncovered how businesses’ digital acceleration in 2020 has led to a wealth of channels that now need to be consolidated into nuanced, personalised customer engagement strategies in response to today’s consumer needs. With customer retention a crucial metric amid economic...

20 March 2023 | Best Practice

HubSpot CRM introduces AI-powered tools to boost productivity

HubSpot, the customer relationship management (CRM) platform for scaling companies, today announced the launch of two new tools powered by artificial intelligence (AI) - content assistant and ChatSpot.ai - to help its customers save time while creating better connections with their audiences.

The introduction of content assistant and ChatSpot.ai builds on HubSpot’s earlier investments in AI including conversation intelligence, data quality tooling, data...

8 March 2023 | Content Marketing

74% of marketers embrace simplification and sustainability

Clevertouch Marketing, a martech consulting and service provider, has revealed the results of its latest annual State of Martech research, the only dedicated study into the martech industry.

In partnership with the University of Southampton Business School, a world top 100 university (QS World University Rankings 2022), Clevertouch surveyed more than 650 senior marketers across the UK, EMEA and USA to create a picture of the current state of the martech landscape.

Key...

7 March 2023 | CMO

Most UK consumers will pay more to guarantee a great digital experience

Despite the cost-of-living crisis, over half of UK consumers (59%) would be willing to pay more for a product of service if it guaranteed a positive digital experience.

That is according to new research from FullStory, the leader in Digital Experience Intelligence (DXI).

The research examines the link between digital experiences (DX) and profitability, incorporating data from over 7,000 consumers across multiple industries in the UK, USA, Germany, The Netherlands,...

1 March 2023 | Customer Experience

75% of marketers feel senior leadership does not value customer marketing

Someone at a desk working on design and marketing.

Three quarters (75%) of senior marketing professionals working in UK-based B2C brands do not believe senior leadership truly values the role of customer marketing to the wider business.

The findings from a study conducted by first-party data agency Planning-inc indicate that marketers are being hindered by inoperable customer data, insufficient analyst resource and a lack of customer insight, diminishing the impact of their programs.

The research identified that...

21 February 2023 | CMO

64% of e-commerce marketers fail to measure customer engagement

Three measuring tapes.

64% of e-commerce marketers have not measured their customer engagement processes in the past month, and nearly one fifth (17%) have never measured them at all.  

That's according to new data from Customer Engagement Platform SALESmanago, which surveyed 250 e-commerce marketers across Europe to determine whether the measurement of customer engagement elements is being neglected. Worryingly, almost half (48%) don’t think customer engagement metrics are...

14 February 2023 | Customer Experience

Creative skills top the list for big brand marketers

A team planning with post-it notes.

Creative and production skills topped the list for brand owners and chief marketing officers (CMOs) looking to hire agencies in January, a new survey has found.

The first Marketers Most Wanted report, produced by Studiospace and based on the actual briefs posted by CMOs, also found big demand for brand strategy and user experience (UX) specialists.

The report found that 14.6% of CMOs wanted creative and production support, often on video-based projects.

The...

7 February 2023 | Branding

Amdocs helps Three UK harnesses data to drive personalised customer experience

A Three UK store in Maidenhead.

Amdocs, a provider of software and services to communications and media companies, has collaborated with Three UK to transform its data capabilities, enabling the UK-based operator to embed data-driven decision making and provide its customers with a more personalised experience.

Under the deal, which also includes a multi-year managed services agreement, Three UK is leveraging Amdocs’ industry-leading logical data model (aLDM) to build a scalable, open and modular data...

3 February 2023 | Customer Experience