As retailers rush to improve conversion rates and margins across digital channels, high-street giants Topshop and Burton have emerged as the latest companies to move their strategy towards a more personal and data-centric approach.
The software, run by digital platform Quibit, will now allow merchandising and marketing teams in the Arcadia businesses to receive a real-time report telling them if a particular product is selling well online in a specific geographical location. The software works by giving merchandisers information so they can stock up on the highest selling product while digital marketers can work in tandem to deliver relevant messaging to consumers. E-commerce marketers will also be able to segment and activate visitor data across all digital channels.
Kate Walmsley, digital director for Topshop, said the technology allows the retailer to serve sophisticated personalisations. She said: “Creating valid hypotheses from both the qualitative and quantitative data that Qubit provides has meant we can test and make changes in real-time. As we continue to expand globally, being able to align across devices, as well as across oceans, has proven invaluable.”
Many retailers have personalisation at the top of their agenda as new and developing technology looks to boost online engagement with customers. 50 per cent of all in-store sales to be influenced by digital services by the end of 2014, according to a Deloitte report.
Richard Wilson, head of digital for Burton said the company has now moved beyond names and emails and can now target on metrics like purchase history, session number and customer feedback.
“Understanding what our visitors want means we no longer waste resource on testing theories. Their rich dataset has unlocked granular user information which allows us to produce truly valid hypotheses,” he said.
Qubit was co-founded by former Google e-commerce senior project manager Graham Cooke in January 2010. The firm also announced that Mark Choueke, former Marketing Week editor, will join as communications director.
