Frictionless, Sustainable, Secure: How Data Is Driving Agility in E-Commerce

The E-Commerce Edition

In Partnership with

THE DEVIL IS IN

THE DATA Frictionless, Sustainable, Secure: How Data Is Driving Agility in E-Commerce The Devil Is in the Data. Frictionless, Sustainable, Secure: How Data Is Driving Agility in E-Commerce

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CONTENTS 3 Editor’s Letter: How data is driving agility in e-commerce

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8

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FRICTIONLESS:

SUSTAINABLE:

SECURE:

Creating a seamless

Ensuring transparency

Protecting company and

customer experience

in supply chains

customer data online

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The Devil Is in the Data:

About Appsbroker

Why Google Cloud?

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The Devil Is in the Data. Frictionless, Sustainable, Secure: How Data Is Driving Agility in E-Commerce

EDITOR’S LETTER

How data is driving agility in e-commerce A recent study revealed that online retail sales rose to 26.6% in December 2021 - compared to just 19.7% in February 2020 before the pandemic began (Office for National Statistics).

As speed and convenience continue to drive purchasing decisions, having a robust data strategy in place has never been more crucial.

Luckily, with the right information and the right tools at your disposal, you’ll be able to pivot and adapt fast as new opportunities emerge.

E-commerce organisations are becoming more agile, responsive, and less Online retail sales rose in December 2021 to

26.6% Compared to just 19.7% in February 2021.

monolithic over time, largely driven by an increasing move to microservice architectures. Microservices are beneficial for organisations looking to build custom applications to meet their business goals, and avoid reliance on a single technology or supplier for their IT infrastructure.

Whether you’re an e-commerce giant or a small business steadily growing its presence online, there’s no better time to advance your data capabilities and drive revenue.

In this e-commerce magazine edition, we reveal how data is driving agility in e-commerce - and how your organisation can reap the rewards by: •

Mapping customer behaviour online and in-store

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Creating a hyper-personalisation strategy

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Building a seamless customer experience

Find all of this and more - including case studies from real life e-commerce customers we’ve helped transform through the power of Google Cloud.

Victoria Wilson EDITOR victoria.wilson@appsbroker.com

The Devil Is in the Data. Frictionless, Sustainable, Secure: How Data Is Driving Agility in E-Commerce

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FRICTIONLESS: CREATING A

SEAMLESS CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE

If you’re an e-commerce business looking to get ahead, putting your customers first and creating a frictionless user experience should be a top priority. But while a human-centred design seems like a logical place to start, how do you differentiate yourself in such a crowded marketplace?

Adopting an intelligent omnichannel approach to customer interactions, paired with a responsive UX design can be an impactful way to stand out from the competition, retain and grow your user base, and accelerate purchasing decisions.

But the hard work doesn’t stop there.

What if you could predict what a customer is searching for and recommend the appropriate product at a time when the user is most engaged, based on their previous activity? Not only will this save the

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The Devil Is in the Data. Frictionless, Sustainable, Secure: How Data Is Driving Agility in E-Commerce

customer time and reduce friction, but they’re more likely to buy as a result - driving revenue day in, day out.

Propensity modelling can help you determine how likely a customer is to take a certain action, whether that’s how likely they are to purchase an item after being served up a tailored advertisement, how likely they are to churn, or how likely they are to return part or all of their online order.

If an item goes ‘out of stock’, but you have a predictive model in place estimating when it will come back in stock due to the percentage of likely returns, you can continue to sell the item in advance without waiting for it to arrive back in the warehouse. This creates a more seamless experience for your customers and enables you to accelerate online sales.

Talk to our Retail team today.

Find out how you can harness data to deliver seamless customer experiences, day in, day out.

The Devil Is in the Data. Frictionless, Sustainable, Secure: How Data Is Driving Agility in E-Commerce

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Mapping customer behaviour online and in-store Monitoring customer behaviour online or in-store

Harnessing a customer’s geographical location can

is one thing, but tying the two together to deliver

play a key role in delivering the right message at

an omnichannel experience is a powerful, yet often

the right time. For example, if you can determine

overlooked approach. This can be especially useful

that a customer is in a particular store with your

for digital native organisations looking to grow.

app open on a particular product page, this could

Machine learning isn’t just useful for marketing and promotional uses. In fact, e-commerce organisations can leverage ML to monitor and analyse customer behaviour in incredible detail.

Key use cases include:

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Analysing customer returns (and creating models to reduce them)

3 Monitoring trending products (and building on this momentum)

be used to trigger further information such as the aisle number to help them locate the item instore, or a money off voucher to take to the till - delighting the customer and securing the sale.

Machine learning models can also be used to influence pricing strategy; instant insights across online trading sources vs competitor activity can help e-commerce organisations optimise pricing minute by minute.

This technique is especially beneficial during peak trading events, such as Black Friday, Christmas, or simply when launching a new product in the market.

The result is greater agility and increased sales.

3 Optimising stock management (to meet growing demand)

Creating a hyperpersonalisation strategy Long gone are the days when machine learning was

“Loyalty programmes are just as impactful

just a buzzword. Now, e-commerce organisations

online as in-store, and can be used to

across the globe are beginning to leverage ML to

deliver targeted website advertisements,

improve customer engagement and increase sales.

tailored product recommendations, and automated transactional emails to nurture the customer relationship from day one.”

Andy MacInnes, CTO, Appsbroker

While one person might be compelled to complete a purchase following a website pop-up offering a onetime price offer, another might be sold after receiving a well-timed email based on historic email open rates, emphasising the urgency of purchasing an item.

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The Devil Is in the Data. Frictionless, Sustainable, Secure: How Data Is Driving Agility in E-Commerce

Examples include:

3 ‘X item is still in your basket. Hurry, 50 people have already purchased this item today!’

3 ‘100 people are currently looking at this item. Don’t miss out - checkout now.’

The retailer might then decide to increase the

3 ‘20 people have this item in their basket

volume of advertisements showcasing its new

and stocks are running low. Be quick!’

back to school range to this customer. By contrast,

But knowing your customer and being able to

for something completely different based on their

provide a truly personalised experience can go well

search history, such as ‘living room furniture’.

another customer might receive an advertisement

beyond the occasional well-timed discount code.

For a fashion retailer, this could be as simple as showing a customer items they might be interested in on a model of a similar size. Whatever you

As you can see from this example, when it comes to identifying and successfully meeting your customers’ needs, the ability to understand the

do, context is King - here’s another example:

wider context of their interactions and purchasing

A customer has held an online account with a

platform in place can help you get there.

decisions is invaluable. Having the right data

leading e-commerce retailer for many years.

Throughout 2019, they placed numerous orders for baby clothes - increasing in size range as time went on (0-3 months, 0-6 months, 6-12 months, etc.) as well as nappies and related toiletries.

Equipped with this information, in 2021, the retailer might determine that the customer now has a toddler in the house, and

We can help you deliver hyperpersonalised experiences to improve engagement, increase loyalty, and drive sales.

Get in touch to find out more.

subsequently serve up advertisements for clothing and toys suitable for toddlers.

Fast forward to 2026, and the customer’s activity might reveal recent searches for ‘school uniform’.

The Devil Is in the Data. Frictionless, Sustainable, Secure: How Data Is Driving Agility in E-Commerce

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SUSTAINABLE: ENSURING

TRANSPARENCY IN SUPPLY CHAINS

It’s no secret that the retail and e-commerce sectors are under increasing pressure to reduce their carbon footprint; you can forget about ‘greenwashing’, too (when an organisation creates a misleading impression of eco-friendliness) - we’re talking about creating real, substantive change.

McKinsey’s recent ‘Fashion on climate’ report revealed that the retail sector was responsible for 2.1 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions in 2018 (about 4% of the global total). For context, the fashion industry emits the same amount of greenhouse gases per year as France, Germany, and the UK’s economies combined.

Ensuring sustainability within your supply chain is just as important as meeting customer demand. While the problem is complex, data can play a pivotal role in helping e-commerce

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incentivising customers to leave detailed

organisations to reduce their carbon footprint.

reviews to help others’ purchasing decisions

This can include:

entered into a competition, providing

Analysing customer returns and disincentivising unnecessary returns using:

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predictive modelling to recommend the correct size based on previous customers who didn’t return items (ASOS is especially good at this)

(for example by being automatically money off vouchers/discount codes)

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more accurate sizing and style guides (based on customer behaviour and feedback)

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Enforcing returns fees for serial returners as a deterrence (and break the ‘order, wear and return’ cycle)

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The Devil Is in the Data. Frictionless, Sustainable, Secure: How Data Is Driving Agility in E-Commerce

E-commerce companies can also provide customers with a variety of shipping options for less urgent buys, such as ‘no rush’ delivery services.

Aside from optimising the logistics process surrounding shipping and returns (such as using machine learning models to reduce waste), there are a growing number of additional ML use cases aimed at improving supply chain transparency.

The provenance of raw materials from suppliers has come under increasing scrutiny in recent years. Machine learning models are now being developed to address this challenge and ensure materials from suppliers are indeed legitimate - such as whether the ‘organic cotton’ they ordered really is organic and from a certified source as stated.

The technology your organisation runs its infrastructure on can also play a key role in ensuring sustainability. Google Cloud is the world’s largest renewable energy purchaser, and it’s global operations have been powered by 100% renewable energy since 2017 - making it the cleanest cloud in the industry. In fact, Google Cloud is now working towards running all of its data centres on carbon-free energy - 24/7 - by 2030.

Find out more about Google Cloud’s unwavering commitment to sustainability.

The Devil Is in the Data. Frictionless, Sustainable, Secure: How Data Is Driving Agility in E-Commerce

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SECURE: PROTECTING COMPANY AND CUSTOMER

DATA ONLINE

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The Devil May Is in the Wear Data.

Prada, Frictionless, But Your Sustainable, Data Can Work Secure: Smarter: HowThe Data Retailer’s Is Driving Guide Agility toin Data E-Commerce Maturity

Online threats are becoming increasingly sophisticated by the day. However, for e-commerce organisations, digital selling is quite simply their bread and butter. So how do you avoid a security incident or a breach while growing your presence online?

Creating a secure future for you and your customers is essential to protecting your data and ensuring customer satisfaction - not to mention your reputation, finances, and future business success. Fortunately, Google Cloud’s watertight security model, world-scale infrastructure, and unique capability to innovate will help keep your organisation secure and compliant.

Key features include Google’s trusted cloud infrastructure, encryption by default - both at rest and in transit, cloud compliance credentials, and commitment to transparency and data privacy.

Google Cloud’s trusted infrastructure doesn’t rely on any one technology to ensure security, but rather builds security through progressive layers that deliver true in-depth defence to keep the bad guys out. It develops and deploys infrastructure software using rigorous security practices such as BeyondCorp/Zero Trust to guarantee operational and device security 24/7.

Find out more about Google Cloud’s core security principles.

The TheDevil DevilIsMay in the Wear Data.

Prada, Frictionless, But YourSustainable, Data Can Work Secure: Smarter: How Data The Retailer’s Is DrivingGuide AgilitytoinData E-Commerce Maturity

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THE DEVIL IS IN

THE DATA

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The Devil May Is in the Wear Data.

Prada, Frictionless, But Your Sustainable, Data Can Work Secure: Smarter: HowThe Data Retailer’s Is Driving Guide Agility toin Data E-Commerce Maturity

Google Cloud’s intelligent, data-driven offerings have already helped major e-commerce organisations transform their store operations and digital experiences by:

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Driving operational improvement

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Helping e-commerce

through purpose-built tools

organisations become customercentric AND data-driven

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Capturing digital and omnichannel growth, creating a snowball effect

What’s more, Google Cloud’s opensource philosophy enables you to embrace multicloud environments with ease and leverage advanced machine learning and AI tools to maximise agility.

Whether you want to migrate your e-commerce platform to Google Cloud - enabling you to scale rapidly - modernise your data warehouse, leverage multicloud agility, or explore the possibilities of AI, we can help!

Words by Alice Crick

We’d love to help you experience extraordinary e-commerce outcomes on Google Cloud.

Get in touch to find out how we can help you reach data maturity today.

The TheDevil DevilIsMay in the Wear Data.

Prada, Frictionless, But YourSustainable, Data Can Work Secure: Smarter: How Data The Retailer’s Is DrivingGuide AgilitytoinData E-Commerce Maturity

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ABOUT APPSBROKER

Appsbroker is one of the largest Google Cloud-only Agile Systems Integrators (ASIs) and Managed Service Providers (MSPs) in EMEA. We deliver digital transformation in weeks, not years for some of the world’s leading organisations.

Our deep expertise and passion for

Our collaborative approach, robust

Google Cloud Platform, coupled with

processes, and consistently high

our proven Agile methodology enables

standards of service across the

rapid Application Modernisation,

entire customer life cycle result in

Data Modernisation and

extraordinary business outcomes.

Infrastructure Modernisation.

The road to digital supremacy is a

We are passionate about delivering

journey, so we upskill our customers’

smarter ways of working and building

teams through knowledge sharing

productive, lasting relationships.

and training, instilling confidence and competence on Google Cloud Platform.

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The Devil May Is in the Wear Data.

Prada, Frictionless, But Your Sustainable, Data Can Work Secure: Smarter: HowThe Data Retailer’s Is Driving Guide Agility toin Data E-Commerce Maturity

Enhance your customer experience with geofencing 2.0 The main uses of geofencing in retail:

The number of searches for local shops on smartphones has increased 30-fold over the past ten years and will continue to increase in 2021. But how

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Click & Collect: to automate order preparation and reduce waiting times and

can brands maximise the potential of geolocation to

investment in expensive hardware

anticipate consumer expectations? One thing’s for sure, geofencing is the ideal solution to automate your services and personalise your customer experience!

Digitised services for a better customer experience Geofencing is the creation of a virtual geographic boundary that allows softwares to automatically create a trigger-like response - with the use of GPS and RFID, when a user enters or leaves a given area. It aims to improve customer experience by automating the sending of notifications

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Marketing campaigns: to personalise customer communications and offer more services

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Consumer trend analysis: to ensure better customer segmentation, thereby improving the CRM

The time is right to introduce geofencing - with the Internet of Things, smart watches and smart cars becoming a commonplace. 76% of customers are willing to share their geolocations in exchange for consumer benefits. In addition, geofencing is another incentive for users to engage with a brand’s app.

to the back office and to customers.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

About Woosmap Woosmap is a Location-based Search Platform. Our unrivalled location tools are designed for retail brands - to search the world and their data, to calculate estimated times of arrival, to display crystalclear maps with mobile-optimised loading and to analyse the user’s location without collecting any personal data.

In simple words, Woosmap’s mission is to help retailers create value through Location.

Building iconic and seamless user experiences for millions of customers and around the world, suddenly is easy with Woosmap! info@woosmap.com | www.woosmap.com

The Devil Is in the Data. Frictionless, Sustainable, Secure: How Data Is Driving Agility in E-Commerce

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In Partnership with

SCAN ME

Get in touch with our Retail team today to find out how we can help you unlock data maturity and pave the way for a Modern Data Platform of the future.

James Walker

Aaron Allaway

Sales Lead - Retail

Head of Retail

james.walker@appsbroker.com

aaron.allaway@appsbroker.com

info@appsbroker.com | www.appsbroker.com 16

The Devil Is in the Data. Frictionless, Sustainable, Secure: How Data Is Driving Agility in E-Commerce