How Social Media Shopping and Digital Commerce Has Retailers Moving Away from Email

Jane White details the future of Customer Engagement

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How Social Media Shopping and Digital Commerce Has Retailers Moving Away from Email
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Published: February 16, 2022

Elliot Mulley-Goodbarne

Journalist

Digital revolutions and changes in consumer trends rarely affect any facet of business more than customer engagement.

The biggest shift in customer engagement since the millennium is the introduction of email and its use to directly communicate with people. Now that the smartphone has brought music, film, and the written word to the fingertips of the public, brands need to follow in order to appeal to customer bases and ensure sales.

Having that one-on-one access to consumers has led to a more personalised experience that can improve the relationship between consumers in feedback forms, exclusive deals and product announcements. That usage continues to grow, with the email marketing market estimated to be valued at $20.62Bn by 2028, according to a report from Data Bridge Market Research.

However, according to Jane White, product marketing manager at Soprano Design, customers are now shifting their preference when it comes to how they wish to communicate with brands. Rather than have an inbox full of offers that are out of date, customers prefer to keep their contact with brands inside social media and messaging applications.

A key example of this is in customer service, where White said: “People are migrating away from voice and email. As a result, retailers hide their phone numbers, hide their customer service emails, and instead promote people into live chats as the issue gets resolved immediately.

“That’s the preference for consumers and retail chains for a few reasons. One is the immediate gratification of having a problem solved that customers appreciate, and now expect their issue is resolved in five minutes or less. That ‘Five minutes or less’ attitude is unique to mobile channel service, because there’s no way anybody would expect that with email, and it’s also unlikely people would get that from a phone call.

“The other side of this trend is in marketing. When we look into why email is less helpful than it was in the past, people are overwhelmed by marketing emails. Digital commerce and ‘chat shopping’ are exploding. Brands don’t just want to send people a promotional email about a coupon or advert, they want to interact with their customers”

Direct Interaction

That interaction is a key factor in customer engagement on social media. We have seen the proliferation of edgy Twitter feeds from household names, and the addition of shopping inside the Instagram and Facebook apps, both designed to keep brand engagement up as high as possible.

With the use of chatbots, SMS messaging and social media engagement, White said retailers can now mirror the engagement customers receive in stores. Customers can first be enticed into apps, but then get a personalised service while scrolling through what is available to them.

“The shopability of apps coming into maturity is driving a lot of this marketing push towards using digital commerce, especially the direct to consumer,” said White. “That personalised, interactive shopping experience is now like walking into a store and having somebody greet you.

“Rather than opening an email, this is proactive. The brand is reaching out to you, and making themselves accessible like they would in store, providing unique interactions, and building loyalty. That’s where we see the future of retail, because, especially with younger generations, there is an exodus from email, and calling people on the phone is not just a matter of preference.

“This setup also works best for both the retailer and the consumer. Retailers will sell more in a Whatsapp channel where people can click to buy, than a generic email that goes out to everyone, has no interaction, and a call to action that leads to a website. It’s just not anywhere near as direct.”

 

 

Customer ExperienceRetail
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