Data challenges retail marketers in 2020

Nine in 10 retail marketers face some level of data issues this year.

According to a new survey of nearly 200 retail marketing professionals from email personalization platform Bluecore, only 9% of respondents said they can easily access and effectively take action using data in campaigns across channels without technical support. Another 26% can easily access data without technical support, but taking action with it remains challenging.

More than one-third (35%) of respondents said accessing data remains challenging and they cannot take action with the data they do end up getting. The remaining 30% can access data, but it takes time and technical support, and effectively taking action with it is challenging.

When it comes to personalization efforts, retail marketers display a focus on email. Almost six in 10 (57%) say increasing the percentage of emails tailored specifically to individual customers is their number one personalization priority. Another 14% cite increasing the use of dynamic blocks within an email to improve relevance for individual customers (such as personalizing products or offers within an email).

Fourteen percent said adjusting their marketing communication channel mix based on individual customer preferences is their number one personalization priority, while 10% cited managing the frequency of customer emails and 5% referenced creating a more relevant onsite experience for individual customers.

When asked to rank how important six objectives will be to them in 2020, respondents replied as follows:

1.    Increasing email revenue
2.    Growing repeat purchase rates
3.    Driving more site traffic
4.    Increasing onsite conversions
5.    Preserving margins
6.    Scaling email personalization

Bluecore gathered and analyzed the following data during the 5th Annual Bluecore Summit, through a survey of nearly 200 marketers.