Tech Bytes: Looking Ahead: Top Three Customer Engagement Trends of 2016

Last week, I looked at the top three trends that disrupted how retailers engage their customers during 2015. This week, I predict the top three trends that will set the course for customer engagement in 2016.



As Seen on TV

TV has long served as a channel supporting phone- and mail-based sales. More recently, multiplatform retailers like QVC have been turning TV into a connection point in the digital customer experience. However, 2016 will see a significant expansion of TV being used as a platform for interactive customer engagement and transaction execution.



Late in 2015, Apple enabled direct TV-based commerce with an upgraded version of its Apple TV set-top device. Retailers such as Gilt are already offering Apple TV e-commerce apps. A number of retailers have also experimented with interactive TV episodes and commercials that enable direct purchases.



In addition, earlier this year Amazon released its own interactive TV device called Fire TV. While Fire TV currently does not offer direct e-commerce functionality, presumably Amazon will add it at some point.



The days of TV viewing being a passive experience are over. Consumers now have control over what they watch and when they watch it. In 2016, expect TV screens to start rivaling PC and mobile screens when it comes to generating e-commerce traffic and sales.



If the Device Fits…

Wearable devices are catching on with consumers, and retailers in 2016 will increasingly take advantage of the highly personalized engagement opportunity they represent. Apple jump-started the nascent smartwatch market with the release of Apple Watch in April, and has sold more than 7 million units since.



Throughout 2015, retailers released a continuing slew of e-commerce apps for Apple Watch. While smartwatch-based digital commerce is not yet a major market, look for substantial growth in 2016. This may well include increased presence from competing smartwatch providers such as Samsung.



In addition, retailers in 2016 will likely continue building on the customer engagement opportunities represented by personal fitness devices. Retailers of health- and nutrition-based products are in an especially good position to link their CRM and loyalty programs to these devices. This allows retailers to directly tie promotions of relevant products to customers’ efforts at exercise and health.



Blending promotional activities with consumers’ everyday lives leads to a third broader customer engagement trend on the horizon.



Life Partners

By delivering personalized, multimedia promotions and experiences via intimate means such as social media and connected devices, retailers can become a part of consumers’ everyday lives as never before. This includes allowing influencers (consumers with large social media followings) and celebrities to directly engage digital consumers.



It also means offering consumers a truly omnichannel promotional experience that seamlessly brings one-to-one messaging and interactions into stores. In-store tools such as beacons that recognize and deliver targeted messages to consumer mobile devices; interactive signage, shelf labels and kiosks; and personal devices that turn store employees into omnichannel touch-points all help create an immersive promotional environment.

Becoming “life partners” with consumers also means actively using video content, encouraging shoppers to actively participate in campaigns with social media postings, and offering interactive contests and games.



In 2016, retailers will be increasingly taking part in consumers’ daily lives. Of course, they must offer an experience compelling enough to be invited in.