Faltering consumer confidence sees expectations around spending plummet

A pile of £20 notes.

Almost a quarter (24%) of consumers plan to spend less across six key sectors: travel, luxury, retail, automotive, technology and financial services.

This is according to new research from RAPP and Code (part of Omnicom Precision Marketing Group). Two years of a global pandemic, economic uncertainty and now macro-level global events have unsurprisingly caused consumer behaviour to constantly shift, making it hard for brands to keep up. Now as confidence hits rock bottom, brands...

14 April 2022 | Commerce

CHILI publish raises €10 million to help firms scale on-brand graphic production

A bundle of red chilli peppers.

CHILI publish, a creative automation software specialist, has raised €10 million to accelerate solution and community development, attract new talent, and boost the company's go-to-market and sales operations in Europe and the US.

The cash injection was led by Connected Capital with participation from existing investors Group MC, Pamica and PMV.

CHILI publisher is a cloud-based Creative Automation platform that enables brands and agencies to create, edit, and share...

30 March 2022 | Branding

43% of Brits ditch online checkouts at the last minute in favour of Amazon

A supermarket checkout.

14% of consumers browse online stores every day without any intention to buy anything at all, according to a study by Ve Global.

In addition, the tech ecommerce specialist's report, in which 2,000 British consumers were questioned, reveal that while in the early stages of the research process, 37% of consumers are adding items to their basket to save them for later, not necessarily to purchase.

The report shows that the missed sales opportunity for retailers lies in the...

4 March 2022 | Commerce

NICE and Google Cloud partner on digital conversations and self-service experiences

self service checkouts

NICE, a provider of enterprise software solutions, has collaborated with Google Cloud to address the growing demand for more effective and automated customer self-service systems that integrate with traditional contact centres. 

NICE is integrating its cloud-based, AI-powered CXone customer experience platform – used by 85 of the Fortune 100 companies – with Google Cloud Contact Center Artificial Intelligence (CCAI), a group of APIs that bring the best of Google AI to contact...

18 November 2021 | Automation

How M&S increased engagement and achieved listings consistency with 1,063 stores

Marks & Spencer's St Helens store.

Marks & Spencer (M&S) is a leading British retailer bringing quality, great value food, clothing and homeware to millions of customers across the UK and around the world, from everyday style on M&S.com, to the very best prawn sandwiches at convenience M&S Simply Food locations.

The problem:

M&S continued to serve its customers throughout lockdown and strived to find new ways to help them shop with confidence and find the information they need online...

18 November 2021 | Automation

How Perrys Motor Sales made 559 sales with £5,000 outlay

A Perrys car showroom.

As an award-winning national dealer group – that offers new and used vehicles from brands including Vauxhall, Peugeot, Citroen and Ford – Perrys Motor Sales engages with hundreds of customers on a daily basis to find a car that’s tailored to their needs. With more than 5,000 employees, Perrys operates from over 50 showrooms nationwide.

The problem:

Perrys’ internal processes were struggling to keep up with its ongoing growth. Its marketing department was still...

10 November 2021 | Case Studies

B2C e-commerce leaders are fast-tracking social commerce initiatives

Spocial media apps on a smartphone

Social commerce has become a strategic imperative for brands seeking to expand revenue and capture new audiences as competition for next-gen consumers grows at a staggering rate across the retail and direct-to-consumer markets. 

This is according to a study commissioned by customer experience platform Emplifi, which uncovered insights from more than 220 global enterprise ecommerce leaders on social commerce strategies, early trials, and planned areas of...

8 November 2021 | Commerce

72% of shoppers more likely to return to brands with strong online communities

A woman with a latptop and bank card.

Almost three-quarters (72%) of the consumers are more likely to return to a brand that creates a strong online community, 

This is according to a study by Amity, a tech platform that powers in-app social experiences, which highlights the importance of brands creating online communities to engage with their customers.

The research also found that almost two-thirds (63%) admit they are more likely to buy from a brand that leverages engaging social features on its...

20 October 2021 | Commerce

Aimee Costello, Localistico: Local marketing, post-COVID retail and going digital

A shop sign that says 'local'.

Could you tell us a little bit about Localistico and what it does?

Localistico is a local marketing SAS provider. So, essentially, any kind of company that has a physical location, we help them to market that physical location to their customers. We help them to manage digital representations of those physical locations. 

So if you went to a new city and you want to find a coffee shop, what you normally do is just pick the phone up and Google ‘coffee shop near...

21 September 2021 | Commerce

Customers lack faith in brands protecting them from fraud

A man sitting in the dark, using a laptop.

Half or UK retailers believe they are doing everything they can to prevent e-commerce fraud, but far less consumers (17%) share their confidence.

The stark disconnect between retailers and shoppers on the matter of online shopping fraud has been highlighted by new European and US data released by Riskified, an e-commerce enablement and fraud-prevention solutions provider.

The research, which comprised 4,000 consumers and 400 retailers across the US, UK, France and...

26 August 2021 | Branding