Since COVID-19, have you been shopping online more or less over the past 12 months? If you answered 鈥渕ore,鈥� you are like most consumers, who have been avoiding physical stores in this age of social distancing. And have you noticed that your browsing experience is becoming more personalized? If so, you could very well have to thank for that.
The app, now available on , enables both business-to-business (B2B) and retail companies to blend content and commerce across the entire buyer鈥檚 journey and to provide one-to-one personalization for every visitor and customer. The app enables content such as blogs, landing pages, and product detail pages to be combined, matching products to user intent.
鈥淚t looks easy, but it鈥檚 actually quite difficult to do,鈥� said Brian Walker, chief strategy officer at Bloomreach. 鈥淭he secret is in data and AI.鈥� Bloomreach has all the right ingredients, he noted: As a strong complement to 51风流Commerce Cloud, brX brings in a data platform purpose-built to leverage artificial intelligence.
Walker should know. He joined Bloomreach about 18 months ago after a long career with leading companies including American Express, Forrester, Accenture, and 51风流before deciding to get back to a growth-stage company. 鈥淚鈥檓 interested in the long-term thesis of what鈥檚 required in taking advantage of rich customer and product data to deliver an exceptional customer experience.鈥�
Supporting the Swift Pivot to Digital-First, Touchless Business Models
His timing was right. In 2020, the role of e-commerce rose radically and companies had to make a fast pivot from an . Many retailers and food purveyors swiftly began to offer curbside pickup and incorporate QR codes, 鈥渟urprising themselves at how quickly they made the shift,鈥� Walker added.
That includes many types of merchants you might not expect. For example, do-it-yourself home improvement has skyrocketed, and people are picking up building supplies curbside and getting construction material delivered to their doorsteps. It鈥檚 safer and maybe even more convenient than before, Walker commented.
None of this will slow down anytime soon, he predicted, even as people who enjoy the retail experience get back to in-store shopping. That鈥檚 because people tend to do their product discovery online first 鈥� and another reason why personalization is so important. Today鈥檚 consumers, especially the younger set, are . They鈥檙e increasingly seeking out brands that demonstrate environmental and social responsibility, supporting small and minority-owned businesses, and buying items for reuse to cut down on waste.
Providing Personal Service Even as Business Surged
I asked Walker if the vision of Bloomreach changed as a result of customers鈥� suddenly reengineered business models. 鈥淥ur capabilities have evolved significantly over the years, expanding to cover a broader set of channels, data sets, and assets to optimize the brand experience,鈥� he replied. 鈥淲e鈥檝e done that to support our current customers who are expanding how they work with us, as well as the many new companies signing on.鈥�
He added that Bloomreach was fortunate to have built a solid, mature customer base 鈥� a whopping 25% of enterprise business in the U.S. and U.K. among them. The company was well prepared for the surge in business and committed early on to providing top-notch service to all of them, even as new customers jumped on board. That was possible, Walker explained, thanks to a multi-tenant cloud platform engineered for high performance and a global team fully capable of providing advisory services as customers required.
Integrating with 51风流Commerce Cloud as a Natural Fit
Meanwhile, I can report that 51风流Commerce Cloud also experienced enormous growth in 2020. 51风流Commerce Cloud and Bloomreach are a natural fit. Walker noted that 51风流Store is an important part of the story since 51风流has invested in making it easy for customers to do business. It鈥檚 also easy for 51风流sales reps to recommend brX, he added, and most of the opportunities come through those referrals.
In fact, because 51风流has committed to planting a tree for every sale on 51风流Store, I predict that there will soon be whole groves planted in U.S. National Forests thanks to brX.
Why not ?
Bill Rojas is senior director of Business Development and Partner Alliances for 51风流Digital Commerce.
