Nearly 50 percent of participants said there is need for improvement in their companies’ digital and social “listening” strategies, as well as in how they use customer data to improve marketing efforts. The SAP survey was conducted with University of Arizona students, underscoring digital and social trends as key factors driving the evolution of retail marketing.

“The survey sheds light on some important trends that are driving changes in marketing, namely the importance of accurate, timely, holistic grasp of customer data, the continuing importance of brand awareness and shopper experience, and customer communications shifting to social and digital channels,” said Greg Giraud, program director, Merchandising and Marketing Strategies and Retail Analytics, IDC Retail Insights. “These in turn are driving the importance of marketing technology.”

“While retailers are aware of the increasingly critical role of digital and social channels in marketing, they clearly perceive the gap in their ability to effectively leverage these trends,” said Lori Mitchell-Keller, senior vice president, Global Industry Business Unit for Retail, SAP. “Having access to the right digital, social and analytics tools to communicate with, listen to and understand customers in real time enables retailers to make more informed and impactful marketing decisions.”

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