With the changes going on in the retail landscape, what factors do you think retailers and brands need to prioritise more than ever?

Building trusted and transparent relationships with their customers. A good relationship starts with being open and honest about how they use their Customers' data and what benefits they deliver in return.

Customers generally trust retailers with their shopping data and are happy to share it providing there is a fair exchange of value. Not providing value back to customers in return through the experiences retailers and brands deliver, whether that's in the form of irrelevant messages or ignoring channel preferences, is one of the fastest ways to erode that trust.

By using Customer data to design and deliver a superior experience for the Customer, retailers and brands have a greater opportunity of making every interaction more personalized and more rewarding, meeting the customers' needs in that moment.

What do you see being the biggest challenge that retailers face in putting Customers First?

Commitment. Being truly Customer First takes unwavering organisational commitment. It is not for the faint of heart!

Yet to keep pace with Customers' ever-evolving needs and expectations, retailers can't afford not to put the Customer at the heart of their decision-making. We work with many partners around the world to develop the right strategies that enable them to undergo this transformation.

It's not easy to do and another of the biggest challenges is knowing where to start and how to make the change manageable. With over 30 years' experience in using Customer data and advanced science to create unique and meaningful Customer moments, we have the necessary know-how to help retailers and brands achieve it.

Tell us a little bit about how the Customer Engagement team at dunnhumby helps customers win.

We start and end with the customer. We're committed to helping our clients keep up with their connected Customers to improve every interaction their customers have with them, by delivering highly personalised and relevant experiences.

What are your trend predictions for the upcoming year?

Customers will continue to want to be treated like individuals, to choose how and when they want retailers and brands to communicate with them. They're also increasingly looking to exercise more control over the experience they receive through things like selecting the benefits they want within a loyalty program for example.

For retailers, there will be an increased focus on removing friction, reducing barriers and building seamless Customer journeys across channels.

Customers are becoming more and more aware of the value of their personal data, questioning who is collecting it and why. They expect companies to treat it with respect and use it wisely to provide more personalised services and offers.

Customers are only going to get more demanding, and as such, retailers and brands will need to relentlessly pursue what matters most to their Customers. Or else someone else will.

The Customer Engagement team at dunnhumby helps retailers and brands identify and quantify Customer headroom opportunities, to enable personalised communication strategies and enhanced Customer experiences. Contact us to find out more.