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Let’s explore the importance of real-time data for Black Friday and Cyber Monday by setting the scene. The weather is cooling off. You might be wrapped up in a blanket, on the couch about to watch some football. Nothing sounds better than soup made in that incredible crockpot that is still in your Amazon cart! Now on your phone, you look at that shiny crockpot – the maker of dreams. Then, a touchdown, cheering, and your friend shows up with pizza. The moment is gone. The crockpot sits in the digital cart, unpurchased.
Timing matters… Especially for retailers during the major holidays like Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the biggest US shopping events of the entire year! It is critical to engage shoppers in the moment to increase the likelihood of great conversions and more revenue per session. Real-time data access can dictate the quality of customer experience and the speed of conversions. In the retail world, the utility of real-time data is pronounced. According to James McCormick at Forrester Research, real-time data must be “fast enough to keep up with the customer.” In other words, it should have an impact within the same engagement session or even during a single interaction point. Achieving this requires a CDP that operates in 25-100 milliseconds across three crucial phases of the customer data lifecycle.
Here is some fun math:
- Conversion rates are 8x higher in the first five minutes of an interaction and eCommerce businesses miss out on 35% of sales due to poor user experiences.
- By using real-time data (milliseconds), delivering the right moment for a buyer, and radically reducing conversion time, teams can ensure more business is closed.
- The best tactic retail teams can take for Black Friday and Cyber Monday is to ensure they have a real-time customer data strategy. Data that is collected (in a compliant way), structured (to be accurate), and then activated in real time can have a profound impact.
Why Real-Time Matters
Each of these statistics underscores the power of real-time data in enhancing personalization, boosting engagement, and ultimately driving conversions. Immediacy and relevancy are not just preferred but expected from shoppers. Therefore, the ability to access and act upon data in real time becomes a decisive competitive advantage for organizations, especially during the holiday shopping season. It ensures that interactions are personalized, responsive, and timely – meeting customers where they are, on their terms. The incorporation of real-time data is not an option but a necessity and can make the difference between a crockpot purchase and a missed opportunity.
For more resources to get set up for Black Friday and Cyber Monday, explore Your Secret Weapon for Customer Retention and Expansion. If you’re looking to boost scalability beyond holiday shopping, listen to my podcast episode with Demandbase, Navigating Business Outcomes – Insights for Intelligent Growth and Scalability.