SAN JUAN, PR — Supermarkets used to trade more in detergent than data – but, in the new world of retail media, these big merchants are leveraging customer identity in advertising sales.
As retailers strive to balance online and offline customer engagement, the challenge of creating a seamless omnichannel experience is paramount.
In this video interview with Beet.TV, Piyush Jindal, Director of Product Management at Albertsons Media Collective, sheds light on how digital identity is the cornerstone for a cohesive customer journey, the hurdles retailers face, and the innovative strategies Albertsons is deploying to overcome them.
Digital Identity: The Core of Customer Experience
For retailers like Albertsons, understanding the customer on a granular level is the first step in delivering that much-coveted seamless experience.
“Digital identity allows you to create a holistic portrait of all the customers for each customer by analyzing the user behavior, the preference, the trend in a privacy-conscious way,” Jindal explains.
He says “customers expect the fluidity between the online and offline shopping experience.” This expectation is driving retailers to focus on personalization, which not only fosters brand loyalty but also “leads to higher return on investment as well as the experience for our customers.”
Tackling Top Omnichannel Challenges
Despite the clear benefits, the path to a flawless omnichannel strategy is fraught with obstacles:
- Jindal identifies “the fragmented data layer” as a significant hurdle, where integrating various data sources poses a complex challenge.
- He points out the need for “consistency” in delivering data like pricing and product information.
- Moreover, “the vast variety of technologies like POS system, inventory management, order management system that needs to be integrated together” presents an enormous technological challenge, given their disparate natures.
Albertsons Media Collective is the advertising branch of Albertsons Companies, one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States. Their services include digital advertising, targeted media campaigns, and customer insights.
The outfit has taken a proactive approach to these challenges. “We focus on building a unified experience, unified platform where we integrate all of them together, like stores data, web data, browsing data, all of them together,” Jindal says.
That investment in robust platforms and cloud technologies underpins Albertsons’ strategy to deliver a consistent and cohesive experience to the customer.
Looking Ahead: Partnerships and Innovations
Looking forward, the Albertsons Media Collective has its sights set on collaboration and innovation.
“We are here with the ‘coop garden’ mentality,” Jindal says, indicating a willingness to partner with various entities, especially in realms like connected TV (CTV) and other media partnerships.
This open approach signals Albertsons’ commitment to adaptability and innovation in the digital media space.
You’re watching Beet.TV’s coverage of Beet Retreat San Juan 2024. This series and event is sponsored by Albertsons Media Collective, Moloco, OpenX and TransUnion. For more videos from the series, please visit this page.
