​Personalisation at scale and across each moment of the customer’s journey is a step closer for the team at Australian lifestyle brand, The Upside, after investing in its direct-to-consumer and data technology capabilities.

In a world that seems to be inevitably drawn towards digital service delivery, few sectors have shown the same level of resistance as building supplies. Even the market behemoth of the retail side of the hardware industry, Bunnings, only got its ecommerce act together in 2018.

Facebook Shops is expanding to WhatsApp and Marketplace and developing new ways for businesses to personalise ads and use new technologies to enhance the shopping experience.

Acceleration of ecommerce was one of the key digital trends witnessed over the past year as the COVID-19 global pandemic forced retailers and their suppliers online. With many expecting the trend to now dominate 2021 and beyond, CMO reached out to several Australian retailers and industry providers to find out what specific technology, business and operational investments they have made during this time to lift their ecommerce capability.

A petition encouraging Australian employers to grant pet owners ‘PETernity’ leave, along with pet personality scores driving product recommendations and membership benefits, are just some of the tools PetCulture’s first CMO is using to drive aggressive growth.

The pandemic has accelerated the shift to online shopping, and with it has come innovative ways retailers and brands are connecting with consumers. Livestreaming is one of the growing new ways consumers can shop in real time while watching live videos.

Few retailers would be as far from claiming ecommerce leadership as charity op shops. But when COVID-related lockdowns descended across Australia last year, charity stores were forced to close their doors along with everyone else considered non-essential.

Triple-digit customer database growth, record email engagement rates and a plethora of insights informing new products and promotions are just some of the wins for Australian brewery, Stone & Wood, after lifting its digital marketing game.

Rapid uptake of ecommerce was an inevitable outcome of the events of 2020, and naturally, those companies that supplied the picks and shovels of the digital goldrush were among the biggest winners.

Shining a light on diversity issues existing across the beauty industry is vital if the sector is to truly find a solution where all consumers feel included, says Adore Beauty’s strategy and campaign leader.

The next 12 months represent the biggest, most exciting opportunity retailer marketers have ever had. This unprecedented window is an opportunity to innovate like never before.

JCurve’s former chief marketing officer has joined ecommerce site search vendor, Searchspring, as its new head of Asia-Pacific.

Ecommerce has gone from strength to strength across Australia off the back of the COVID-19 global pandemic and rapidly accelerated digitisation in 2020, several new reports highlight.

Blackmores has brought on a new testing and optimisation platform to help fuel growth across its ecommerce offering.

Customer migration driven by the COVID-19 crisis might be here to stay for many businesses across Australia and New Zealand, according to the latest Salesforce State of the Connected Customer report.

Consumer shopping habits formed in lockdown are here to stay, according to Opinium Research, which was commissioned by payments platform Adyen. While COVID-19 has been a huge catalyst for change, it’s also solidified our preference for certain activities, including shopping in-store.

The average time spent on social media has grown by 30 per cent during the COVID-19 crisis, according to an L&A Social census.This increase in social media usage, coupled with the shift towards ecommerce, has created a commercial imperative for brands and businesses to understand consumer behaviour across social platforms, according to the agency.​

It’s a problem many brands have been working for years to solve: Growing interest in digital engagement and commerce and a need for greater capability to meet it. But in Farmlands New Zealand’s case, the timeframe for a response was shortened to just three weeks after the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdown struck antipodean shores.

Contactless payments, 2D and 3D visualisations allowing consumers to better experience products they want to order, B2B consumerisation and live and experience-led commerce are here to stay post-COVID crisis, a new report claims.

The Iconic has chosen Optimizely as its experimentation platform to help ensure its customer engagement and conversion testing is as impactful as possible while avoiding site performance issues.

There’s no doubt COVID-19 has accelerated the shift to digital channels and transactions for Australian retailers. Here, Cue Clothing’s CIO, Shane Lenton, shares how the iconic Australian fashion brand adapted to the new normal of retail presented by the pandemic, the virtual and digital offerings it’s rapidly created, and the longer-term innovations they’re helping inform.