Data is the new gold

This means that the webshop is not the end of the customer journey and certainly not the starting point. To make the customer journey as successful as possible, you must be able to use the data from all these channels, the website, and your internal systems.

Data is determined to understand the consumer and to recognize his behavior. The data will help guide the inevitable digital transformation and reach your customers. The correct data also ensures that you know which advertising budgets have an impact.

The importance of data

The IT-landscape is becoming increasingly complex and the number of channels and the amount of data is growing rapidly. "We see that data is increasingly the driving force behind the digital transformation that companies are making," says Thies Kuijlman, digital consultant at Youwe. “Data is the new gold. Just like oil in the last century, data is now a source of growth and disruption. The quality and quantity of data provides information about the life and behavior of your customers. This enables us to communicate better and in a more personal way and to better organize organization processes. We do that successfully at Youwe for many years for manufacturers, wholesalers, retailers, and distributors, such as Vink Kunststoffen, Auping, Denksport, Quooker, and PostNL."

More and more digital channels

In the past, a webshop was the only channel you would have, but nowadays you can sell products just as easily via, for example, social media and marketplaces. Customer behavior and the customer journey are therefore changing, says Dennis Reurings, co-founder of Youwe. “Complexity increases enormously due to a multitude of channels. You used to be able to use Google Analytics. This is no longer possible today. Due to the different tools that are used, we see fragmented data. Insights are only created when you are able to combine your Facebook and Instagram data with your store cash register, webshop orders and your mail system.

Companies do not know what to do and cannot make these connections. We explain the possibilities, centralize the data, provide smart IT-tooling and help companies to utilize the opportunities of online!

Determine your pricing strategy with Artificial Intelligence

Dennis continues: “An example of this is Dynamic Pricing. This is an Artificial Intelligence algorithm that uses your data to calculate the optimal price for your products to make a higher profit. This is done using the same principle as airlines do. If you look on Friday morning, your ticket may be more expensive than on Friday evening."

The future of retail

But what does the future look like for you as a webshop owner? Looking at the future of retail, Dennis expects that the possibilities in terms of personalization will only increase. The online experience of the customer must be central to your organization. This is because not only you have to deal with more data, but also the customer. They see many advertisements every day, both offline and online and nowadays it's not only important to stand out, but you also have to keep your promises. “Companies will increasingly be able to present the right information to the right customer on the right channel. We are increasingly able to record how the customer thinks, where he is and what he needs to make a decision. Our strength is organizing that in a way without having to deploy an entire army of staff. That is possible because we make software and data work for us, "says Thies.

It is clear that a lot has changed in the world of e-commerce and will only change more. How can you go along with these changes? Use your data!