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Stuart O'Brien

Digital marketing trends in retail that drive sales and engage Shoppers
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The retail landscape is constantly evolving, shaped by advancements in technology and shifting consumer behaviours. Staying ahead of the curve is vital and businesses need to leverage the latest digital marketing trends to remain competitive and relevant.

Expert advice from director-led performance marketing agency outbloom draws insights from industry research and their own expertise, identifying key digital marketing trends that are shaping the retail sector in 2024.

Digital marketing plays a pivotal role in driving sales and engaging shoppers in the retail sector. By embracing innovative strategies such as personalised shopping experiences, social commerce integration, omnichannel marketing, and more, retailers can stay ahead of the curve and thrive in today’s competitive landscape.

Julia Symonds, Co-Founder and Lead Consultant at outbloom, says: “Customer behaviour is constantly changing in retail due to trends, external events, or simple curiosity. Many retailers must embrace what the latest technology has to offer to reach more consumers on digital channels to generate sales, boost conversion and encourage recurring purchases. With more ways to shop than ever before, retailers must innovate to meet consumers’ constantly evolving, lofty expectations.”

So, what can retailers and consumers expect to see in the foreseeable future? outbloom has curated a list of some of the emerging and ongoing trends that will impact the retail industry in the coming years.

1. Personalised Shopping Experiences

Personalisation has become a cornerstone of successful digital marketing strategies in retail. Today’s consumers expect tailored shopping experiences that cater to their individual preferences and needs. Retailers can leverage customer data and advanced analytics to deliver personalised recommendations, product suggestions, and promotional offers. By understanding their customers’ behaviour and preferences, retailers can create targeted marketing campaigns that drive engagement and foster loyalty.

2. Social Commerce Integration

Social media platforms have become powerful tools for retailers to connect with their target audience and drive sales. The integration of social commerce features allows consumers to make purchases directly from their favourite social media channels, streamlining the buying process and reducing friction. Retailers can leverage social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok to showcase products, engage with customers, and drive traffic to their online stores. By tapping into the vast reach and influence of social media, retailers can expand their customer base and increase sales.

3. Omnichannel Marketing Strategies

In today’s omnichannel retail environment, consumers expect a seamless shopping experience across multiple channels and touchpoints. Retailers must adopt omnichannel marketing strategies that integrate online and offline channels to create a cohesive brand experience. Whether shopping online, in-store, or via mobile devices, customers should have access to consistent product information, pricing, and promotions. By delivering a unified shopping experience across all channels, retailers can enhance customer satisfaction, drive sales, and foster brand loyalty.

4. Interactive Content and Immersive Experiences

Interactive content and immersive experiences are increasingly becoming key drivers of engagement in the retail sector. Retailers can leverage technologies such as augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to create interactive shopping experiences that captivate and engage consumers. From virtual try-on tools to immersive product demonstrations, interactive content allows consumers to experience products in a more engaging and memorable way. By embracing interactive technologies, retailers can differentiate themselves from competitors and provide unique value to shoppers.

5. Influencer Marketing Collaborations

Influencer marketing has emerged as a powerful strategy for retailers to reach and engage their target audience authentically. By partnering with influencers who align with their brand values and target demographics, retailers can leverage the influence and credibility of social media personalities to promote their products and drive sales. Influencers can create authentic content that resonates with their followers, helping retailers to increase brand awareness, generate buzz, and drive traffic to their online stores.

Photo by The Nix Company on Unsplash

SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGEMENT: From one-size-fits-all to personalised engagement – Where next?
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For Marketing Managers and Community Managers the days of juggling multiple platforms and struggling with rudimentary scheduling tools are fading. Social Media Management (SMM) solutions have undergone a dramatic evolution, offering a more streamlined, data-driven, and audience-centric approach to social media success…

From Scheduling to Strategy

Here’s how SMM solutions are empowering marketing and community teams:

  • Unified Platform Management: Gone are the days of logging into individual social media platforms. Modern SMM solutions offer centralised dashboards to schedule posts, monitor engagement, and analyse performance across various platforms.
  • Data-Driven Insights: Today’s SMM solutions go beyond vanity metrics. They offer in-depth analytics, allowing teams to measure campaign effectiveness, identify target audience demographics, and optimise content strategies for maximum reach and engagement.
  • Content Calendar and Collaboration: SMM solutions provide powerful content calendar tools to plan, schedule, and collaborate on social media posts, ensuring consistent brand messaging and streamlined content creation.
  • Social Listening and Influencer Identification: Modern SMM solutions allow teams to monitor brand mentions, track industry trends, and identify key influencers within their target audience, fostering stronger brand communities.
  • Engagement Tools and Community Management: Engagement features like social listening tools, sentiment analysis, and automated response capabilities empower teams to respond to comments and messages efficiently, fostering positive community relationships.

The Future of Social Media Management

The UK market for SMM solutions is constantly evolving, with exciting possibilities on the horizon:

  • Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML): AI and ML will power features like intelligent content creation, automated ad targeting, and personalised audience segmentation, taking social media management to a whole new level of personalisation.
  • Social Commerce Integration: SMM solutions will seamlessly integrate with e-commerce platforms, allowing for easier product promotions and in-app purchases, driving sales directly through social media interactions.
  • Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR): AR and VR functionalities will be incorporated into SMM platforms, allowing brands to create immersive social media experiences that increase engagement and brand recall.
  • Focus on Employee Advocacy: SMM solutions will focus on empowering employees to become brand advocates, amplifying brand messages and building trust with audiences through genuine employee voices.
  • Micro-Influencer Marketing: Identifying and collaborating with micro-influencers – those with smaller but highly engaged followings – is likely to become a key feature of SMM solutions, allowing for targeted brand promotion with higher conversion rates.

Beyond Scheduling and Posting

Social Media Management solutions have come a long way. By offering data-driven insights, automation tools, and a focus on audience engagement, they empower Marketing Managers and Community Managers to create targeted campaigns, build stronger brand communities, and achieve greater social media success. The future of SMM solutions promises further innovation, with AI, immersive features, and a focus on employee and micro-influencer engagement playing a key role in the evolution of social media marketing strategies. Remember, social media is a dynamic environment. The most successful brands are those that can adapt their strategies and leverage cutting-edge tools to build lasting relationships with their audiences.

Are you looking for Social Media Management solutions for your organisation? The Digital Marketing Solutions Summit can help!

Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash

Multilocal integrates with Onetag for high-quality inventory
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Programmatic specialist Multilocal has completed a global integration with AI-powered curation platform Onetag, enabling its clients to access the latter’s supply of premium publisher inventory.

Onetag’s smart curation programmatic platform uses impression-level traffic shaping to eliminate low-quality media in the programmatic supply chain. DealCurate provides significant operational efficiency, with full and immediate control of supply-side deal creation, and can be activated directly in all leading Demand Side Platforms. Its proprietary semantic engine accesses 100m data points, enabling contextual targeting at a highly granular level, and at scale.

The partnership is live now and is effective around the world, with the UK, Europe and US as key markets.

“This partnership between two major players in the curation space cements curation’s place as a key component of the programmatic ecosystem,” says Multilocal CEO James Leaver. “Curation is intrinsically agnostic and opens up increased options and scale for both buyers and sellers. This integration is proof of its increasing importance, and will make it easier for Multilocal’s clients to tap into its many benefits.”

Onetag founder and CEO Daniel Pirchio, adds: “This is a great example of interoperability in the market. Partnerships such as this one are driving technological solutions to shape traffic and remove low-quality inventory, for the benefit of both advertisers and publishers.”

“Our AI curates high-performing inventory based on media quality data, filtering out wastage to deliver only viewable and uncluttered inventory, contextual relevance and engaged users. Our aim is to provide effective digital advertising for the open internet via intuitive, intelligent programmatic curation technology, and together with Multilocal, we are doing that at scale.”

Rub shoulders with the industry’s best at the eCommerce Forum
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There’s a place reserved for you to attend the eCommerce Forum, which is taking place in July. This unique event has been created to help you source new solution providers, attend educational seminars and network with peers at an exclusive mixer.

2nd July 2024 | Hilton London Canary Wharf

Click Here To Register

After the event comes to an end, why not head to Rocket, Canary Wharf for the The eCom Mixer, & enjoy an evening of informal networking & drinks, from 5pm.

The event serves as a place to bring the eCommerce community together for good.

👋 Networking with breath taking views
🥂 Music, drinks, and merriment on the terrace
🤝 Make new connections, friendships, and collaborations

If you would like to find out more information, please contact us here, or visit our website

If you specialise in Social Media Management we want to hear from you!
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Each month on Digital Marketing Briefing we’re shining the spotlight on different parts of the print and marketing sectors – and in May we’ll be focussing on Social Media solutions.

It’s all part of our ‘Recommended’ editorial feature, designed to help marketing industry professionals find the best products and services available today.

So, if you specialise in Social Media management and would like to be included as part of this exciting new shop window, we’d love to hear from you – for more info, contact Kerry Naumburger on k.naumburger@forumevents.co.uk.

May 2024 – Social Media
June 2024 – Brand Monitoring
July 2024 – Web Analytics
Aug 2024 – Conversion Rate Optimisation
Sept 2024 – Digital Signage
Oct 2024 – Brochure Printing
Nov 2024 – Creative & Design
Dec 2024 – Online Strategy
Jan 2025 – Content Management
Feb 2025 – Lead Generation & Tracking
Mar 2025 – Email Marketing
April 2025 – Digital Printing

DIGITAL PRINTING MONTH: Beyond the Brochure – Where will digital printing go next?
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Brands are increasingly turning to digital printing solutions for their campaigns. The technique offers unmatched flexibility, personalisation, and speed, allowing brands to create targeted and impactful marketing materials. Here, we explore the key recent and future trends shaping the world of digital printing for marketing managers…

Recent Trends:

  • Variable Data Printing (VDP): VDP allows for mass customization of marketing materials. Marketing managers can personalize elements like names, addresses, or images on brochures, flyers, or packaging, creating a more targeted and engaging experience for each customer.
  • On-Demand Printing: The ability to print smaller batches digitally eliminates the need for large, pre-printed inventories. This minimizes storage space requirements and allows for frequent updates to marketing materials, ensuring campaigns remain fresh and relevant.
  • Integration with Marketing Automation Platforms: Digital printing solutions can integrate seamlessly with marketing automation platforms. This allows for automated personalization of marketing materials based on customer data, further enhancing campaign effectiveness.
  • Focus on Sustainability: Eco-friendly printing processes and materials are gaining traction. Marketing managers are opting for recycled paper stocks, vegetable-based inks, and energy-efficient printing methods to minimize their environmental impact.

Future Trends:

  • Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) Integration: Digital printing can be used to create AR or VR experiences that bring marketing materials to life. Imagine scanning a brochure and seeing a product come alive in 3D or having packaging that unlocks interactive content when viewed through a smartphone.
  • Short-Run Packaging with QR Codes: Digital printing allows for cost-effective creation of personalized packaging for limited-edition products or promotional campaigns. QR codes printed on packaging can link to interactive content, further engaging consumers.
  • Print-on-Demand (POD) Marketing Materials: POD services allow brands to offer custom-printed merchandise or marketing materials directly to consumers. This opens up new revenue streams and fosters greater customer engagement.
  • Focus on Data-Driven Printing Decisions: Advanced analytics tools will allow marketers to track the performance of printed materials alongside digital campaigns. This data can inform future printing decisions, optimizing return on investment.
  • Increased Automation in Workflow Management: Workflow automation tools will streamline the digital printing process, allowing marketers to easily upload artwork, approve proofs, and place orders online, saving valuable time and resources.

Benefits for Brands:

Embracing these digital printing trends offers significant advantages:

  • Enhanced Campaign Performance: Personalized printing and interactive experiences can significantly increase customer engagement and campaign effectiveness.
  • Improved Marketing Agility: On-demand printing allows for quick turnaround times and frequent updates to marketing materials, ensuring campaigns stay relevant and on-brand.
  • Reduced Printing Costs: Efficient printing processes and waste minimization can help brands optimize their printing budgets.
  • Sustainable Marketing Practices: Eco-friendly printing options contribute to a more sustainable brand image and resonate with environmentally conscious consumers.
  • Measurable Results: Data-driven printing allows for a clearer understanding of campaign performance, enabling marketers to refine their strategy for better results.

Digital printing is no longer just for brochures and flyers. By embracing these evolving trends, UK marketing teams can unlock the full potential of digital printing to create targeted, engaging, and measurable marketing campaigns that resonate with their audience and drive business growth.

Are you searching for Digital Printing solutions for your organisation? The Digital Marketing Solutions Summit can help!

Photo by Markus Spiske on Unsplash

Sports should leverage AR for improved fan engagement
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Augmented Reality (AR) can help sports companies tackle current challenges by creating more engaging and insightful viewing experiences, while the overall AR market is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21% from $22 billion in 2022 to $100 billion in 2030.

GlobalData’s latest Thematic Intelligence report, “Augmented Reality in Sport,” reveals how fan experiences offer the most lucrative and accessible opportunities for AR integration.

Jordan Strzelecki, Associate Thematic Intelligence Analyst at GlobalData, said: “AR graphics in broadcasting create a more engaging and insightful analysis of events. AR on mobile devices is a novel marketing introduction that can increase fan engagement. As media competition intensifies for sports rights with the rise of over-the-top (OTT) platforms, broadcasters must invest in more sophisticated technology to attract or keep contracts and engage with fans. For example, Sky Sports launched a new mixed-reality studio in August 2023 for Premier League Monday Night Football and US Tennis Open coverage, enriching viewing experiences with advanced AR graphics.”

Broadcasters are increasingly providing AR-enhanced alternative broadcasts of sports events to tailor coverage to specific audiences. Stadium-based AR mobile experiences are also available, aiming to enhance live viewing.

Strzelecki continued: “New and innovative AR use cases are regularly being announced. In October 2023, AT&T and Gallaudet University debuted the first 5G AR helmet for deaf American football players. The proliferation of 5G will lead to widespread and more advanced AR adoption among major sports entities.”

Strzelecki concluded: “However, smaller sports federations and clubs will miss out on large-scale technological investment and partnerships. Brands will focus financial resources on teams and leagues with large fan bases and footprints, as they allow them to reach the most people. While brands may still partner with less successful organizations, most sponsorship spend will be directed towards larger properties.”

Photo by Sandro Schuh on Unsplash

137% increase in mobile app messages as AI begins to impact conversational brand interactions
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Conversational messaging channels are seeing the fastest growth in terms of brand interactions with customers, with Infobip research recording a 137% increase in mobile app messages in 2023 compared to 2022, including a 73% rise in social media messages, and a 63% increase in chat app messages.

Infobip analysed more than 473 billion digital communications interactions on its platform in 2023 between businesses and consumers to identify the latest global business messaging trends, concluding that conversational experiences are increasing throughout the customer journey, whether for marketing, commerce, or support.

Conversational support 

Whether a person is dealing with a human agent, a chatbot, or a combination of the two, conversational support provides an effective, efficient, and positive experience. WhatsApp remains the primary channel brands use for conversational support, where businesses send 90% of support messages over the chat app. However, brands are beginning to diversify their channel mix, leveraging chat apps in specific regions.

For instance, Infobip has recorded increases of 541%, 146%, and 284% in Messenger, Viber, and Line, respectively. Brands are now using conversational AI to provide personalized customer service and support. For instance, Megi Health Platform uses a virtual assistant on WhatsApp to help improve the patient experience. Meanwhile, insurance firm LAQO uses our Azure OpenAI partnership to provide a fast, 24/7 and personal service.

Conversational marketing

The two-way exchange of information is the basis for conversational marketing, and brands are ramping up their efforts to meet customers on the channels they use with their family and friends. Overall, the data shows a 29% increase in mobile app messaging for marketing in 2023 compared to 2022.

WhatsApp remains the top digital channel for conversational marketing in absolute numbers, driven by new features that enable customers to start and complete a purchase in a single WhatsApp chat window.

Infobip is also seeing significant increases in other messaging apps such as Telegram, Line, Viber, and Messenger. More specifically, WhatsApp messages increased by 421% in Asia Pacific in 2023, while mobile app messaging increased by 146% in the Middle East and North Africa and by 18 times in North America. Meanwhile, RCS Business Messaging is an emerging channel for conversational marketing.

Regional difference

With brands adopting conversational experiences globally, there are some regional differences:

  • Africa: conversational channels gain traction with social media messages increasing nearly 2.5 times
  • Asia Pacific: strong growth in mobile app messaging, with WhatsApp increasing by four times
  • Europe: rapid growth for RCS, as interactions increase by 11 times
  • Latin America: strong growth in mobile app messaging, with Viber increasing by more than 2.5 times
  • Middle East North Africa: rapid adoption of conversational channels, as voice and video interactions double
  • North America: exponential growth in rich messaging, with RCS interactions increasing by 50 times

The changing role of SMS

Infobip’s data from 2023 shows that SMS remains an important channel for business communication, but usage is changing where SMS is now being used alongside chat apps. Across all industries, brands most commonly use SMS with WhatsApp, with 25% of businesses choosing this combination. Moreover, where businesses and brands use two channels, SMS is one of the two options in 63% of cases.

Ivan Ostojić, Chief Business Officer at Infobip, said: “Our data shows how conversational experiences are rapidly spreading across the globe as businesses roll out marketing, sales, and support use cases. Where 2022 revealed a spike in omnichannel adoption when brands recognized the importance of connecting with their customers on their preferred channel, 2023 shows how brands are perfecting the end-to-end customer journey. Customers can now seamlessly progress through a journey within a single conversational thread on a chat app or RCS. With the emergence of interactive AI, we expect brands to incorporate a federation of different chatbots and AI algorithms working together to trigger actions at the ideal points during the customer journey. In the next year, we foresee the widespread adoption in customer service, marketing and sale automation, and for operational use cases like scheduling deliveries and managing payments.”

Marcomms fund to support circular economy
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A new fund has been launched by the Chartered Institution of Wastes Management (CIWM) to give circular economy innovators the opportunity to fast-track their ambitions and grow their business through fully funded brand communications, marketing and design support. 

The Circular Economy Innovators Fund is the first of its kind and will see up to six businesses awarded tailored support to the value of £10,000 each to build on their marcomms strategy.

Aimed at small and micro businesses based in the UK and Republic of Ireland, CIWM is looking for emerging circular economy innovators that have established their businesses and are looking to expand and broaden their offering.

The fund’s unique approach will give small teams with big ideas access to crucial guidance and skillsets that can help their businesses grow. The winners will receive support from an award-winning communications agency, Barley Communications, whose experienced brand designers, media relations specialists and social media experts will work alongside them to understand their needs and develop a tailored brand communications plan and corresponding content for them.

CIWM’s President Dan Cooke said: “CIWM’s purpose is to move the world beyond waste and accelerating the transition to a more circular economy is vital to achieving this. The Circular Economy Innovators Fund is the first challenger fund to offer circular economy businesses access to specialist marketing and communications support and expert advice to fast-track their business growth.

There are many small and micro companies in the sector that have incredible forward-thinking products and services which clearly contribute to greater resource efficiency and a more circular economy. But they might welcome help with accessing the skills required to better tell their stories and accelerate their business to the next level. Through partnering with a communications agency that has strategic experts in a wide range of areas, winners can choose which channels of communication they feel they will most benefit from.”

The Circular Economy Innovators Fund is open to small and micro businesses that have a focus on contributing to a circular economy. This can include businesses promoting initiatives that involve sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products for as long as possible.

Applications are open until Monday 22nd April. Successful applicants will be selected by early summer and winning projects will be featured across CIWM’s award-winning content channels later in the year.

For more details on the fund and how to apply, visit: www.surveymonkey.com/r/cefund.

Apple preparing ‘pivotal shift’ in approach towards AI
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Apple is strategically advancing its position in the artificial intelligence (AI) domain, signifying a pivotal shift in the company’s approach to integrate AI into its core operations and product ecosystem.

The recent innovations and acquisitions underscore the Cupertino-based tech giant’s focus on bringing AI to its offerings while prioritising user privacy and ethical AI, say GlobalData analysts.

Saurabh Daga, Associate Project Manager of Disruptive Tech at GlobalData, stated: “While Apple till now has appeared slow to join the AI bandwagon in comparison to the likes of Microsoft, Google, and Amazon. The recent acquisition of DarwinAI may as well be the first in a series of initiatives to recalibrate the company’s strategy toward AI. Moreover, with its existing credentials related to in-house development, it is likely looking to build a strong intellectual property (IP) base for future developments. With one of its closest rivals in consumer tech Samsung already launching AI-integrated devices in early 2024, Apple will be looking to offer OnDevice AI features in the coming iterations of its computing devices as soon as possible.”

Darwin AI’s expertise in machine vision and machine learning (ML) aligns with Apple’s aim to enhance AI capabilities. This acquisition reflects Apple’s intent to enhance its AI capabilities with solutions that are not only powerful but also optimized for efficiency, all while maintaining a steadfast commitment to privacy.

The Innovation Explorer database of GlobalData’s Disruptor Intelligence Center highlights Apple’s contributions to the advancement of AI technologies in recent times including developing techniques to run large language models (LLMs) on iPhones, unveiling an open-source multimodal LLM, and offering a generative model for 3D scene generation, signifying a robust leap forward.

GlobalData’s Patent Analytics database reveals Apple’s recent patent filings in AI, which incorporate a range of innovations, from delivering audio information via digital assistants to leveraging machine learning for physiological predictions and image forecasting. This concerted effort pinpoints Apple’s commitment to advance AI technologies that prioritize enhancing user experiences.

Daga concluded: “Apple’s stance on AI integration remains shrouded in secrecy, yet its commitment to incorporating more AI into its products is evident. Despite the lack of a fixed timeline, the prospect of integrating AI, especially generative AI raises pertinent concerns regarding data security and privacy, a challenge Apple would like to address proactively, given the inherent sensitivity of its products and user base.”

Image by <a href=”https://pixabay.com/users/markusspiske-670330/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=581131″>Markus Spiske</a> from <a href=”https://pixabay.com//?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=581131″>Pixabay</a>