A fragmented view of the customer is challenging the
retail sector's ability to fully address customer needs, says
asurvey commissioned by
BEA.
The survey was conducted at this month's Retail Business event
in London, which was attended by more than 4,800 delegates.
Whilst the survey found that 96% of retailers believe investment
in customer service is critical to future business success, 52% of
respondents said their firms were unable to provide a unified,
360-degree view of their customers.
The survey said 33% of respondents believed that the alignment
of IT, business processes, and people to deliver innovative
customer services will offer the greatest advantage to their
business in the next 12 months.
BEA said a full view of the customer was needed to support
unique customer preferences and design loyalty programmes, customer
support processes, merchandise selection, and the in-store
experience around those preferences.
Service-oriented architecture systems had a big part to play in
addressing these needs, said BEA.