This study focuses on how brands are evolving to better serve Asia’s consumers and looking to stay ahead of the game are redefining their priorities, and creating business strategies that revolve around more than just a singular retail product or hospitality experience: service 2.0.
For some years, retailers across Asia have been working on data infrastructures, innovative social media channels and formats, to cope with the generational shifts in consumer expectations. The pandemic, working as a catalyst for digital transformation, only emphasized the strategic opportunities in each of these trends, spurring brands to get more creative – and take more risks – in engaging consumers.
While consumer data in Asia is comparatively abundant and accessible, consumers often expect a higher quality of service in exchange for their trust. And as brands are pushed to harness data-insights within these markets, a key challenge will naturally arise: in a tech-empowered retail world, what is the next customer experience?
In Asia, this transition is happening in three distinct ways:
First, brands are investing in technology to better understand their customers and deliver seamless offline/online services.
Second, advances in technology are highlighting once more the importance of human connection in retail and heralding the age of the Key Opinion Staff.
Last, companies are shifting from traditional models of marketing to engaging consumers on the basis of their own cultural interests.