Michelle Beeson

Building a digital team that can achieve pressing priorities requires flexibility and cross-functional collaboration. Learn more.

The EU has overhauled the legislative environment for digital services in Europe. Learn what this means for tech and marketing.

When discussing brands’ direct-to-consumer (DTC) digital strategies, I am often asked how brands are handling issues of channel conflict with retail partners. There are a few forerunners to my response: A brand’s DTC digital strategy is not just about direct transactional sales to consumers. All brands need a DTC digital strategy, which derives value beyond […]

Post van gastblogger Melissa Chaudet, senior onderzoeksmedewerker. Het is geen geheim dat Europese consumenten zich steeds meer zorgen maken over de impact van hun consumptie op het milieu. Forrester heeft onlangs nieuw onderzoek uitgevoerd om een beeld te krijgen van de verwachtingen en houding van Europese consumenten ten aan zien van duurzaamheid. Dit waren de bevindingen: […]

Organisations are not always fully in control of all of their customer’s experiences. Whether it’s logistics partners supporting a retailer’s delivery experience, insurance companies relying on sales via brokers, or consumer-facing brands relying on retail partners to sell their products, an organisation’s end-to-end customer experience (CX) often relies on external business partners. Across industries, brands […]

Guest blog post by Melissa Chaudet, senior research associate. It’s no secret that European consumers are increasingly concerned about the environmental impact of their consumption habits. We’ve recently conducted net-new data research to gain a snapshot of European consumers’ environmental expectations and attitudes. We found that they: Actively seek more environmentally friendly options when shopping. […]

Luxury brands continue to grapple with their evolving digital go-to-market strategies in the face of ingrained traditions, placing a premium on the in-store customer experience. But it is not a case of digital versus store. Year on year, Forrester’s consumer surveys show that luxury consumers are more digitally mature than their mainstream counterparts. They seek […]

The value of a brand’s direct-to-consumer (DTC) digital presence goes beyond direct sales. Brands that still rely heavily on retail partners for digital sales can still drive value from direct customer engagement. Of course, DTC consumer purchases benefit brands with better margins, since they avoid fees or commission charges from partners. The benefits go beyond […]

As consumers are are less restricted by channels, organisations must follow suit and create a hybrid customer experience.

Even before the pandemic, organizations across industries have been grappling with how to manage customer experiences across physical and digital touchpoints. But the context of the 2020 pandemic forced businesses — particularly nonessential retailers and brands — to completely rethink how they used their physical spaces and, in particular, the employees within them. More retailers […]

It’s impossible not to see how consumers have felt the pressure of the 2020 pandemic. People have faced job losses, extended furlough, or enforced remote work while also managing homeschooling and the social (and psychological) impact of lockdown. Then there were those on the front lines: key workers struggling to do their jobs while COVID-19 […]

All brands need to be selling to and engaging with consumers online. The experiences of the 2020 pandemic have only accelerated consumers’ shift to digital touchpoints. When it comes to brands’ digital commerce opportunity, it’s not “one size fits all.” So, where should brands focus their digital direct-to-consumer (DTC) efforts, and what will each yield […]

The availability and use of digital and contactless payments increased during the 2020 pandemic, driven by the need for more hygienic contactless payment options and a large proportion of retail being forced online amidst lockdowns. After reviewing 102 UK retailers across several product categories, we found that 92% of UK retailers offered at least one […]

The 2020 pandemic has forced consumers to digital touchpoints, accelerating the need for brands to up their game when it comes to digital commerce, engagement, and operations. Historically, most brands have sold through wholesale retail partner relationships and distributors. Now, they must own the customer relationship, as far as they are able. Forrester’s latest report, […]

2020 leaves another sting in its tail for UK retailers today, among them Currys PC World, John Lewis, and Very.com (even Amazon had some trouble). After navigating the unexpected (and unprecedented) peaks and troughs of digital demand during 2020 pandemic lockdowns, it’s the planned launch of the PlayStation 5 that has managed to crash the […]

Learn how leaders in the European banking and insurance industries can credibly connect the customer story to the money story.

From store closures forcing consumers online to shifts in consumer spending and purchasing habits, retailers continue to manage the impact of the pandemic. Yet when it comes to strategic objectives, COVID has only accelerated the need to execute what they had planned.

Back in the summer of 2017, we warned that luxury brands were out of time to improve their digital customer experiences. Since then, luxury brands have moved from relative inertia to a range of activities, from technology upgrades to partnerships and acquisitions. But the 2020 pandemic has shaken luxury brands to their core. Nonessential store […]

Brands have been reviewing and revamping their digital commerce strategies for some time. With consumers forced online during pandemic lockdowns across the globe, this focus on digital has only magnified. But digital commerce opportunities are not created equal for brands. Some brands are seeing significant growth in their direct-to-consumer (DTC) business and grappling with the […]