In 1982, The Boston Computer Exchange became the world’s first e-commerce shop, where buyers and sellers from around the world could meet online to exchange used computers for cash.

In an instant, the online retail space was born, connecting every corner of the globe to the digital marketplace. But over the last 40 years, e-commerce has become much more than a way to connect consumers with products that would previously have been out of reach: It has redefined shopping as we know it.

Driven by global competition and a desire to improve the customer experience, forward- thinking retailers have made dramatic technological developments to optimize the online marketplace—providing shoppers with an increasingly efficient alternative to in-store shopping. By 2023, for example, it is estimated that 70% of retailers will be using artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to improve their digital retail experience.

Online, every click is trackable, and every site visit tells a story. As a result, consumers are surrounded by a vortex of data that—like a digital thumbprint—provides corporations with ways to optimize and personalize the online retail experience.

How can your physical store experience keep up? 

Everybody knows data drives the online experience. Through advanced IT talent and software, e-commerce retailers pull insights out of complex customer datasets to optimize digital spaces. Many assume these datasets only exist due to the digital nature of online shopping. There’s no user data in a physical store front, right?

Well, what if you could collect in-store data—or pull insights from your e-commerce environment—to improve the physical store customer experience the same way you do online? As it turns out, using data-driven techniques to provide your physical store customers with the same speed, simplicity, and control they find online isn’t as far-fetched as it seems. In fact, it’s already happening.

You just need the right set of hardware and software and a coherent strategy to deliver on the promise of the connected customer journey.

“75% of buyers prefer to buy from brands that personalize the experience.”