{"id":1623681,"date":"2014-01-28T09:12:36","date_gmt":"2014-01-28T17:12:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.retailpro.com\/News\/blog\/index.php\/2014\/01\/28\/merchants-focus-on-customer-empathy\/"},"modified":"2014-02-07T07:48:15","modified_gmt":"2014-02-07T15:48:15","slug":"merchants-focus-on-customer-empathy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.retailpro.com\/News\/blog\/index.php\/2014\/01\/28\/merchants-focus-on-customer-empathy\/","title":{"rendered":"Merchants focus on customer empathy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>With big data capabilities, merchants are increasingly using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.retailpro.com\/Solutions\" target=\"_self\" class=\"dnautolink\">retail business intelligence<\/a> to improve the shopper experience in their stores. To attract customers and engage them after their visit,&nbsp;brands are aiming to offer interactive experiences and personalized assistance.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The rise in emphasis on the customer experience inspired the Temkin Group to name 2014 &quot;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.retailcustomerexperience.com\/article\/226087\/2014-is-The-Year-of-Empathy-according-to-Temkin-Group-research\" target=\"_blank\">The Year of Empathy<\/a>,&quot; Retail Customer Experience reported.<\/p>\n<p>&quot;As companies increasingly focus on customer experience in 2014, they will recognize that their organizations lack a deep understanding and appreciation for their customers,&quot; said Bruce&nbsp;Temkin, managing partner of Temkin Group, according &nbsp;to the source. &quot;In 2014, we&#039;ll hear more executives talking about the need to build &#039;empathy&#039; for customers.&quot;<\/p>\n<p>Empathy includes anticipatory service, such as personalized offers driven by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.retailpro.com\/Solutions\" target=\"_self\" class=\"dnautolink\">retail customer intelligence<\/a>, and greater integration across channels to produce a seamless experience for shoppers. In an attempt to bolster consumer engagement, retailers are <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mercurynews.com\/business\/ci_24820288\/virtual-reality-transforms-real-life-shopping-stores\" target=\"_blank\">imagining possible frustrations<\/a> and seeking innovative solutions, San Jose Mercury News reported. For example, merchants can use shopping trend data to improve their store layouts and mobile <a href=\"https:\/\/www.retailpro.com\/Solutions\" target=\"_self\" class=\"dnautolink\">POS<\/a> systems to make checking out easier. Interactive technology, such as virtual dressing rooms, turns brick-and-mortar shopping into a fun encounter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>With big data capabilities, merchants are using retail business intelligence to improve the shopper experience in their stores. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.retailpro.com\/News\/blog\/index.php\/2014\/01\/28\/merchants-focus-on-customer-empathy\/\">Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":1623682,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1623681","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-retail-customer-business-intelligence"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.retailpro.com\/News\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1623681","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.retailpro.com\/News\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.retailpro.com\/News\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.retailpro.com\/News\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.retailpro.com\/News\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1623681"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.retailpro.com\/News\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1623681\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.retailpro.com\/News\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1623682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.retailpro.com\/News\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1623681"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.retailpro.com\/News\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1623681"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.retailpro.com\/News\/blog\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1623681"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}