

Moreover, our research has shown that personalized experiences drive up both customer loyalty and the top line. When executed well, such experiences enable businesses not only to differentiate themselves but also to gain a sustainable competitive advantage. Highly personalized customer experiences, when offered to millions of individual customers by using proprietary data, are difficult for competitors to imitate. But differentiation is still possible through personalized approaches in which retailers create unique experiences tailored to individual customers. Traditional differentiation approaches in retail-such as a unique selection or strategic pricing and promotions-are not as effective as they once were, as competitors can easily imitate them. Today’s retail environment is challenging from almost any perspective because of price pressure from discounters, market disruption from online players, and increased price transparency for shoppers.
