There is no doubt that in recent weeks the relationship between large-scale distribution and digital has gone beyond conversations between industry operators, becoming part of the public debate. Thanks to the proposal to close, at least in part, shopping centers on Sundays, attention has focused on e-commerce of food products, on the omnichannel initiatives of national operators and Amazon (with Whole Foods and Amazon Go ), and on omnichannel techniques.
However, we often make a mistake : we think that bringing technology into this sector is equivalent to a mere automation of processes, bypassing the human component. In reality, thinking that e-commerce or digital marketing are free types of nurse databases from a human and manual component is a contemporary falsehood.
Large-scale distribution: the evolution of tools to retain customers
In fact, the more technology is introduced into the relationship with the customer, the more the difference will not be made by the automation of this aspect, but by the automation of upstream processes and the personalization of downstream communication.
Especially when dealing with aspects such as customer care, automation must occur upstream and not downstream, otherwise it runs the risk of being inadequate, considering that social media are not only a customer care channel, but for the permanence, advertising and usability outside the context of the contents that are published, they have such a force that they put at risk the reputation of a company, and not only online.