This year’s Syndigo Connect conference was a timely reminder of the trends and innovations reshaping the world of commerce, as seen through the lens of the product experience. This year, the conference emphasized the transformative impact of digital technology on shopper engagement and highlighted several key trends that are driving change in the market.
Want to see highlights from the Syndigo Connect 2024? Check them out here!
Adapting to a new digital-first reality
One of the most significant continuing trends is the continued growth of online retailing and e-commerce. Once seen as a temporary lift due to the pandemic and mandated lockdowns, this shift is largely driven by the changing makeup of consumers and technological advancements. Consumers continue to seek convenience and personalized experiences, and their use of digital shopping platforms also continues to grow at a healthy clip.
Paul do Forno, Partner and Managing Director at Deloitte noted how big these changes are: “In the last five years, e-commerce is two times the size it was in the US since 2019.” And this trend doesn’t seem to be slowing down. “E-commerce growth this year is projected to be twice as fast as retail growth,” noted do Forno.
Syndigo research has highlighted that during peak shopping seasons like the holidays, these numbers can be even more pronounced. This shopping shift underscores the importance for businesses to adapt to digital platforms to meet consumer demands.
Anthony Marshall, Digital Commerce Operations at Kimberly Clark, echoed those sentiments: Given the speed of change, the digital era requires a different playbook. “We have no choice but to change with it, and build the future for that world,” said Marshall. “Everyone in this room today is responsible for elements of the playbook.”
B2B catches up in e-commerce
And it’s not just happening with consumer sales. Another major trend charted by Deloitte is the evolution of B2B commerce, which is also experiencing substantial growth. B2B is a much larger market than B2C commerce according to do Forno, and B2B e-commerce is growing faster than B2C e-commerce: 17% year over year. Syndigo Connect focused on both, highlighting the need to adopt a holistic approach by integrating technology, optimizing supply chains, and leveraging data insights. This approach not only enhances competitiveness but also expands business reach in the global market.
Of course, data—and data quality—underscore the importance of working with the right partner, that has the experience to deliver winning outcomes. Two Syndigo partners highlighted their journeys with customers looking to succeed. For Chantal Schweizer, Practice Director of Data Services at Pivotree, the taxonomy—the way data is structured—is key to a successful engagement.
“You need that data organized, you need it to be very, very complete,” Schweitzer explained when discussing client TIMKEN.“Having category specific attributes organized in an attribution taxonomy as your backbone really helps get you toward that.”
Proving the ROI of data infrastructure
Another familiar business challenge was presented by the team at ObjectEdge, another Syndigo Partner: getting senior management to quantify the value of investing in new data management platform. Vinny Maurici, VP of Data Engineering at Object Edge, highlighted one of their success stories with their customer Infinite Electronics.
“We found that a 40% increase in new item introduction can be made by leveraging Syndigo,” said Maurici. “And because we can launch 40% quicker, we actually can realize that revenue a lot sooner and get the maximum amount of revenue from those new product introductions a lot quicker into the books.”
Bringing together innovators and experts
Syndigo Connect attendees had the opportunity to meet with these and other solution partners including Flywheel, Compass Marketing and ThoughtSpark, who highlighted their capabilities for Syndigo customers and prospects.
Syndigo’s capabilities were on display as well, highlighting new innovations including PIM and MDM, content management and syndication for commerce, and digital shelf analytics. Customers learned how Syndigo GoPilots™ leverage generative AI to accelerate application insights, automate processes, and deliver real-time recommendations that ultimately create a better product experience and delightful customer journey.
Overall, the Syndigo Connect 2024 conference underscored the importance of agility, adaptability, and speed in today’s continually changing marketplace. By combining their data and the technology delivered by Syndigo and its partners, businesses can drive demonstrable growth and success, in order to stay competitive.
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