Along with its increase in cloud revenue, calling 2017 its year of “Hyper Growth”, Episerver has also released their annual “Reimaging Commerce” benchmark report. The report reveals that brands have reached a turning point in their relationships with consumers.

STUDY: Nine in 10 Consumers are Comfortable with Brands Knowing More about Them to Get a Better Online Shopping Experience

Episerver's annual "Reimagining Commerce" benchmark report reveals that brands have reached a turning point in their relationship with consumers

IRVINE, Calif., Feb. 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite 87 percent of online shoppers being comfortable sharing personal information with brands in exchange for a better online shopping experience, over a third feel that brands don't care enough about personalizing their experience, according to a study released today by Episerver, the company transforming digital experiences.

The perceived lack of attention to personalization from brands is causing even more negative feelings among shoppers, with a third feeling disappointed, 16 percent feeling frustrated, and 12 percent even feeling distrustful of brands that do not personalize enough, according to "Reimagining Commerce: Global Findings." On the other hand, when a brand does personalize experiences, a quarter of shoppers are more likely to consider purchasing from the brand again. Personalized experiences make one in five feel more loyal to the brand, and 20 percent report these experiences make them trust the brand more – a far cry from the negative feelings minimal to no personalization evokes.

Feelings can make the difference in whether retailers can cash in on the number of people who are regularly shopping online. For example, Episerver found that 63 percent of people currently shop online at least once a month, and a quarter (23 percent) shop online at least weekly. Further, almost two-thirds of shoppers expect to make more online purchases this year than they did in 2017.

"With people shopping online more often, we're seeing that they've come to expect personalized, seamless experiences, and they're disappointed when those expectations aren't met," said Joey Moore, director of product marketing at Episerver. "To earn customer trust and loyalty, retailers need to elevate their personalization capabilities beyond product recommendations to include elements like individualized content, user-generated content and experiences that are personalized based on real-time behavior. Those retailers that achieve this level of personalized digital experiences will succeed in the Amazon era."

Consumers aren't just completing purchases online, but browsing and researching as well, according to the report's findings. More shoppers are going online to search for (35 percent) and compare (29 percent) products/services than they are to buy (17 percent) when visiting a brand's site for the first time. The report also found that 30 percent of people browse on their smartphones daily, and half do so weekly.

"Online shopping is on the rise worldwide, and customers' expectations of what their shopping experience should feel like is evolving," said Ed Kennedy, director of digital commerce strategy at Episerver. "Brands that are willing to invest in all aspects of the online shopping experience set themselves up for long-term success, while those that focus too heavily on transactions are not accounting for shoppers' diverse expectations and needs. Offering solutions to points of friction such as delivery, gift-giving, and privacy are great ways to earn repeat customers."

Other key findings from the report include:

Over a third of shoppers have tried emerging technology functions like smart mirrors and in-store tablets, and nearly 90 percent who have tried these would do so again.
Incorrect or incomplete content has dissuaded 95 percent of online shoppers from completing a purchase before.
Just 17 percent of people say purchase is their primary purpose when visiting a brand's website for the first time.

The Episerver "Reimagining Commerce: Global Findings" report is based on a survey of over 4,000 consumers ages 18 and older who have shopped online within the last year. Respondents are equally distributed among the U.S., U.K., Germany and the Nordics.

To see the full results and implications for marketers, download the 2018 Reimagining Commerce report.

View original content: Here

Episerver Reports 34 Percent Increase in Cloud Revenue, Calls 2017 its Year of “Hyper Growth”

Irvine, Calif. - February 26, 2018 - The Company Maintains Strong Momentum and Hiring with Increased Demand for Cloud Solutions and New Products.

After delivering record growth in 2016, Episerver, the company transforming digital experiences, saw continued business acceleration in 2017 as demonstrated by record revenue and bookings growth and continued expansion of its market-leading position.

Driven by strong market demand for its Digital Experience Cloud^™ and several major product investments in artificial intelligence (AI) coming to market, the company saw cloud bookings grow almost 90 percent year-over-year for the fiscal year 2017. Further, the company reported that new subscriptions for its Digital Experience Cloud platform have now increased every quarter for the last two years.

During 2017, Episerver saw a more than 150 percent increase in North American cloud subscriptions as a result of its ongoing focus on developing market share within the region and continued to expand its global footprint with the introduction of the Digital Experience Cloud in the Germany, Austria and Switzerland (DACH) region. The company also built on the momentum of Episerver Campaign, a leading omnichannel campaign management solution and a new service as part of the Digital Experience Cloud by launching the service across the whole of the Europe, Middle East and Africa region and into North America.

The company also expanded its deep relationship with Microsoft during the year, rolling out Episerver Commerce for Microsoft Dynamics 365 and launching Episerver Commerce on AppSource, Microsoft’s premier destination to market and distribute apps, content packs and add-ins. Episerver customers such as Easons and Premier Design are among those who have already successfully implemented the combined Episerver and Microsoft Dynamics solution across a range of operational and transactional functions. As part of the same initiative, Episerver welcomed onboard a steady flow of Dynamics partners, including HCL Power Objects, ThinkMax and Prodware.

“The significant growth we saw in 2017 is a result of our clear vision for the future of digital transformation and consistent delivery on our promises to our customers and partners,” said Mark Duffell, president and CEO of Episerver. “Our growth trajectory shows no sign of slowing, and in fiscal year 2018, we will continue to deliver on our promise to provide our customers with a market-leading and unified platform that helps them to quickly deliver seamless and highly personalized digital experiences.”

Episerver’s strategy, capabilities and market presence in 2017 resulted in it being cited as a leader in the 2017 Forrester Wave for Web Content Management, its inclusion in all of Forrester’s Commerce evaluations and the 2017 Forrester Wave for Digital Experience Platforms. The Forrester reports called out that Episerver "has a strong commitment to the cloud and a platform that customers reported as agile," noting that customers Forrester analysts spoke with "praised the vendor's customer service and transparent vision."

Gartner also named the company a “Leader” in the 2017 Gartner Magic Quadrant for Web Content Management for the third year in a row and included Episerver in its 2017 Magic Quadrant for Digital Commerce and its 2017 Magic Quadrant for Multichannel Campaign Management.¹

After a year of hyper growth and taking into account hiring plans for 2018, Episerver expects to see a 50 percent growth in its employee community over the two-year period. Additionally, to place further emphasis on its cloud operations and compliance initiatives in 2017, Episerver made the prominent addition of Microsoft veteran Sue Bergamo as the company’s first dual CIO/CISO and also appointed Episerver general counsel and vice president Peter Yeung as its first global data protection officer (DPO).

Episerver’s strong growth momentum supports its global customer community; a developer ecosystem now 39,000 members strong; and its implementation partner network, which counts some 880 digital agencies and systems integrators across more than 30 countries.

Visit the press room to learn more about Episerver company, product and partner news.

¹ Gartner does not endorse any vendor, product or service depicted in its research publications, and does not advise technology users to select only those vendors with the highest ratings or other designation. Gartner research publications consist of the opinions of Gartner's research organization and should not be construed as statements of fact. Gartner disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, with respect to this research, including any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose.

The Gartner Reports described herein, (the "Gartner Report(s)") represent data, research opinion or viewpoints published, as part of a syndicated subscription service, by Gartner, Inc. ("Gartner"), and are not representations of fact. Each Gartner Report speaks as of its original publication date (and not as of the date of this Annual Report) and the opinions expressed in the Gartner Report(s) are subject to change without notice.

About Episerver
Episerver empowers digital leaders to easily create standout experiences for customers – everywhere they engage, and always with measurable business results. The Episerver Digital Experience Cloud™ unifies digital content, commerce and marketing in one platform, including omnichannel solutions for smart personalization and intelligent campaigns. Founded in 1994, Episerver has offices in the US, UK, Sweden, Australia, Germany, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Poland, the Netherlands, Spain, South Africa, Singapore, Vietnam and the UAE.

Rachel Teitt
Director, Analyst and Public Relations
+1 614 817 1847
rachel.teitt@episerver.com

View original content: Here

Syndicated News

STUDY: Nine in 10 Consumers are Comfortable with Brands Knowing More about Them to Get a Better Online Shopping Experience

Episerver Reports 34 Percent Increase in Cloud Revenue, Calls 2017 its Year of “Hyper Growth”

Related Episerver News:

Visit Our Social Channels