Dear retailers, your data doesn’t know me yet!

Why are brands still missing the mark?

Despite having access to powerful tools and vast amounts of customer data, many organisations struggle to use this information effectively. Whether in Asia or Europe, the challenge remains: how do we turn data into actionable insights that genuinely improve the customer experience?

Recent studies suggest the issue isn’t a lack of data, but a lack of maturity:

• Inside Retail Asia’s Winning in-store report, based on more than 3,000 shoppers across Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand, shows that what drives loyalty in APAC stores is actually quite basic: speed, convenience, friendly staff and seamless checkout. Yet many retailers still fail to consistently deliver on these fundamentals.
• A BCG study of Asian brands found that 87% of brands see first-party data as “very important” to digital marketing, but 56% rate themselves below average or only average at using it, often because they can’t link technology tools or make sense of the data.
• IDC’s Future of Customer Experience research in Asia highlights that legacy infrastructure, data siloes and a lack of unified customer view remain the main obstacles to CX transformation. 
• At the same time, 70% of Asia/Pacific C-suite executives are already exploring or investing in generative AI for customer experience, according to IDC’s FERS survey so investment is happening, but value is not yet fully realised. 

The right data enables brands to:

• Predict customer needs
• Personalise offers
• Optimise stock
• Design better products

But when data is misused or ignored, frustration grows, opportunities are missed, and customer loyalty suffers.

Have you ever felt like a brand just didn’t “get” you?

The voice of the customer: more than a buzzword

“Voice of the customer” is a term we hear often, but it’s rarely put into practice in a meaningful way in my opinion. Many organisations still struggle to leverage data to enhance user experience, build loyalty, and truly understand what their customers expect.

In APAC, the cost of not listening is high:

• Twilio’s State of Customer Engagement report shows APJ consumers spend 24% more with brands that personalise well and that 91% say personalisation increases loyalty but more than half report frustration with inconsistent digital experiences.
• Inside Retail Asia and Retail Asia analysis also shows that only 23% of retailers are able to connect online and in-store transaction data to deliver truly seamless cross-channel personalisation and tailored discounts.

So, how can companies mature their approach and let customer voices be heard?

Common pain points in retail

Even today, both online and offline, familiar issues persist:

• Limited stock visibility
• Disconnected online and offline channels
• Irrelevant product recommendations
• Lack of proactive feedback collection

These challenges highlight a critical question: how well do brands really know their customers? Especially when retaining an existing customer is far more cost-effective than acquiring a new one.

McKinsey’s latest ConsumerWise survey for Asia-Pacific shows that more than 60% of APAC consumers are actively switching brands or retailers, often in search of better value, quality and novelty. In Mainland China, 86% of consumers say they have already changed their shopping behaviour in search of better value. When brands don’t understand what matters, customers don’t hesitate to move on.

The Benefits of data-driven insights

Having the right data leads to better decisions but context matters. In Asia, local culture and consumer behaviour play a crucial role:

• Inside Retail Asia finds that APAC shoppers reward retailers who blend speed, convenience and human connection, especially empowered store staff and smooth checkout experiences.
• Luxury and fashion behaviour varies widely by market: cultural cues (like red and gold for festive occasions around Chinese New Year or Sakura flower during spring time in Japan) and visible signals of status still influence assortment and design choices. 
• McKinsey’s research on APAC consumer sentiment shows omnichannel (“phygital”) behaviour is now the norm, with more than half of consumers in markets like India, Mainland China and South Korea expecting to use multiple channels for most categories. 

At the same time, BCG estimates that responsible use of first-party data could unlock around US$200 billion in additional value for brands in Asia Pacific, and that digitally mature brands using first-party data in advanced activations achieve 1.5–2.9x higher revenue uplift than less mature peers. 

Math and statistics remain essential for understanding consumer trends but they only create value when we connect them to real behaviour, local culture and thoughtful experience design.

How data transforms the customer experience

Data can enhance every stage of the customer journey:

• Personalisation: Recognising repeat behaviours (preferred size, colour, style) to recommend relevant items instead of random options.
• Information: Showing stock availability and store locations in real time, so customers don’t arrive to find their size missing.
• Services: Improving stock forecasting so products are available where and when people actually buy.
• Business Insight: Analysing best-selling items by colour, age group, or region to guide merchandising and local assortments.

IDC predicts that by 2025, 45% of the Asia-based top 1,000 organisations will use AI and machine learning to elevate context and nudge customers into more relevant experiences, but warns that this only works if the underlying data is unified and the experience is designed around real customer needs. 

Practical steps to improve data maturity

Before investing in major system upgrades, companies should focus on practical improvements:

• Optimise data collection and tagging: Ensure product attributes (fabric, fit, colour, occasion, style) are clearly defined and structured so they can actually be used in recommendations and analysis.
• Change recommendation logic: Move beyond generic “people who bought X also bought Y” to contextual suggestions based on style, colour, compatibility, and even local preferences by market.
• Redefine business analysis parameters: Group data by customer profile and behaviour (for example, “minimalist repeat buyers” vs. “trend-driven explorers”) for a more accurate view of performance and loyalty.

Only 10% of businesses in India, Mainland China and Japan have reached the most advanced level of “experience-orchestrated” maturity, according to an IDC InfoBrief so there is still a large competitive advantage for those who get this right.

Moving forward: bridging business and IT

Today’s technologies make it easier than ever to use data to strengthen customer relationships. The key questions are:

• What information do we already have?
• What do we still need?
• How can we collect it efficiently and responsibly?

Bridging the gap between Business and IT is now a major opportunity for any company aiming to foster loyalty, meet expectations, and truly listen to the voice of the customer.

One final nuance: Gartner’s global research reminds us that personalisation is not automatically positive. In a recent survey, 53% of customers reported negative experiences with personalisation; those customers were 3.2x more likely to regret their purchase and 44% less likely to buy again. In other words, how we use data matters just as much as how much data we have.