Customer Data Platforms remain a high priority investment for retailers despite the pandemic, according to this CommerceNext survey for Exponea. The fraction planning to increase CDP spending fell from 58% in January to a still-respectable 49% in June, dropping CDPs from first to second on the list. Traditional retailers are more interested in CDP than digital-first retailers. Lots more here, including a distressing decline in plans to invest in security and privacy.

I don’t know about your team, but people around here are bored enough that they’ve started scraping wax off the kitchen floor to see what color tile is underneath. If you’re looking for a marginally more productive activity, MartechTribe has released an interactive martech landscape that shows how often different products are used together. Hours of fun and it won’t hurt your knees.

Salesforce has agreed to buy Troops.ai, which helps sales teams use CRM data without actually opening their CRM system.  Modules include tools to update CRM records, send Slack notifications of changes in CRM data, and collaborate on deals using a hub within Slack.  Troops.ai will be part of Salesforce’s Slack division when the deal closes some time this summer.