Happy New Year, Dear Reader. The News Gods are still out but we always have surveys. This one from Dynamic Yield assesses personalization maturity across eight dimensions and three geographic regions. Technology lags culture and leadership but there’s progress: 31% say they can now personalize most digital interactions, up from just 10% the year before.
The fact that one-third of the records (equivalent to more than 3x the population of the UK!) were not in the system has resulted in cyber-security experts recommending individuals check their passwords against the site.
Drilling into retail, Newstore’s secret shopper research into 250 top brands found capabilities have increased dramatically in the past year: for example, 53% now offer buy online pick-up in-store (BORIS) options, up from 25% two years ago. In-store experience may have suffered as investments shift elsewhere: just 48% give mobile devices to in-store staff, down from 68% two years ago.
CDP and marketing cloud vendor Zeta Global announced an agreement to purchase LiveIntent, which helps companies do email-based advertising. The deal will let Zeta expand its identity graph, enter the publisher monetization business, and accelerate its mobile and retail media products. Zeta will pay $77.5 million in cash and $172.5 million in common stock, with potential for additional payments based on performance.