Five Retail Transformation Strategies to Improve the Customer Journey

Introduction 

Digital transformation in the retail industry is not easy. That’s because the customer journey has changed. It’s no longer linear, and it’s no longer just physical or digital – it’s both, and it spans multiple channels. As consumers jump between mobile, web, store, and service channels, leading retailers are reimagining their journeys to be seamless, personalized, and engaging.

As a result, retail transformation has become mission critical because it’s well known that a positive customer experience (CX) directly impacts the bottom line. Research and advisory firm Forrester noted the benefits of prioritizing CX and found that companies doing it successfully achieve 41% faster revenue growth, 49% faster profit growth, and 51% better retention. In contrast, a PWC study found that customers in the U.S. will walk away, even from brands they love, after just one bad experience. The study found 59% will change their buying preferences after several bad experiences and 17% will move on after just one. 

Not surprisingly, companies around the world, and especially in the retail sector, are spending heavily on retail transformation and CX to gain a competitive advantage. Grand View Research estimated the global customer experience management market size  at over $12 billion in 2023 and expects it to grow at a significant CAGR of 15.8% from 2024 to 2030. Obviously, businesses are spending heavily on retail transformation and data-driven customer engagement, but are they succeeding? 

According to Forrester’s US Customer Experience Index (CX Index™) rankings, released in June 2024, CX quality among brands in the US sits at an all-time low after declining for an unprecedented third year in a row. Clearly, there’s a major disconnect. So how can retailers get back on track in delivering the seamless, engaging journey their customers desire?  

Five Strategies for Retail Transformation 

At GlobalLogic, we’ve observed from client engagements with top performing retailers that the most successful companies treat the customer journey as a dynamic, evolving ecosystem. Here are five retail transformation strategies these organizations have in common that your business can also leverage to build loyalty, retention and ultimately, sales: 

1. Focus on the Customer Journey, Not Channel-Centric Campaigns 

Retailers who lead in customer experience don’t start with isolated touchpoints. They map end-to-end journeys based on customer intent and context, designing frictionless transitions between channels.

This approach helps ensure that discovery on mobile can translate into personalized offers in-store, and post-purchase feedback can flow back into CRM strategies. The shift from channel-centric to journey-centric planning helps brands act with more empathy and clarity.

RFID-based inventory tracking to mobile POS and AR try-ons, digitally augmenting physical experiences helps bridge online-offline behavior. Leading brands empower associates with mobile tools to personalize service and drive assisted sales.

2. Build Modular and Flexible Digital Experiences 

Rather than redesigning platforms wholesale, modern retailers are building modular systems using APIs, micro frontends, headless commerce and cloud optimization. GlobalLogic VelocityAI will speed the development and deployment of AI native solutions and AI powered products.

This flexibility allows for rapid experimentation, localized adjustments, and the layering of new functionality without disrupting core infrastructure. The outcome: innovation happens faster, and the customer experience improves incrementally but meaningfully.

Personalized Search and recommendations, predictive inventory or demand forecasting etc are key challenges which we are trying to solve using AI. For example, retailers are using AI-powered recommendation engines that adapt in real time based on browsing behavior, location, and even weather- boosting both basket size and satisfaction.

3. Unify Data and Context Across All Touchpoints 

Context is the backbone of relevance. Leading retailers break down data silos and unify behavioral, transactional, and third-party data to inform customer engagement.

With clean, connected data, product recommendations reflect true preferences, loyalty programs respond to actual behavior, and support agents have a 360° view of the customer. This not only builds trust but increases lifetime value. 

Read how GlobalLogic helped Affinitiv unlock deeper consumer insights that increased engagement and conversion rates through cloud optimization and data consolidation. 

4. Activate Experience Through Cross-Functional Collaboration 

Customer experience is no longer just marketing’s job. Design, product, engineering, and data science must align to deliver frictionless journeys.

Retailers who invest in experience pods, agile squads, or cross-functional journey teams see better coordination between backend systems and frontend moments. This orchestration enables faster response to customer pain points and better integration between platforms and teams.

5. Measure What Matters

By closing the loop with smart analytics, customer journey improvement doesn’t stop at implementation  –  it requires constant optimization. Retailers leading the pack embed measurement frameworks into each stage of the journey.

They track KPIs like time-to-conversion, return rates by journey path, NPS by channel, or repeat visits driven by post-purchase communication. Using integrated analytics platforms, they generate actionable insights that feed directly into roadmap planning, experimentation, and iteration.

Measurement also includes direct customer feedback- through surveys, reviews, and social media insights – which inform what matters most to your customers.

Conclusion 

Improving the customer journey through retail transformation is not a one-time project. It’s an ongoing capability that leading retailers build and continuously evolve. By adopting journey-first thinking, modular architectures, unified data, cross-functional teams, and smart measurement, retailers can deliver meaningful experiences that create a competitive advantage and build differentiation.

Are you ready to reimagine your customer journey? GlobalLogic offers a wide range of retail solutions to help organizations bring these retail transformation strategies to life. GlobalLogic offers you the right blend of experience design, data insight, and engineering to accelerate your transformation. Let’s build the future of retail – together.