AI-Driven Customer Data Platforms Essential in Retail and Ecommerce

Customer data platforms are becoming an essential part of retail and ecommerce, driving insights into customer preferences and purchasing patterns. A new report from Juniper Research (News - Alert) forecasts customer data platform providers are set to generate $6 billion globally by 2027, a leap of 250 percent from the the $1.7 billion they are expected to generate in 2022.

According to Juniper, the introduction of AI-based services will be an important factor in unifying multiple data sources on a single platform. This will result in a reduction of siloed data while providing centralized enterprise access to customer data. 

The study found that customer data platforms are increasingly being used to provide insights into customer preferences. Data on transactions is collected and extrapolated to provide insights, along with customer browsing history and additional online information. Once customer data platforms increase third-party integrations, such as with relationship management platforms, enterprises will be able to gain even greater access to user data.

The report also emphasizes the ability of customer data platforms to merge different data sources by using AI. Juniper believes this integration will be critical for unlocking more granular insights about customer behavior. These may be used as the basis for highly targeted marketing campaigns, as well as to facilitate greater personalization and increase overall returns on advertising spending.

“The breadth of high-value services supported by Oracle’s (News - Alert) Unity CDP, including real-time management of data, ability to unify data sources and predictive analytics, are key to differentiating the platform from its competition," said Charles Bowman, co-author of the report. "As a result, we expect Oracle’s Unity CDP to be in high demand for personalization services.”

The report names Oracle, Salesforce and Tealium as the top three customer data platforms in terms of product offerings, partners and innovation. It goes on to forecast that retail and ecommerce will comprise 35 percent of global customer data platform revenue this year, with online competition driving enterprise requirements for in-depth customer insights.

Juniper also encourages customer data platform providers to develop new services specifically catering to online retailers as well as to create more efficient personalization services.

Edited by Erik Linask