Salesforce Acquires PredictSpring: Boosting Retail Digital Experiences
San Francisco, CA – A move that formally cements Salesforce's intentions to change the face of retail, Salesforce today said it has acquired PredictSpring, the leading provider of mobile and web-based retail solutions. The news is an important step in Salesforce's efforts to combine physical and digital retail experiences so businesses can create seamless omnichannel strategies to engage with customers everywhere.
At the last Dreamforce keynoted, Salesforce CEO Mark Benioff presents the innovative capabilities that PredictSpring brings to the table with a prime example in showing how the company designed its advanced cash register systems to be able to unite shopping experiences across every touchpoint. "With PredictSpring, we are transforming the way consumers interact with retail brands, making the in-store experience as dynamic and integrated as online shopping," said Benioff.
Improving Experience at Retail
With PredictSpring as part of the force of Salesforce, retailers could then leverage the proper use of real-time data and AI-driven insights to better serve customer interactions. Its technology is meant to enable personalized shopping experiences, based on preferences, online or in-store. Combining these two spheres affords retailers the assurance that messaging and product availability correlate well, hence affecting sales and customer satisfaction.
The new, integrated cash registers showcased at the Dreamforce are quite an important feature of this purchase. Such sophisticated systems not only make checks easier but also provide for real-time inventory management and gathering of information pertaining to the customers. This allows retailers to understand buyer behavior and make possible manipulations in strategies based on the best sales trends.
Importance for Omnichannel Retailing
Salesforce has decided to absorb the solutions from PredictSpring into its products. It is a prudent move since the entire retail scenario is being upgraded with the expectation of seamless shopping by consumers. This is a period when physical stores and online platforms must go hand in hand. Salesforce can be considered one of the pioneers in omnichannel retailing.
Such innovations have much promise to transform traditional retail operations. One can envision store associates with immediate access at their fingertips to rich customer profiles and purchase histories; they are then well-equipped to deliver personalized services that closely match the best online experiences. "We are merging the digital and physical worlds to create an environment where customers feel valued and understood," Benioff said, referring to a sense of humanity in retail.
Implications for Retailers
Acquiring PredictSpring for retailers will be an investment in the future of customer experience. The adoption of technology in these personal interactions will be very integral as it releases retailers into the new horizon of changing expectations of consumers. The retail chain will be able to target marketing thus influencing foot traffic within stores, enhancing revenue.
This acquisition also makes Salesforce well-positioned in terms of competitors in the retail technology space. Given that Salesforce's suite comprehensively addresses the needs of both digital and physical environments, it is well positioned to attract a large number of retail clients looking to improve the operational capabilities of their business.
In a nutshell
The impact of PredictSpring's solution integration within the Salesforce ecosystem is very significant for the retail industry. Retailers will be enabled with capabilities that will make them better at customer engagement and more efficient at operations in light of this new shopping experience era.
At a time when technology is fast becoming a reality, the purchase of PredictSpring comes to prove that Salesforce's innovation is matched only by its understanding of retailers' new needs. As Benioff puts it, that is simply "the beginning of a new chapter in retail, where every interaction matters."
When businesses begin to embrace these new technologies, retail space will surely be transformed into more integrated and personalized ones. The future of retail will then take on a much more dynamic pattern with Salesforce at the helm.
