By Guest contributor |
Customer attention has become one of the scarcest and most valuable resources in today’s crowded digital landscape. Yet many traditional personalisation strategies continue to treat it as a commodity, something to be bought with impressions and clickbait, rather than the dynamic, cognitive resource it truly is. As a result, marketing leaders are facing mounting pressure to optimise one-to-one engagement and prove return on investment in a market defined by ever-shrinking attention span and fleeting loyalty.
Fractal’s recent study, MicroStimuli: Communication Revolution, paints a revealing picture of this new reality. While consumers use their smartphones for several hours each day, the vast majority of these interactions are ‘revolving door sessions’ that promote short bursts of attention, often under 10 seconds. Less than one per cent of digital interactions last longer than that. For marketers, this translates into significant business challenges: digital advertising spend is rising yet click-through rates are falling. Even when marketers successfully drive customers to a site, 73 per cent of online shopping baskets are abandoned. Of the purchases that are completed, 17 per cent are returned, a figure far higher than in physical retail stores.
Marketers today face a dual challenge; not only must they capture attention in an oversaturated digital world, but they must also deliver experiences that create lasting emotional resonance, especially with the non-conscious mind that drives much of human decision-making. This is where hyperpersonalisation becomes a game-changer.
Fractal is pioneering a new approach that integrates predictive analytics, generative AI and microstimuli through finely tuned, context-aware interactions designed to activate specific emotional and neural responses. Leveraging the Microsoft Azure OpenAI Service and supported by the broader Azure platform, Fractal’s Cogentiq, its agentic AI platform, enables retailers to craft custom messages tailored to individual consumers based on their purchasing behaviours and location. These microstimuli are tailored in real time to factors such as circadian rhythms, digital signals, and behavioural context. By engaging customers at their most receptive moments – through subtle cues like colour, tone and message framing – brands can create emotionally resonant experiences that foster trust, strengthen relationships and build lasting loyalty. This deeper connection translates into improved customer retention and stronger return on investment.
“Microsoft’s partnership with Fractal exemplifies our commitment to innovation and customer success in the retail industry,” says Kimberley McKinley, director of retail industry strategy at Microsoft. “By combining our strengths in AI and analytics, we deliver transformative solutions that empower our retail customers to achieve more.”
True hyperpersonalisation, however, goes beyond smart recommendations or targeted discounts. It requires retailers and e-commerce sites to adopt a holistic strategy that includes real-time data aggregation from multiple touchpoints, transparent governance, responsible AI and advanced measurement tools that track return on attention (ROA) through engagement duration, emotional sentiment and conversion outcomes.
Retailers are already beginning to see the benefits of this approach. Microstimuli can be used to trigger real-time discounts when a customer hesitates at checkout. Generative AI can co-create experiences, such as offering virtual try-ons or personalised product bundles. These are not just gimmicks; they are critical tools in capturing attention and driving conversion in a market where every second counts.
Hyperpersonalisation is not simply the next evolution in marketing. It represents a paradigm shift in how businesses connect with their audiences. By blending neuroscience, contextual intelligence and generative AI, organisations can maximise the ROA and build the kind of emotionally resonant experiences that lead to long-term loyalty.
Fractal’s Cogentiq Sales Assist is helping business-to-consumer marketers bring this vision to life through AI-powered hyper-personalisation and providing B2B sales teams with AI-driven account intelligence. The solution unifies and enriches customer profiles by aggregating behaviours, preferences, context and intent. This, in turn enables smarter decisions, deeper personalisation and improved customer retention.
In a world where attention is fleeting and competition is fierce, the brands that succeed will be those treating every interaction as an opportunity – not just to sell, but to connect with every customer.
Saurabh Srivastava is practice head of retail at Fractal
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