156 VIEWPOINT Retailers can boost customer loyalty, trust and return on attention by using microstimuli and AI-powered hyperpersonalisation SAURABH SRIVASTAVA: FRACTAL Scroll-stopping retail 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 clickthrough 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. 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, NOTE FROM MICROSOFT “Microsoft’s partnership with Fractal exemplifies our commitment to innovation and customer success in the retail industry. By combining our strengths in AI and analytics, we deliver transformative solutions that empower our retail customers to achieve more.” Kimberley McKinley Director, Retail Industry Strategist, Microsoft
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