“Intent-led commerce isn’t about software or platforms. It’s a movement”
That was the rallying call from Chris Dunn, our Chief Operating Officer, at our inaugural “Intent-led Event” last night. We brought together some of the best and brightest minds from eCommerce and online retail, including leading retailers like M&S, John Lewis, IMD, Buyagift, Kingfisher, and AllSaints along with wider experts in the room for our first Intent-Led event.
At the event, our COO, Chris, talked about why. Twenty-three years ago, Chris was one of six people who got together for dinner on Brick Lane to discuss the (then) emerging field of Search Engine Optimisation (SEO). It was driven by everyone wanting to share knowledge and expertise with peers, and help define best practice around this new marketing discipline. Chris explained how this meet-up grew and grew into something which eventually became the biggest search marketing event in the world – BrightonSEO.
Chris shared his thoughts on the current level of excitement about Intent-led commerce:
“In every meeting we’re having with current and prospective clients, people are saying the same thing – the old way of doing eCommerce is changing. Technology is moving so quickly, and everything needs to be focused on customer intent. We wanted to create a community and a space for like-minded online retailers to share their common challenges, and talk about what they were doing to overcome them.”
One such expert at the event shared some insights into what they (one of the nation’s favourite retailers) are doing to go beyond merchandising products with simple banners or copy. This company is employing a raft of initiatives to focus more on customer intent. From curated journeys to partnerships, gaining inspiration for how customers are searching for products, and delivering more than just an improved “look and feel” for their eCommerce experience.
At the event that same expert explained that, “intent-led commerce is a different way of seeing things, and matches what we’re trying to do”. They noted that personalisation hasn’t fully blossomed as a technology or an approach, and intent-led commerce could be what delivers on its initial promise.
Another expert, who is thinking about how customer intent can be better harnessed within their organisation to drive better online experiences, more discoverable products, and, ultimately, greater revenues believes that in the mobile first, AI-empowered world, keywords can’t be the focus anymore. Customers can search by image, by voice, with long-form questions. In this world, it’s the user journey that counts, and the retailers who are successful are those who respond to this call for change. Needless to say, we couldn’t agree more.
Together this group of thought leaders discussed the perceived differences between online and offline retail, noting that online, people may just be browsing, without a fixed product or category in mind. And that’s fine. Websites should support browsing, in the same way that a retail store would, because it drives discovery and serendipity.
Given the success of our most recent event, we will be running these events more regularly in the future. If you’re interested in joining this community of intent-led commerce pioneers, please contact our agency partners to put you on the list for our next event. You can sign-up to receive our regular intent-led email here, and learn more about intent led commerce on the resources we’ve curated on our site.
