Customer experience strategy as an enabler for growth in retail media business
Vartiainen, Suvi (2025)
2025
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Julkaisun pysyvä osoite on
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202505079719
https://urn.fi/URN:NBN:fi:amk-202505079719
Tiivistelmä
By focusing on customer experience and customer-centricity in their business model and operations, companies can gain competitive advantages, economic benefits, and grow quicker than the markets in general. In B2B, customer experience tends to receive less attention, even though it is argued to be even more important in B2B than it is in B2C businesses.
The retail media industry is growing rapidly, and the competition within this industry is expected to increase due to entry of new operators in the market. In a business environment where services and products are easily copied, customer experience is one of the few ways companies can differentiate themselves from their competitors. For this reason, it is something B2B companies should invest in.
The objectives of this study were to analyse customer experience management and development in the B2B and retail media industries, as well as to build a framework for forming a customer experience strategy. The study also examined the current state of the customer experience of retail media operator, challenges around it, and the possible changes in the expectations of their customers - companies and brands purchasing marketing spaces and visibility from operator’s marketing platforms.
A case study with mixed methods research was chosen as the approach. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used: semi-structured interviews for internal stakeholders and a structured survey conducted for a selected group of customers. The study utilised service design methodology in the form of a customer journey map, which was the cornerstone for data collection and was updated with the findings based on the study results.
Based on the interviews, the management and employees of the case company have a good understanding what constitutes an excellent customer experience in retail media context. Despite internal professionals being praised by the customers, common themes for development were identified through both the customer survey and internal interviews. The study results are coherent with the theoretical framework and prior reports and studies conducted around retail media and customer experience management in the B2B context.
The recommendation of this study includes the initial development items to be implemented to fix the most common challenges and wishes stated by the customers to enhance the customer experience. It also suggests an initial vision and strategy for customer experience, along with an initial plan to design and implement the customer experience strategy.
For the future studies and research, it would be valuable to gain more insights into customer experience in the context of retail media and B2B. Additionally, exploring the impact of experience economy on the retail media industry would be fascinating.
The retail media industry is growing rapidly, and the competition within this industry is expected to increase due to entry of new operators in the market. In a business environment where services and products are easily copied, customer experience is one of the few ways companies can differentiate themselves from their competitors. For this reason, it is something B2B companies should invest in.
The objectives of this study were to analyse customer experience management and development in the B2B and retail media industries, as well as to build a framework for forming a customer experience strategy. The study also examined the current state of the customer experience of retail media operator, challenges around it, and the possible changes in the expectations of their customers - companies and brands purchasing marketing spaces and visibility from operator’s marketing platforms.
A case study with mixed methods research was chosen as the approach. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used: semi-structured interviews for internal stakeholders and a structured survey conducted for a selected group of customers. The study utilised service design methodology in the form of a customer journey map, which was the cornerstone for data collection and was updated with the findings based on the study results.
Based on the interviews, the management and employees of the case company have a good understanding what constitutes an excellent customer experience in retail media context. Despite internal professionals being praised by the customers, common themes for development were identified through both the customer survey and internal interviews. The study results are coherent with the theoretical framework and prior reports and studies conducted around retail media and customer experience management in the B2B context.
The recommendation of this study includes the initial development items to be implemented to fix the most common challenges and wishes stated by the customers to enhance the customer experience. It also suggests an initial vision and strategy for customer experience, along with an initial plan to design and implement the customer experience strategy.
For the future studies and research, it would be valuable to gain more insights into customer experience in the context of retail media and B2B. Additionally, exploring the impact of experience economy on the retail media industry would be fascinating.