Industry-Specific Digital Business Transformation Playbooks: Retail, Financial Services, and Energy

In today’s rapidly evolving digital landscape, organizations across every sector face mounting pressure to innovate, modernize, and deliver exceptional experiences to their customers. At Publicis Sapient, we recognize that true digital business transformation is not a one-size-fits-all journey. Each industry faces unique challenges and opportunities, requiring tailored strategies and solutions. Our SPEED approach—Strategy, Product, Experience, Engineering, and Data & AI—forms the backbone of our industry-specific playbooks, ensuring measurable business outcomes for retail, financial services, and energy organizations.

Our SPEED philosophy is more than a framework; it’s a proven methodology for unlocking new sources of value. By integrating strategy, product innovation, customer experience, engineering excellence, and data-driven insights, we help clients not only adapt to change but lead it. This holistic approach is further amplified by our strategic partnerships with technology leaders such as Salesforce, AWS, Microsoft, Google, and Adobe, enabling us to deliver scalable, future-ready solutions.

Retailers today must navigate shifting consumer expectations, omnichannel complexity, and the relentless pace of digital innovation. Our retail playbook leverages SPEED to drive agility, efficiency, and growth:

• Strategy: We help retailers identify new value pools and develop data-driven strategies for international expansion, omnichannel engagement, and supply chain optimization.
• Product: Agile product development enables rapid rollout of new digital services, from e-commerce platforms to mobile apps and loyalty programs.
• Experience: We design seamless, personalized experiences across digital and physical channels, increasing conversion rates and customer loyalty.
• Engineering: Our engineering teams implement scalable, cloud-based architectures that support high-volume transactions and rapid innovation.
• Data & AI: Advanced analytics and AI power personalized recommendations, inventory optimization, and real-time insights.

Case in Point:

• A top global retailer rapidly scaled online delivery during the pandemic, handling over 1 million online orders and 1.2 million delivery slots in a single week. This agility drove $1B in annual revenue from general merchandising and $500M from international grocery e-commerce, with a 35% improvement in order-picking rates.
• A large retail tech powerhouse migrated to a cloud-based e-commerce platform, achieving a $30M lift in holiday sales, 50% reduction in development costs, and 35% faster page performance.

Partnerships in Action:

• Our collaboration with Adobe and Salesforce enables retailers to deliver omnichannel personalization and optimize marketing spend, while AWS and Google Cloud power scalable commerce and data platforms.

Financial institutions face disruption from fintechs, evolving regulations, and rising customer expectations for digital-first experiences. Our financial services playbook applies SPEED to help clients modernize, innovate, and build trust:

• Strategy: We guide banks and insurers in defining digital business models, launching new products, and entering new markets.
• Product: Agile delivery of digital banking, lending, and wealth management solutions accelerates time-to-market.
• Experience: We transform customer journeys, from onboarding to servicing, creating frictionless, secure, and personalized interactions.
• Engineering: Cloud migration and platform modernization reduce costs, increase resilience, and enable rapid scaling.
• Data & AI: Real-time analytics, AI-driven personalization, and robust data governance drive smarter decisions and regulatory compliance.

Case in Point:

• Nationwide Building Society launched Later Life Lending products for customers over 55, opening a new revenue stream and generating ~32,000 inquiries and 7,686 mortgage applications in the first 15 months.
• European DataWarehouse migrated to a cloud-based platform, achieving 10x faster processing speeds and 80% reusable architecture, supporting expansion into new jurisdictions.

Partnerships in Action:

• As a top-tier Salesforce partner, we deliver unified customer data platforms and AI-powered engagement. Our alliances with Microsoft and AWS enable secure, scalable cloud solutions, while Adobe supports personalized digital marketing.

The energy sector is undergoing profound transformation, driven by decarbonization, regulatory change, and the need for operational efficiency. Our energy playbook leverages SPEED to help clients lead the energy transition:

• Strategy: We help energy companies define digital roadmaps for sustainability, operational excellence, and new business models.
• Product: Digital platforms for supply chain, trading, and customer engagement enable rapid adaptation to market shifts.
• Experience: We design intuitive interfaces for both customers and employees, improving satisfaction and productivity.
• Engineering: Cloud migration and data platform modernization streamline operations and support real-time analytics.
• Data & AI: High-quality data and AI-driven insights enable emissions tracking, predictive maintenance, and energy efficiency.

Case in Point:

• A global energy corporation reduced its carbon footprint and achieved $200M+ in OpEx savings over five years by implementing a data-driven emissions and efficiency platform.
• Chevron migrated its supply chain data foundation to the cloud, delivering 45% faster query results and integrating 200+ data pipelines for 400+ users.

Partnerships in Action:

• Our work with AWS and Microsoft accelerates cloud adoption and AI innovation in energy, while Salesforce and Google Cloud support customer engagement and data monetization.

Our strategic alliances with leading technology providers are central to delivering tailored transformation. Whether it’s leveraging Salesforce for unified customer engagement, AWS for scalable cloud infrastructure, Microsoft for AI-driven business applications, Google for advanced analytics, or Adobe for personalized experiences, we co-create solutions that address the distinct needs of each industry. Explore More:

• Salesforce Partnership
• AWS Partnership
• Microsoft Partnership
• Google Partnership
• Adobe Partnership

With over 30 years of digital transformation experience, Publicis Sapient is uniquely positioned to help organizations in retail, financial services, and energy achieve and sustain competitive advantage. Our SPEED approach, deep industry expertise, and technology partnerships ensure that every transformation is grounded in measurable business outcomes and future-ready innovation.
Ready to unlock your industry’s digital potential? Connect with our experts to discover how our tailored playbooks can accelerate your transformation journey.

Relevant Links

• Digital Business Transformation Champions: Real-World Success Stories Across Industries
• Digital Business Transformation Champions: Real-World Success Stories Across Industries
• La Transformación Digital de Negocios en América Latina: Un Camino Hacia la Resiliencia y el Crecimiento (LATAM)
• Building a Data-Driven Insights Organization: From Siloed Data to Actionable Intelligence
• La transformation digitale des entreprises européennes : une nouvelle ère de compétitivité et d’innovation (Europe)
• La puissance des partenariats technologiques pour la transformation digitale en Europe (Europe)
• El Poder de las Alianzas Tecnológicas: Impulsando la Transformación Digital en América Latina (LATAM)
• El poder de la transformación digital en América Latina: Claves para el éxito en un entorno en constante cambio (LATAM)
• The Power of Partnerships: How Publicis Sapient and Leading Technology Providers Drive Transformation