Industry Deep Dive: Personalization at Scale in Consumer Products – From D2C to Hyper-Personalization

The New Era of Consumer Products: Beyond Digital Transformation

The consumer products industry is undergoing a profound transformation. No longer is it enough to simply have a digital presence or offer e-commerce capabilities. Today’s leading brands are moving beyond basic digital transformation to deliver hyper-personalized, direct-to-consumer (D2C) experiences that anticipate needs, foster loyalty, and drive measurable business outcomes. This shift is powered by the convergence of advanced technologies—AI, Customer Data Platforms (CDPs), and emerging digital channels such as voice, IoT, and shoppable TV—and enabled by strategic partnerships with platforms like Salesforce and consultancies like Publicis Sapient.

From D2C to Hyper-Personalization: The Industry Journey

The pandemic accelerated the adoption of digital channels, fundamentally changing how consumers discover, purchase, and interact with brands. As a result, consumer products companies have rapidly expanded their D2C initiatives, seeking to own the customer relationship, gather first-party data, and differentiate through unique experiences. But the journey doesn’t stop at D2C. The next frontier is hyper-personalization—delivering relevant, timely, and context-aware experiences at every touchpoint, for every individual.

Key Trends Shaping the Industry

Explosion of Digital Channels: Consumers now expect to engage with brands anytime, anywhere—across web, mobile, voice assistants, connected devices, and even shoppable TV. The proliferation of IoT and 5G is enabling commerce through smart appliances, wearables, and connected cars.
Rise of D2C and Subscription Models: Brands are investing in D2C programs to increase profitability, gain deeper shopper insights, and control the end-to-end brand experience. Subscription and social commerce models are growing, fostering long-term relationships and increasing customer lifetime value.
AI and CDP-Driven Personalization: The democratization of AI and the adoption of CDPs are empowering brands to unify data from multiple sources, generate actionable insights, and deliver hyper-personalized content, offers, and services in real time.
Shift from Products to Outcomes and Services: Leading brands are wrapping services around products—offering virtual consultations, online training, and IoT-enabled experiences—to deliver outcomes and value beyond the initial purchase.
Purpose and Community: Consumers increasingly expect brands to stand for something bigger. Purpose-driven brands are building communities and leveraging digital channels to foster direct, meaningful connections.

Challenges on the Path to Personalization at Scale

While the vision is compelling, the journey to hyper-personalization is not without obstacles:

Data Fragmentation: Many organizations struggle with siloed data across legacy systems, making it difficult to create a unified customer profile.
Channel Complexity: The explosion of digital touchpoints increases the complexity of orchestrating consistent, relevant experiences across channels.
Organizational Silos: Product- and channel-centric structures can lead to disjointed customer communications and missed opportunities for engagement.
Technology Integration: Integrating AI, CDPs, and new digital channels into existing technology stacks requires careful planning and expertise.
Privacy and Trust: As brands collect more data, maintaining transparency, security, and consumer trust is paramount.

Publicis Sapient’s Approach: Enabling Relevance at Scale

Publicis Sapient partners with consumer products companies to navigate these challenges and unlock the full potential of personalization at scale. Our approach is grounded in:

1. Unified Data and AI-Driven Insights

We help brands break down data silos and build a single source of truth for each customer using Salesforce Data Cloud and advanced CDP strategies. By leveraging AI and machine learning, we enable real-time segmentation, predictive analytics, and next-best-action recommendations that drive engagement and conversion.

2. Omnichannel Orchestration

Our teams design and implement seamless customer journeys across all digital and physical touchpoints—web, mobile, voice, IoT, and emerging channels like shoppable TV. We ensure that every interaction is contextually relevant, consistent, and personalized, regardless of where or how the customer engages.

3. Experience Transformation and Service Innovation

We help brands move beyond selling products to delivering outcomes and services. This includes developing new business models such as subscriptions, virtual consultations, and IoT-enabled experiences that add value and foster loyalty.

4. Organizational Excellence and Governance

Our Customer Engagement Transformation Office (CETO) framework brings cross-functional alignment, breaking down silos and ensuring that every initiative is tied to broader customer engagement and growth objectives. We embed AI-driven decision-making and automation to accelerate execution and maximize ROI.

5. Privacy, Trust, and Value Exchange

We guide brands in building transparent data practices, ensuring compliance with regulations, and creating a compelling value exchange that rewards customers for sharing their data with personalized experiences and offers.

Real-World Impact: Success Stories

L’Oréal: By leveraging Salesforce Commerce Cloud and agile delivery, L’Oréal launched over 60 D2C sites, reducing time-to-market for brand launches from months to weeks and boosting consumer engagement.
Asda: Delivered omnichannel personalization at scale, driving continuous optimization and global engagement using Salesforce.
Leading UK Supermarket: Built a new e-commerce platform and delivery model, enabling rapid digital growth and a frictionless, unified shopping experience.

The Road Ahead: Actionable Steps for Consumer Products Leaders

Assess Data and AI Readiness: Evaluate your current data landscape, technology stack, and organizational maturity. Identify gaps and opportunities for improvement.
Prioritize High-Impact Use Cases: Focus on initiatives that deliver measurable value—such as personalized marketing, dynamic pricing, and omnichannel service.
Invest in Unified Platforms: Adopt integrated solutions like Salesforce Data Cloud and AI-driven personalization tools to break down silos and enable real-time engagement.
Foster a Culture of Innovation: Empower cross-functional teams to experiment, learn, and iterate quickly, leveraging agile methodologies and continuous improvement.
Build Trust Through Transparency: Communicate clearly about data usage, prioritize privacy, and deliver tangible value in exchange for customer data.

Why Publicis Sapient and Salesforce?

With deep industry expertise, proven frameworks, and a track record of delivering measurable results, Publicis Sapient and Salesforce are uniquely positioned to help consumer products companies thrive in the era of hyper-personalization. Together, we enable brands to move beyond digital transformation—delivering relevance at scale, building lasting customer relationships, and unlocking new sources of growth.

Ready to transform your consumer products business? Connect with Publicis Sapient to discover how you can deliver hyper-personalized, outcome-driven experiences that set your brand apart.