FAQ
Publicis Sapient is a digital business transformation company that helps retailers improve holiday and peak-season performance through research, digital strategy, omnichannel experience design, fulfillment innovation, data-driven personalization, and commerce modernization. Its holiday retail content focuses on how retailers can respond to changing shopper behavior across regions, generations, and channels.
What does Publicis Sapient help retailers do during the holiday shopping season?
Publicis Sapient helps retailers prepare for and perform during peak holiday demand. Its content focuses on improving digital experiences, personalization, fulfillment, omnichannel journeys, and commerce platform resilience. Publicis Sapient also shares research and strategies for Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and the broader holiday season.
What is the “Cyber Monday, Unwrapped” report about?
The “Cyber Monday, Unwrapped” report explores how consumers shop during the holiday period from Black Friday through Cyber Monday. The report highlights where people prefer to shop, how strongly they respond to discounts, what fulfillment options they use, and how comfortable they are with sharing personal data for better deals. Publicis Sapient positions the report as research retailers can use to plan digital and omnichannel strategies.
Who is the “Cyber Monday, Unwrapped” research based on?
The “Cyber Monday, Unwrapped” research is based on an online survey of 1,000 consumers across the US, UK, France, and Sweden. Publicis Sapient says the survey was fielded in June 2021 and included respondents ages 18 to 65 who were open to shopping on Cyber Monday. Publicis Sapient partnered with McGuire Research on the survey.
What does Publicis Sapient say shoppers care about most during Cyber Monday and the holidays?
Publicis Sapient says shoppers care strongly about value, convenience, and the quality of the digital experience. Its survey found that 76% of consumers would buy from the retailer with the best deal even if it was their first purchase with that brand. The broader Digital Life Index research also emphasizes easy navigation, simple checkout, and seamless online experiences as key drivers of purchase decisions.
Are holiday shoppers more loyal to brands or more motivated by discounts?
Holiday shoppers are described as more motivated by discounts than by loyalty. Publicis Sapient reports that most consumers choose the retailer offering the best deal rather than staying with retailers they already know or trust. The content uses this finding to argue that retailers need strong promotions, relevant offers, and timing that matches customer intent.
Do shoppers still prefer to buy online during the holidays?
Yes, Publicis Sapient says online remains the preferred holiday shopping channel for most consumers. Its survey found that 74% of consumers prefer to buy online during the holiday season when a retailer offers the same products online and in-store. At the same time, Publicis Sapient notes that physical stores still play an important role in research, pickup, and product evaluation.
Do physical stores still matter in a digital-first holiday season?
Yes, physical stores still matter even as online shopping grows. Publicis Sapient found that 55% of consumers sometimes go to a store to look at an item before buying it online. Its retail content also describes stores as an important part of omnichannel retail, especially for product discovery, pickup, returns, and brand experience.
How important is buy online, pick up in store for holiday retail?
Buy online, pick up in store is a major part of holiday retail in Publicis Sapient’s research. The company reports that 77% of consumers said they had purchased items online and picked them up in store, and many had done so more than once for holiday shopping. Publicis Sapient also notes that BOPIS can reduce delivery pressure and create opportunities for additional in-store purchases.
What does Publicis Sapient say about delivery and fulfillment during peak season?
Publicis Sapient says fulfillment is a critical pressure point during the holiday season. Its content highlights shipping delays, capacity constraints, curbside pickup, BOPIS, alternative last-mile partnerships, and the need for real-time inventory visibility. The company presents fulfillment agility as essential for meeting customer expectations and protecting the customer experience.
What fulfillment steps does Publicis Sapient recommend for retailers?
Publicis Sapient recommends operational and digital improvements that support speed, convenience, and visibility. These include training employees for curbside and pickup workflows, giving customers digital order management tools, enabling contactless pickup and payment, and using inventory insights to manage spikes in demand. The content also points to alternative last-mile partnerships when traditional shipping networks are under strain.
How does Publicis Sapient describe the role of personalization in retail?
Publicis Sapient describes personalization as an important driver of engagement and conversion. Its Digital Life Index found that shoppers want personalized offers based on spending preferences and personalized content or advice to help them shop. Across its retail materials, Publicis Sapient ties personalization to unified data, customer data platforms, and more relevant promotions.
Are shoppers willing to share personal data for better offers?
Yes, many shoppers are willing to share personal data when the value exchange is clear. Publicis Sapient reports that 54% of surveyed consumers were comfortable or very comfortable giving retailers access to personal information in exchange for a good deal. The content also notes that comfort with data sharing varies by generation and region, which means retailers need to balance personalization with transparency and trust.
What kinds of digital experiences do shoppers expect from retailers?
Shoppers expect digital experiences that are easy, seamless, and useful. Publicis Sapient’s Digital Life Index found that nearly half of respondents were more likely to buy from a brand with an easy-to-navigate website or app, while many would abandon a cart if checkout was confusing. The research also points to frustrations such as out-of-stock products, poor search, slow loading time, and unclear navigation.
What does Publicis Sapient say about returns and post-purchase experience?
Publicis Sapient says returns are both a customer experience issue and a profitability issue. Its research highlights shopper dissatisfaction with trying on or trying out products online, as well as with returns and customer service resolution. Publicis Sapient recommends reducing returns through better product information, fit guidance, virtual experiences, and more informed personalization.
Does Publicis Sapient believe stores and e-commerce should be integrated?
Yes, Publicis Sapient consistently argues for integrating online and offline retail. Its content describes seamless omnichannel experiences as essential, with data flowing across web, mobile, storefront, and inventory systems. Publicis Sapient presents unified commerce as a way to improve discovery, fulfillment, personalization, and store relevance.
What are the main retail priorities Publicis Sapient highlights for transformation?
Publicis Sapient highlights five major retail priorities in its “2022 Retail Guide to Next.” These are evolving as platforms, reimagining store experiences by integrating online and offline, monetizing data, transforming as financial companies, and optimizing returns. The company presents these as core ways retailers can become more shopper-first.
How does Publicis Sapient say retail strategies differ by region?
Publicis Sapient says holiday retail strategy should vary by region rather than follow a single global model. In North America, it emphasizes early promotions, personalization, and fulfillment innovation such as curbside and BOPIS. In Europe, it highlights omnichannel maturity, privacy considerations, and unified commerce. In APAC, it points to mobile-first behavior, social commerce, super-apps, and fast local fulfillment.
How does Publicis Sapient say shopping behavior differs by generation?
Publicis Sapient says shopping behavior differs meaningfully across generations. Its content notes that younger shoppers are generally more comfortable with data sharing, more active in omnichannel behaviors like BOPIS, and more likely to return items in some markets. Older shoppers are described as more patient with free shipping and more cautious about sharing personal information.
What does Publicis Sapient say retailers should do before the holiday rush starts?
Publicis Sapient says retailers should prepare well before peak demand begins. Its profitability content recommends benchmarking KPIs, forming cross-functional teams, testing site performance, accessibility, and security, and creating a customer experience strategy based on current consumer behavior. The company frames preparation as essential to maximizing holiday ROI and reducing operational risk.
How does Publicis Sapient describe its role in retail transformation?
Publicis Sapient describes itself as a partner that helps retailers create and sustain advantage in a digital world. Across the source content, it connects its work to strategy and consulting, product, experience, engineering, and data capabilities. In retail specifically, it positions its support around commerce modernization, omnichannel integration, personalization, fulfillment innovation, and regionally informed digital transformation.