Deloitte Digital has acquired customer experience consultancy MashUp, which specialises in the convergence of digital and physical channels.
“It is all about creating a smart physical environment for the consumer, who is increasingly expecting a seamless physical and digital experience,” said Frank Farrall, managing partner Deloitte Digital.
“Our clients are experimenting with the Internet of Things where instore sensors communicate with the consumer’s apps to provide unique and convenient engagements. MashUp’s capability brings the vital perspective of how the physical environment will need to adapt to this multi-dimensional landscape.
“MashUp has incredible skills in designing physical environments and improving the way a customer engages within the retail, financial and health industries and I am delighted Robbie Robertson and his team have decided to join Deloitte,” said Farrall.
Robbie Robertson, owner and founder of MashUp, will become a Deloitte partner and his team of 10 design professionals will join Deloitte.
“MashUp develops, builds and executes customer experience strategies that fuse digital and physical channels and create purpose-led brand engagements impacting the bottom-line. Collaborating with Deloitte Digital will give us the opportunity to provide more innovative and holistic customer engagement across a range of spaces for our clients,” Robertson said.
“It puts design thinking at the top table, ensuring integrated customer experience becomes a C-suite conversation. Merging our practices sets a global precedent that gives design a leading role in business strategy.”
Karen Spear, GM of MashUp, said shopper marketing and retail experience is undergoing an intense transformation in Australia, led by digital innovation.
“Brands are getting more savvy about integrating digital into instore experiences and creating relevance around customer touchpoints to increase engagement, loyalty and ‘share of wallet’. We have always been focused on fusing offline and online retail experiences and this partnership will help us extend our value to broader audiences,” she said.
A recent report from Deloitte found that digital interactions influenced 40 per cent of instore retail visits in Australia in 2014.
“This has enormous implications for retailers,” Katherine Milesi, Deloitte digital practice leader in NSW. “They must now analyse and understand these new customer journeys so they can provide the right information and service levels at the right time. Understanding the physical and digital dimensions of the customer journey is vital to this.
“Historically, local retailers have not gone online as quickly as in other markets,” said Milesi. “That is fast changing. Digital is becoming an integral part of the in-store shopping experience. Australian retailers need to understand how to harness its influence to increase conversion rates and order sizes.”
