We’ve worked with commerce brands across industries for many years to create flawless shopping experiences that fuel their business growth. But in the fast-paced world of commerce, buyer behaviors are continually shifting and modern brands need to be smarter and faster to stay ahead.
In an era driven by AI, data, personalisation, ecommerce, retail media and marketplaces, we’re well-positioned to help brands and retailers connect the dots of the modern commerce journey and drive growth thanks to our unique 50/50 tech and marketing capabilities. Our DEPT®/COMMERCE practice has grown steadily in recent years and is responsible for 50% of our total revenue.
And now the rest of the industry is taking notice.
We are thrilled to share that DEPT® is included in The Forrester Wave™: Commerce Services, Q2 2024 for the first time.
The report analyses the 10 most significant commerce services providers, including DEPT®, which Forrester defines as “providers with the expertise, assets, and alliances to help companies craft end-to-end commerce strategies and implement and operate total commerce experiences.” (source: The Commerce Services Landscape, Q3 2023, Forrester) Forrester describes the total commerce experience as “an engagement strategy that aligns channels, content, and moments to deliver what customers need along any path they take to purchase and ownership.” (source: The Total Commerce Experience, May 2023)
According to Forrester, the commerce service providers, particularly agencies and consultancies with a full set of marketing and commerce capabilities – with experience in their industry, category, and markets – in the report can help companies:
- Implement and operate flexible commerce backbones
- Thrive on—or build—marketplaces
- Sell through—or build and operate— retail media networks
- Use generative AI to personalise content and engagement at scale
Dimi Albers, Global CEO at DEPT® said: “Forrester’s recognition that we are one of the 10 top commerce services providers in their evaluation is huge. We’ve been evaluated alongside older and sometimes 10x bigger companies, yet our client case studies have risen to the top. We’re a solid contender that is well-positioned to help brands and retailers pioneer the future of shopping driven by technology, creativity, data, AI, and retail media. We have only scratched the surface of what is possible.”
Evaluation summary
Forrester evaluated 10 vendors across 24 criteria grouped into three main categories: current offering, strategy, and market presence. DEPT® received the highest possible score in the case studies criterion thanks to our work with clients like KFC, JOANN and eBay:
We initiated an omnichannel digital transformation for KFC and constructed a holistic ecommerce platform to optimise the customer journey. With personalised menus, contextualised upsells, mobile ordering, post-order tracking, seasonal campaigns, and a best-in-class CRM, we simplified KFC orders amidst fierce competition from food delivery apps. The platform now drives $10B in digital revenue, with sales soaring by 5,800% in 5 years.
We devised a multi-year roadmap for brand and digital ecosystem enhancements for JOANN, ensuring self-sustainability. The accrued revenue financed subsequent initiatives, spurring traffic and conversions. Our efforts led to a substantial $20 million revenue growth in 6 months, a 25% increase in conversion rates, and over $2 million in annual digital spend reduction.
For a decade, we’ve spearheaded eBay’s digital transformation via marketing, data and AI, social media, and creative endeavours. Engaging with their 170 million daily customers, our work traverses seven business units, bolstering AI and data science practices and serving as lead creative agency across the UK, Germany, and the US. Leveraging proprietary tech, we streamlined campaigns, slashing rollout times by 90% and boosting campaign effectiveness by 75%, culminating in a $3 billion revenue surge.
We also scored among the second highest in the following criteria within the Current Offerings category: commerce strategy, online retail and marketplaces, social commerce, in-store services, CRM services, technology services, content, order management, and managed services. We also scored among the second highest in the following criteria within in the Strategy section category: vision, partner ecosystem, pricing flexibility and transparency, talent strategy, and global delivery strategy.
In its vendor profile in the report, Forrester states “DEPT® offers a well-integrated set of commerce services…” and “executes with tight talent integration between its digital marketing and technology teams.” The Forrester report also states “Among the providers we evaluated, DEPT® has strong capabilities in many elements of total commerce experience…” The report also states that reference customers appreciate DEPT®’s collaborative approach.
Shaping the future of commerce
While we are a newcomer to the Forrester Wave, we’ve been helping shape the future of commerce for the last 20 years across fashion and lifestyle, retail, consumer goods, automotive, and B2B. We’ve grown significantly in the past five years, and our commerce practice has expanded around the world. We’re not slowing down anytime soon.
The Forrester report states “DEPT® has aggressive plans to expand deeper into retail media through future acquisitions in a bid to displace a larger holding company with its digital marketing/commerce/technology portfolio. Compared with others evaluated, DEPT® executes with tight talent integration between its digital marketing and technology teams and is adding more analytics and AI capabilities to improve its insights and execution game.”
We can help your brand create holistic customer journeys and world-class experiences, fuelled by robust marketing strategies that embrace new behaviours, technology, and data.
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Head of Marketing US
