Future of Retail

Retailers are not currently facing a retail ‘apocalypse,’

but the industry is certainly facing a rapid evolution.

Changing consumer behavior and disruptive

technologies are forcing retailers to rapidly adjust,

from how they acquire customers to how they think

about in-store experiences.

How will you reinvent the retail customer experience

amidst the changing landscape?

2

Contents

3. Omni-Channel Experience

4. Storefront Transformation

11

14

2. Single View of the Customer 7

4

Introduction 3

Conclusion 17

Sources 20

1. Mobile Investment

3

The U.S. economy is strong and consumer spending is up,

but many traditional brick-and-mortar stores continue

to shut their doors. The velocity of change, abetted by

disruptive omni-channel retailers such as Amazon, has had

dire financial impacts on retail stocks, leaving many unable

to service crushing debt loads and forcing bankruptcy

and store closures at unprecedented rates. Long-standing

retailers such as Toys R Us, Sears, and Sam’s Club had well

documented store closures in the past 18 months. Toys R

Us was even driven to liquidation and bankruptcy. This is a

do-or-die moment for legacy retailers. There will be winners

who grab their shares of the growing ecommerce pie, but

those retailers who do not double down on their unique

value propositions will certainly struggle. 1

So is retail dead? Actually, no! For each company closing

stores, 2.7 are opening stores. 2 According to a study for

the National Retail Foundation, retail is the largest private

employer in the United States. Retail directly and indirectly

supports 42 million jobs, provides $1.6 trillion in labor

income and contributes $2.6 trillion annually to U.S. GDP. 3

Introduction

A retail ‘apocalypse’ is not currently underway, but a rapid

evolution of the retail industry is happening. Changing

consumer behavior and disruptive technologies are forcing

retailers to rapidly adjust, from how they acquire customers

to how they think about in-store experiences. Consider

these statistics: 2

• 16% ecommerce online growth in the U.S. in 2017

• 56% of executives expect store formats to evolve

into fulfillment centers by 2020

• 80% of retail shoppers visit stores as frequently or

more frequently than last year

Several legacy retailers are surviving—and thriving—in the

current environment through retail reinvention. Stores

like Target, The Home Depot, and Sephora are successfully

navigating the changing landscape and experiencing

phenomenal results. Let’s explore four key ways retailers

are staying ahead of the pack to enhance the customer

experience and drive an increase in sales.

Investing in a strong

mobile strategy is meeting

your customers where

they are at. 41% of all

traffic comes from mobile

devices.

Data silos prevent retailers

from fully leveraging their

customer data. Creating a

360° view of the customer

includes purchase data as

well as lifestyle data points.

Customers look at a brand

holistically. They don’t

separate channels so

neither should retailers. All

channels should create a

seamless experience.

The storefront is not dead,

it is just transforming.

Retailers should change

the way they leverage their

storefronts to enhance the

overall brand experience.

1. MOBILE

INVESTMENT

2. SINGLE VIEW OF

THE CUSTOMER

3. OMNI-CHANNEL

EXPERIENCE

4. STOREFRONT

TRANSFORMATION

4

The importance of mobile can be summed up by this

one simple statement: It’s where your customers are. Ten to 15 years ago, it was unusual to see a customer

at a store staring at their phone while browsing

merchandise; today, it’s a common occurrence. As

of the third quarter of 2018, over 42% of all web

traffic in the U.S. originated from mobile devices. 4

Meanwhile, reports from comScore assert that users

spend a majority of their media consumption time on

smartphones (69% of media time and 80% of social

networking time). 5

With an ever-growing percentage of all U.S. retail

sales shifting to online, brick-and-mortar retailers

are facing stiff competition from online-only retailers

that can more precisely market to their target

audiences and offer lower prices due to the lack

of overhead from physical stores. For traditional

retailers, a well thought out mobile strategy can be

a great competitive differentiator. While the overall

1. Mobile Investment

Mobile channels continue to overtake older media forms in usage and impact 6

Note: ages 18+; time spent with each medium includes all time spent

with that medium, regardless of multitasking; for example, 1 hour of

multitasking on a mobile device while watching TV is counted as 1 hour

for TV and 1 hour for mobile device

Source: eMarketer, April 20

Average Time Spent per Day with TV and Mobile Devices

by US Adults, 2013-2020

TV Mobile Devices

minutes

2013

270

260

250245

238230

222 219

229223

215

203

188

170

153

132

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

5

sales and conversion rates on mobile devices are low when

compared to traditional channels, mobile technologies can

enable more significant customer interactions and allow

retailers to capitalize on opportunities that can’t be easily

replicated by traditional digital channels.

Consider the following scenarios and how they allow for

new and innovative interactions that facilitate customer

engagement and loyalty:

• An app that uses innovative user interfaces to

streamline the purchase process and recommend

products: The North Face app provides a Watson-

driven question and answer session to help customers

select the right products for them from a massive

catalog of material, weight, and style options.

• An app that offers flexible options for earning and

redeeming loyalty rewards: Buffalo Wild Wings’

mobile app lets users earn points from ordering

at the restaurant or purchasing partner products

and lets them redeem any menu item, rather than

receive a limited number of redemption options.

• A mobile experience that lets users set their

favorite store, browse for desired products and

check availability: The Target app expands on this

by showing a map of the store and highlighting

where to find specific merchandise.

Leading Examples 7

Nebraska Furniture Mart’s app directs customers to

products in-store and empowers store associates with

point-of-sale capabilities

Lily Pulitzer’s mobile website delivers an app-like

experience without requiring a download from the app

store, improving mobile revenue by 33% in 2017

6

Key Challenges

Implementing engaging mobile-oriented experiences is

easier said than done. Developing a mobile strategy will

likely mean overcoming widely experienced challenges

and hurdles.

• Legacy IT systems slow down progress. Companies

that previously invested big in complex, closed-source,

technical landscapes still need to support these

legacy systems, which can be costly. Furthermore,

these systems often don’t support flexibility or

easy integration with more modern solutions. This

challenge can be overcome, but often requires

expanding budgets and project timelines to account

for technical debt.

• Dispersed technology ecosystems coupled with small

IT departments often result in a small IT budget,

which complicates some of the choices to be made

when creating a mobile strategy. Departments of

this size must work within budget, resource, and skill

constraints that other competitors may not face when

looking to make strides in the mobile game. Even large

companies may unintentionally constrain their IT

departments by treating them as cost centers or by

incentivizing them to just ‘keep the lights on’ instead

of supporting innovation and growth.

• A slow pace of innovation can also stifle mobile

growth. Innovation and changes in mobile

technologies are introduced and adopted quicker

than most other technologies. Users expect brands to

release new features the moment they are announced

by a competitor or another company in an adjacent

industry, which can make it hard to maintain focus on

the most critical features.

• Post-release management drives a company’s

ability to learn from users’ feedback. Unlike web and

ecommerce platforms, mobile apps are controlled by

users, so any update and bug fixes are not guaranteed

to be adopted right away unless an update is

mandated. Mobile app users are vocal, so addressing

negative reviews, ratings, and comments is important

to maintain a growing user base.

Recommendations

Despite these challenges, mobile should remain a

priority for retailers looking to deliver a better shopping

experience. Consider the following recommendations

when building mobile strategy:

1. Blend digital experience with in-store: Focus

on translating to digital any experience or service

available to users in-store. Features like Warby

Parker’s virtual try-on replicates an experience that

would previously require a store visit.

2. Envision a digital-only experience: Customers

expect mobile technology to be faster and simpler

than legacy interactions; how can mobile enhance or

replace existing service models?

3. Build funnels, not hurdles: Mobile should enrich

each step of the customer journey—websites are

great for acquisition, while apps are often preferred

by the most loyal customers. For instance, the mobile

app Credera developed for Chili’s Bar & Grill focuses

on their customer loyalty program.

4. Personalize the experience: Reinforce the customer

relationship by using what’s already known about

them in delightful ways. For instance, offering deals

based on browsing history or personal style makes

digital interactions more relevant to their customers.

5. Use data to iterate: Have a plan to capture and

act upon how customers use mobile technology to

interact with a brand, and use lessons learned to guide

future investment. For one of our retail clients, we

constantly review interaction data to tweak the user

interface of core features and optimize conversions.

7

Most retailers realize they are competing on

customer experience, not just product and price. As a

result, they are investing more in customer data and

applied analytics. Incorporating additional channels

like mobile makes this task even more complex and

more critical. After all, more channels means more

interactions that must be orchestrated and aligned.

The successful players in this realm, such as Amazon,

Netflix, and Sephora, are taking market share from

the rest of their sector competitors.

To support an enhanced experience, retailers

are taking measures to ingest, unify, and analyze

customer data sources to form a single view of

customers. This customer data includes point-of-

sale (POS) data, marketing campaign response and

clickstream data, as well as third-party demographic,

lifestyle, and product preference data. All of this customer

data can be stored in a traditional customer data warehouse

or in emerging concepts such as data lakes or customer

data platforms. Once the customer data has been brought

together, it can be analyzed to better understand customer

behavior, engagement, and purchase patterns. These new

customer analytics must yield actionable insights, not just

passive, descriptive information.

Retailers are taking measures to

ingest, unify, and analyze customer

data sources to form a single view

of customers.

2. Single View of the Customer

8

Creating a single view of the customer requires unifying several data sources, including both first and third-party data.

Personal:

Standard identifiable information, such as name, address, and email,

can be acquired during purchase and the loyalty sign-up processes

Demographic:

Demographic data can be directly captured through personal

profiles and inferred via shopping and purchase habits

Transactional:

Purchase history and preferences can be captured directly at the

point of sale, either in-store, online, or through the mobile app

Behavioral:

Limited psychographic and lifestyle data can be inferred through

online brand interactions and shopping preferences and history

Personal:

Standard identifiable information, such as name, address, and

email, can be purchased from third-party vendors

Demographic:

Basic demographics, general purchasing habits, and life stage can

be acquired from third-parties and social media accounts

Transactional:

Search history, web browsing, and social engagement data reveal

shopping and purchase trends

Behavioral:

Social engagement, online activity, and external surveys exhibit

lifestyle interests and passions

FIRST-PARTY DATA THIRD-PARTY DATA

FIR

ST

-PA

RT

Y

DATA TH

IRD

-PA

RT

Y

DA

TA

Unifying Data for a Single View of Customer

9

Leading Examples 9, 10

Sephora’s integrated customer data platform and

marketing cloud enables triggered messages that

generated a 200% increase in response rate without

increasing campaign spend

Generating a single 360-degree view of customers

empowers more meaningful customer touchpoints through

a customer journey, both online and offline. Examples of

applying customer insights for downstream marketing

actions include the following:

• Analyze customer attributes (purchases, browse

behavior, lifestyle interests, etc.) to determine next

best actions for personalized marketing. Studies

show personalized, contextual, and relevant content

consistently outperforms one-size-fits-all content by

a large margin. 8

• Isolate the distinctive traits of best customer

segments to guide look-alike acquisition efforts. These

efforts involve profiling the most profitable customers

and focusing acquisition efforts on customers who

fit the same profile. This leads to reduced outbound

campaign costs and increased longer-term customer

profitability of targeted customers.

• Collect and enhance available data about recently

acquired customers to predict customer lifetime

value (CLV). Use the CLV measure to guide future

acquisition and retention efforts, and adjust the

score as new data points emerge.

Nike’s suite of mobile apps (Nike+ Run Club, Nike

Training Club, etc.) provides detailed data on how

customers use their products, informing both product

improvements and recommendations

Burberry’s ability to capture customer purchase and

social data on 85% of store visits has built a valuable

database that has powered in-store personalization

and a 50% increase in repeat business

10

Key Challenges

A few main hurdles stand in the way of retailers successfully

reaping the benefits of these powerful customer insights.

Companies must confront their data issues to successfully

implement a single view of the customer.

• Data silos are a common initial hurdle. Organizing

and applying customer insights is not always a simple

proposition. For many brands, customer data is

spread across product, marketing channel, or third-

party silos. This makes it harder to build and apply

cross-channel customer analytics. Data integration

is a time-consuming task, but a necessity for a truly

single view of the customer.

• Even when companies have consolidated data sets,

they are often missing key datapoints from the

customer journey. A single view of the customer

requires data from across the journey, including

mobile activity, product reviews, social engagement,

customer care, and even other types of third-party

data. Just like other forms of data, it must also be

consolidated from different sources and integrated

using a uniform customer identifier.

• Using big data from a variety of sources introduces

new challenges due to inconsistent structures and

formats. The data can be unstructured, sent via API,

or captured real-time. Each of these classifications of

data must be merged to be useful. Customer identity

management is critical here. Emerging toolsets

called customer data platforms (CDPs) can ingest a

wide variety of customer data sources, then “stitch”

the various data points to a single customer ID, and

finally, prepare the data for downstream marketing

use cases.

• Finally, brands must have the right marketing

system integrations in place to fully utilize the

powerful customer insights generated. Once the

360-degree customer insights are integrated into

a single view, the data needs to be integrated with

customer-facing marketing systems. This gets

complex quickly.

Recommendations

Overcoming these challenges requires being obsessive

about building and applying customer analytics to expose

opportunities along the full customer experience journey.

1. Think like a customer: With a customer journey

map in hand, create a prioritized list of use cases

(personalization, look-alike targeting, etc.). Then

connect the dots to determine what additional

customer data sources are required to enable

relevant one-to-one marketing messages.

2. Build customer profiles with multiple data

sources: Start with first-party customer data and

create a unified view of offline and online behavior.

Layer in third-party data and use identity resolution

providers to build more robust customer profiles

and convert anonymous visitors to known customers

over time.

3. Implement the right infrastructure: Customer

data only drives value if it is activated. Investigate

the potential for deploying a marketing-managed

customer data platform (CDP) to ingest, process,

and integrate customer attributes with downstream

marketing tools.

11

It is one thing to have a solid understanding of

customers built from a variety of data sources, it

is quite another to turn this data into a consistent

experience across several distinct channels.

Customers today not only want a seamless

shopping experience; they demand it. They assume

they can pick up where they left off on one channel

and continue their experience on another. They

expect to interact with any brand, from anywhere,

on any device.

There is no single path to a purchase or any

algorithm that can predict when, why, and what

each customer will choose to buy. 73% of customers

interact with a brand on multiple channels during

their shopping journey. 11 Brands are no longer

viewed as a series of channels; they are seen

holistically, which underscores the importance of an

integrated omni-channel experience.

Customers assume they can pick up

where they left off on one channel and

continue their experience on another.

They expect to interact with any brand,

from anywhere, on any device.

3. Omni-Channel Experience

12

An exceptional customer journey delivers a unified experience across a range of touchpoints and channels

Omni-channel solutions are the way of the future, and

retailers need to adapt their processes and technologies

to maintain growth and competitiveness. Macy’s stock

and sales were declining until they refocused and invested

in their digital strategy. Macy’s mobile sales have been

growing substantially for the past few quarters since

they invested in and enhanced their ecommerce and

mobile solutions, with a 50% increase in mobile sales in

the first half of 2018 compared with 2017. 12 As part of

their strategy, they are closing underperforming stores

to save on brick-and-mortar costs, enabling them to

accelerate investments in their digital transformation.

These enhancements—in-store pickup options, in-store

beacons, digital in-store payment options, online orders,

and personalization—streamline key shopping journeys.

Furthermore, Macy’s has achieved a 25% increase in sales

to customers who buy online and pick merchandise up in

their stores. 13 Innovative retailers like Macy’s will continue

to survive in this Amazon era, so long as they execute

consistently across channels.

Leading Examples 14

Starbucks’ rewards app syncs loyalty, mobile, web,

and in-store activity in real-time to provide a great

experience that generates 30% of the brand’s total sales

Crate&Barrel lets customers use tablets to scan items

in-store to view online information and add items to

a wish list, which then powers retargeting campaigns

once customers leave the store

Example Airline Customer Experience

13

Key Challenges

The shortage of strong examples of true omni-channel

experiences highlight the complexity of achieving this goal.

True omni-channel is difficult and requires sustained effort.

However, many retailers face similar challenges when trying

to achieve an omni-channel experience.

• Organizational and technology silos form the

root cause of several challenges. As explored in the

previous section, the lack of standardization makes

it very challenging to analyze data from across all

channels to deliver a unified customer experience.

Poorly integrated distribution, warehouse, and

point-of-sale systems can result in mismatched

inventory and pricing data between channels.

Inventory information needs to be synchronized

and updated in real-time to reflect accurately across

all channels.

• Many retailers rely on legacy ERP systems to

manage their supply chain. Systems built for

traditional retail environments are not designed to

support an integrated omni-channel experience.

Attempting to integrate these systems with

newer technologies can be expensive and time

consuming and may not yield the expected

results. Furthermore, legacy systems frequently

silo analytics by channel, making it very difficult

to measure the customer journey as a single

conversation through multiple channels.

• Staffing also presents a challenge in today’s world.

The move toward digital experiences requires

different product and marketing skill sets. Ideally,

automation will allow resources to shift their focus

from routine, repeatable tasks to more complex

work. Meanwhile, talent development programs

will enable some employees to successfully move

to higher level assignments, and recruitment can be

used to fill remaining gaps.

• Multichannel retailers attempt to get the word out

on as many channels as possible, casting a wide net

without a cohesive strategy. Each channel is typically

managed in isolation with different teams, budgets,

and goals. Conversely, omni-channel focuses on

all channels simultaneously to build a cohesive

experience because it prioritizes the customer,

rather than the channel. Retailers need to be careful

to distinguish between the two approaches and

focus on true omni-channel.

• Finally, retailers must walk a fine line between

being innovative and giving the customer the right

message at the right time. Communicating or

advertising too frequently or aggressively can

easily backfire and push customers away, especially

when personalization is more creepy than helpful. 15

Recommendations

Despite these challenges, brands must focus on providing

a consistent experience across all channels to attract and

retain customers and ensure their expectations are met.

The following recommendations will help mitigate risks

when moving toward an omni-channel environment:

1. Executive and stakeholder sponsorship: Effective

omni-channel marketing requires collaboration

between several business groups. Getting executive

sponsors involved early builds initial momentum

and keeping them engaged can help overcome

organizational hurdles.

2. View channels holistically: Typically, channels

are managed and owned by different departments

with separate budgets. This separation naturally

complicates omni-channel efforts, so retailers must

find creative organizational solutions to support the

seamless experiences they seek to build.

3. Map out the customer journey: Understanding

the variety of paths customers take from their first

interaction to the close of sale is crucial. A successful

customer journey map will have many different

points of entry and personas considered, and

marketers must figure out how to cohesively engage

customers across disparate channels.

4. Implement a data strategy: Since omni-channel

experiences rely on leveraging customer data,

a coherent strategy for organizing, governing,

analyzing, and deploying an organization’s

information assets is a necessity.

14

Digital channels and experiences understandably

receive a great deal of attention. However, the store

experience is still the crux of the customer journey

for a significant share of retail customers. The much-

hyped digital revolution that kills the brick-and-

mortar storefront is a long way off. The storefront

still matters, but what matters most within the

in-store experience is changing.

Consumers don’t think about the storefront as a

separate channel, the way marketers and other

business strategists may. They think of the brand

holistically. It either ‘gets’ them or it doesn’t.

Separating channels into organizational silos is

a recipe for disjointed customer experiences—

and an increased chance of losing ground in the

storefront battleground.

The seamless blend of digital and physical is a requirement

for retailers to adapt and create great experiences. Think

about a typical in-store experience—even when in the store,

more and more customers are utilizing their mobile devices

to perform various tasks, blurring the lines of a physical

experience and a digital one.

• 90% use their smartphones in stores while they

shop 16

• 54% perform price comparisons while in the store 17

• 48% look up product information 16

4. Storefront Transformation

15

Leading Examples Key Challenges

Updating the storefront for the digital era presents unique

challenges that must be overcome to deliver a truly

exceptional retail experience.

• When we think of improving customer experiences,

we need to understand that even the same

consumer persona can have different—and

competing—needs. A high-value experience for

one customer may be fast and frictionless one day,

and immersive and deep the next. Addressing this

challenge requires bimodal experiences. When

speed and efficiency are desired, customers must

be able to quickly evaluate product options based

on the most pertinent price and quality information

and seamlessly complete their transaction. When

deep, immersive experiences are desired, customers

must be able to fully analyze and interact with a

product and engage with a larger community of

consumers before finalizing their purchase. Solving

for both of these experiences requires technical and

organizational flexibility.

• One of the biggest pain points in the in-store

experience is checkout. More and more, customers

are expecting (and demanding) self-checkout or a

streamlined checkout experience. However, just

as the example above of the bimodal experience

suggests, not all customers value or desire self-

checkout all the time. The key is to solve for a larger

variety of expectations and needs.

• Expectations for sales support are also changing.

Customers expect sales staff to be able to answer

their questions with detailed data, but also give

customers the ability to self-serve and find

information on their own. Empowering sales staff

with digital devices with detailed inventory and

product information solves the need for immersive

support, but does not eliminate the need for self-

service options.

Nike’s use of in-store interactive experiences lets

their staff analyze performance and make live

recommendations, while using handheld point-of-sale

to provide frictionless checkouts

Nordstrom’s app lets customers reserve items to try

on in store and scan barcodes to enhance the sales

experience across multiple channels

16

Recommendations

Improving the in-store experience in the era of storefront

transformation requires accelerating the shopping and

checkout processes and building deeper, data-driven

experiences. The modern storefront represents the

intersection of great service and modern technology.

1. Enhance in-store promotions with beacons:

Provide customers with information or deals as

they move throughout the store by utilizing beacon

technology. Beacons enable personalized marketing

on an entirely new level. What better time to send

a customer a coupon or discount code or highlight

a customer review or photo, then when they’re

standing right in front of the product?

2. Provide several fulfillment options: 57% of online

customers in a recent survey confirmed they had

picked up an online order in a store within the last

year. 19 Create a seamless delivery/pickup system

with several options like curbside and in-store

pickup to give customers more control over their

experience. Not to mention, bringing customers

into the store for pickup also provides another

sales opportunity.

3. Provide non-transactional experiences: Give

customers the opportunity to learn new things

and join a community of like-minded shoppers, all

while gaining exposure to new products. Great

experiences will separate winners and losers in the

new retail landscape.

4. Offer multiple POS options: Utilize cutting edge

platforms to give customers options on how to

complete the purchase in the store. We’ve partnered

with Aila Technologies to offer mobile scanners and

interactive kiosks to extend the point of sale and

reduce in-store friction.

5. Unleash and empower staff: Use analytics to

discover opportunities to drive efficiencies and

reduce operating costs. Identify the in-store

experiences that will be improved by automation

and freeing up staff from transactional activities to

enable emphasis on deep, personalized experiences

with customers.

Nike’s SoHo store in New York City combines experience and commerce by letting shoppers test athletic gear and receive recommendations from both high-tech sensors and on-staff experts 18

Conclusion

17

A retail evolution is taking place, and brands either must

adapt or be left in the dust. We recommend four main areas

of focus for companies to shore up their ships and blaze

a trail into the digital era. Thinking like core customers is

key to developing a successful retail strategy with a brand

experience that is channel agnostic. Providing customers

with seamless transitions between brand touchpoints

will provide them with an experience they have grown

accustomed to expecting. Consider the following four areas

of investment when making future retail strategy decisions.

1. Mobile investment is meeting customers where

they are at with over 40% of internet traffic coming

from smart phones. 4 It is time to think mobile first.

2. Creating a single view of the customer will enhance

customer experiences and will empower marketers

to propogate the right message or offer at the right

time through the customer’s channel of preference.

3. Consistency is key when it comes to developing a

successful omni-channel experience. Customers

expect a similar brand experience regardless of

which channel they are engaging with, whether it be

mobile, desktop, or in-store.

4. A seamless in-store experience that incorporates

both digital and physical concepts to create a

personalized, frictionless shopping experience

transforms the storefront into a valuable brand

experience for customers.

Retail is changing, but companies can thrive in the digital

era through mobile-first investments, unified customer

views, seamless omni-channel experiences, and in-store

transformations.

18

Justin Bell, President

Justin is the President of Credera and leads consulting operations including business development,

staffing and project execution as well as overall strategic planning for the firm. Justin brings over 17

years of consulting and technology experience across a wide range of industries including digital, retail,

entertainment, transportation, medical, and hospitality. He received his Bachelor of Science in Business

Administration and Management Information Systems from Oklahoma State University.

Andrew Warden, Vice President

Andrew joined Credera in 2007 as a Senior Manager and is now Vice President, responsible for the firm’s

Management Consulting practice. He has more than 20 years of management and technology consulting

experience, with a focus on business process redesign, business and IT strategy, and program/project

leadership. He received his Bachelor of Business Administration in Finance and International Business

from Baylor University.

About the Authors

Credera is a full-service management consulting, user experience design, and technology solutions firm.

We work with Fortune 500 companies, medium-sized businesses, government organizations and clients across a broad range

of industries, and we give them the experience and perspective to solve today’s toughest business and technology challenges. 

Founded in 1999, we currently have office locations in Dallas, Houston, and Denver.

F I R M H I G H L I G H T S

Credera possesses a unique combination of deep technical expertise with extensive business backgrounds. Our innovation,

analytics and owner’s mindset separates us from our competitors. Our rigorous recruiting and selection processes provide top

talent at every position – all modeling our core values of integrity, humility, professionalism and excellence.

Greg Gough, Principal

Greg is a Principal in the Analytics & Business Intelligence practice. His specialty is helping Fortune

500 clients unlock and apply customer insights to drive growth. Greg has a Bachelor of Business

Administration, Management Information Systems from Texas A&M University.

19

Blakely Kemp, Manager

Blakely is a Manager in Credera’s Management Consulting practice. Her experience includes project

management, marketing suite implementations, process improvement, digital content strategy, vendor

evaluations, and change management. Blakely earned a Bachelor’s degree in Marketing from the

University of Texas.

Taylor Marley, Manager

Taylor is a Manager in Credera’s Management Consulting practice. She is responsible for the Ad Tech,

Data Management Platform (DMP) and Attribution capabilities within the MarTech & Commerce Service

Area. Taylor graduaded from the University of Southern California with a B.S. in Business, Data Sciences

& Operations.

Fernando Berrios, Architect

Fernando is an Architect in Credera’s Open Technology Solutions practice. His focus is on creating

powerful but user-friendly applications, while improving developer productivity and efficiency through

the use of DevOps tools. Fernando graduated from the Universidad De Puerto Rico with a B.B.A in

Management Information Systems.

Ben Grotta, Senior Consultant

Ben is a Senior Consultant at Credera in the Management Consulting practice. During his time at

Credera, Ben has primarily served as a digital analyst, partnering with clients to create valuable,

personalized experiences across customer-facing channels. Ben holds a B.S. in Public Relations from the

Moody College of Communication at the University of Texas.

Lara Lewis, Senior Consultant

Lara is a Senior Consultant in Credera’s Management Consulting practice. Lara is passionate about

helping clients improve their digital experience. She holds a M.B.A. concentrating in Marketing from

Dallas Baptist University and a B.B.S. in Computer Science from Hardin-Simmons University.

20

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Invesp, www.invespcro.com/blog/buy-online-pick-up-in-store/.

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