Michaels deploys personalized shopping tech

Dive Brief:

Arts and crafts retailer Michaels is working with ongoing partner Salesforce to deploy the Salesforce Marketing Cloud to enable personalized content, promotions and offers, according to a Salesforce press release.
As part of the deployment, the retailer also is using the Heroku cloud platform and MuleSoft Anypoint Platform to build an application network integrating back-office systems and customer data to support rapid creation of apps and integrated shopping, the press release stated.
Michaels is aiming to unite its e-commerce, service and marketing capabilities onto one platform to create personalized and connected experiences across all customer touchpoints.

Dive Insight:

A well-integrated, multi-functional cloud platform can tie a retail enterprise together, giving a company the tools to quickly and effectively promote, sell and support customers.

Michaels already uses Salesforce Commerce Cloud to deliver personalized shopping capabilities seamlessly through multiple channels. The retailer also relies on Salesforce Service Cloud to provide customer service reps in its call centers with a single, unified desktop view of customers, their issues and their histories, which helps improve their ability to resolve problems. With Marketing Cloud, Michaels will be able to integrate and manage customer data across multiple touchpoints and channels to deliver real-time, personalized communications and content to shoppers.

Other companies in the sector, like NYDJ, also have adopted multiple Salesforce Cloud pieces to help them migrate to cloud-based retail enterprises. Like many retailers, Michaels is facing tough competition from Amazon even as it has started to sell products through the e-commerce giant. Additionally, the company is pursuing new revenue opportunities, such as its recent effort to grow toy sales. Using cloud platform pieces to improve its ability to promote, sell and support can help it move forward in a unified way at a time when it needs to make a stronger push to rise above the competition.