Deep Dive Into Marigold Engage by Sailthru’s Retail Personalization Index Top 10: Urban Outfitters

The first Retail Personalization Index had some obvious standouts and if we’re being honest, Urban Outfitters was not one of them. But after vowing to invest in data and analytics to improve personalization, the brand skyrocketed into the top 10 and stayed there.

Email marketing represented a big part of Urban Outfitters’ evolution, with messages customized for each consumer from the initial welcome message. Personalization continues throughout most of the lifecycle, with relevant product recommendations, included everywhere. Urban Outfitters also has a good mix of reactive and proactiv triggered messages, such as birthday wishes and back in stock notifications, to name a few.

Mobile personalization is the sweet spot for Urban Outfitters. The more a user interacts with its app — which has a 4.9 rating in the iOS App Store, impressive given more than 265,000 reviews — the more nuanced product suggestions become. There’s also a discover tab, a highly-curated portfolio of products hand-selected for each customer.

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Additionally, the brand’s app is where its loyalty program lives. And few retailers do loyalty better than Urban Outfitters. UO Rewards is particularly generous; members can earn discounts and entries for shopping spree sweepstakes. UO Rewards also offers diverse options for earning rewards. Like every other retailer, Urban Outfitter trades points for purchases. The brand also incentivizes connecting social media accounts, writing product reviews, and visiting brick-and-mortar stores.

The latter represents a omnichannel aptitude. Beacons are a common way for retailers to engage in-store shoppers, but Urban Outfitters goes far beyond letting you know that you’re walking by a good deal. Dynamic audience filters, combined location with other digital data, ensure that push notifications are relevant. For example, promoting party dresses to those female shoppers who frequent bars and nightclubs.

As Urban Outfitters evolves its personalized marketing capabilities, it’s also diversifying its offerings. What’s next? In May, the company announced Nuuly, a Rent the Runway-style service offering customers six items each month.