The CEM Africa Summit, held in Cape Town on 22 and 23 July, saw over 25 key industry players present keynotes, partake in panel discussions and facilitate workshops on customer experience, coverage of which will continue to be published this week. Leigh Andrews gets the ball rolling with the advisory panel opening on future trends and disruptive innovation and the influence this should have on customer experience management today. Quinton Pienaar agrees in his article on hyper-connectivity. "While hyper-connectedness is a powerful tool for customers, for retailers it is undoubtedly a digital disruption," he says. From a UX perspective, Spree's Sven Schoof explains how to move from usability to delight. He says a change in mindset is required. And Charles Pittaway provides tips for setting up an e-commerce site for small business. Representing Marks & Spencer (M&S) at the summit, Ian Mahoney said that what the British multinational retailer is really famous for is its "knickers". Funnily enough, Woolies (modeled on M&S), recently dismissed a complaint over a reportedly "provocative" underwear ad campaign. The customer quite literally got her knickers in a knot about the retailer's JT One slumber party-themed ad. Then Euromonitor answers the infamous question, what do women want, but in terms of consumption, listing factors to consider when targeting the female consumer. For more gender-specific articles, you can look forward to our Women's Month special section.
Jessica Taylor, Group Editor (@Biz_Retail)
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