Retail CRM is growing in importance, the NRF reports

Technology that enables effective customer relationship management will be a growth area in retailing, a survey sponsored by the National Retail Federation shows.

The NRF’s CRMretail Survey, which the NRF will release in detail at its CRMretail Conference next week, shows that 60% of retail companies expect their CRM expenditures to increase “significantly” during the next two years. Further, 54% of retailers have already implemented one or more CRM applications and the majority of the balance say they are likely to do so in the next two years. One of the keys to making CRM work is the ability to move data quickly and efficiently across the Internet.

Retailers believe that the greatest potential for generating revenue is with applications that allow for better analysis of and understanding of customers, for tracking of results of marketing campaigns and for keeping track of customer contacts. Retailers also were interested in personalized communications, customer-focused marketing at the store level and personalized merchandise offerings.

Gartner Inc. and consultants Ogden Associates conducted the survey for the NRF.