Adobe, IBM partnership offers potential for personalization

An expanded relationship between IBM and Adobe promises to give retail marketers new dynamic personalization powers to increase sales.

Adobe announced an integration with IBM WebSphere Commerce that the companies believe give marketers the ability to create and deliver powerful experiences across all digital channels.

The new partnership is said to leverage the power of Adobe Experience Manager and IBM WebSphere Commerce to deliver highly personalized, experience-driven commerce. For example, the partnership allows marketers to automatically synchronize creative assets to provide a seamless flow from creation to execution for all content, creative and digital assets without relying on IT.

According to the companies, other benefits include the ability to personalize and curate assortments while optimizing the experience in response to real-time conditions and responding to unique shopping behaviors by seamlessly connecting digital and physical retailing environments.

According to Errol Denger, head of Adobe’s commerce program, being noticed and differentiating sites in today’s crowded digital world requires high fidelity shopping experiences that bring products to life or provide rich information to simplify complex procurements scenarios.

The Adobe and IBM integrated solution will empower line of business to create and deliver high fidelity experiences across all digital channels because the latest version of Adobe Creative Cloud automatically synchronizes creative assets while Adobe Experience Manager provides a seamless flow from creation to execution for all content, creative, and digital assets, according to Denger.

“Consumers and buyers expect iconic brand experiences which enable them to interact with a brand across any medium," said Adam Orentlicher, director of e-commerce offerings and strategy for IBM. "With this new partnership, our most creative clients can leverage the full power of IBM WebSphere Commerce and Adobe Experience Manager as a compelling option to deliver highly personalized, experience-driven commerce."

The problem is that most shopping sites are not meeting these needs, according to Denger. A 2015 study by Razorfish found more than half of all shoppers agree that online shopping sites need improvement. As customers switch channels, this dissatisfaction increases due to inconsistent experiences, lost context, and misaligned capabilities. The proliferation of new touch points such as wearables and interactive store displays further compounds these challenges, according to Denger. 

For more of Denger’s thoughts on the topic of experience drive commerce, check out his blog posts here.