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This week, thousands of retailers will descend on Chicago for Internet Retailer Conference and Exhibition (IRCE), the world's largest retail and e-commerce event. Nearly 10,000 retailers and 600 companies will fill the show floor at IRCE, making it the largest display of services and technology in the e-commerce industry. Salesforce ExactTarget Marketing Cloud is looking forward to exhibiting at the event at booth #715.

At IRCE, ExactTarget Marketing Cloud is excited to launch its latest retail report, 4 Retail Marketing Challenges. In partnership with Retail Online Integration (Target Marketing Publishing), ExactTarget Marketing Cloud surveyed nearly 500 retailers to gain a better understanding of the current state of marketing in the retail industry. The majority of survey respondents were omni-channel retailers, with almost half operating brick-and mortar locations. Additionally, 81% surveyed had an e-commerce site.

4 Retail Marketing Challenges features significant takeaways for retailers in four strategic areas:

Capturing Customer Data
Email address capture has grown from 50% in 2012 to 99% in 2014, and first name capture has grown from 37% to 80%. However, less than half of the retailers surveyed (43%) said they optimize their email sign-up form for mobile users.

Analyzing Customer Insights
When asked to describe their level of sophistication in leveraging data, 42% of retailers graded themselves as "average" and only 40% felt their customer information was "robust."

Delivering Personalized Experiences
While 52% of retailers send personalized email offers, only 41% use data for on-site product recommendations. Additionally, only 16% of retailers reported using guided selling questions to hone in on online shoppers' needs, despite the fact that the ROI for guided selling techniques is highly promising.

Attributing Sales to Marketing
40% of retailers aren't attributing offline sales to online marketing in any way. Similarly, most retailers don't use an attribution model for online sales. Those that do are most likely to employ a methodology that favors giving the last click 100% credit for an online sale. But when is the last time you purchased something online after only one click?

Truly knowing your customer-i.e., attaining the elusive "single view"-is essential to KPIs trending in the right direction. However, the sheer amount of available data can make it difficult for retailers to discern what will best fuel their marketing efforts. Smart data capture across all channels is only the beginning of the solution.

Each strategic area discussed in the report is essential for keeping up with customers and creating the most relevant and seamless customer journey possible now to ensure you're offering customers the most optimized experience possible. Download the report now to learn more.