inriver

UserTesting CMO: Marketers Still Don’t Understand Customers

In an interview, UserTesting CMO Johann Wrede argues that marketers still lack full understanding of customers despite greater access to unstructured data and advanced analytics. He describes UserTesting’s platform—backed by a network of over seven million participants and AI-driven analysis of video, audio and survey data—that delivers qualitative and quantitative human insights often within 24 hours. Wrede warns that compressed product and marketing cycles raise brand risk and increase the need for rapid customer feedback, and he says AI should accelerate execution while humans retain judgment, narrative and strategy. He also highlights limits of A/B testing for explaining why outcomes occur, and discusses organizational operating models, accountability, and team diversity.

Inriver Launches Summer 2026 AI-Driven PIM Release

Inriver announced its Summer 2026 release which extends its Product Information Management (PIM) platform from a system of record into a system of work. The update introduces enhanced Model Context Protocol (MCP) endpoints and the MCP Code Writer for deeper AI ecosystem integration, an in-platform Enrich Assistant for LLM-powered content enrichment, orchestration features (Signals and Projects) to manage content lifecycle and gap remediation, and expanded automation for print and digital catalog production via Inriver Print & Publish with Adobe InDesign support. The release targets enterprise manufacturers and brands seeking to operationalize governed product data for AI-powered commerce. The announcement was published June 30, 2026 via GlobeNewswire on MarTech Series.

3 Ways Personalised UX Drives Customer Loyalty

The article discusses declining customer loyalty in e-commerce and outlines three ways brands can improve loyalty through user experience. It stresses the importance of a seamless omnichannel experience, especially in the post-purchase phase, to unify online and offline touchpoints and to reward loyalty points across devices. It argues for increasing customer value with personalized rewards, using behavioral data to tailor campaigns such as 'Complete the Look' and status-based incentives, supported by dynamic gamification. Finally, it advocates collecting and leveraging first- and zero-party data to build 360-degree customer profiles via loyalty programs, surveys, and polls, enabling more relevant content and offers. The piece notes rising privacy standards limiting third-party data, cites Germany's high mobile shopping adoption (79%) and Forrester's projection of mobile-led European retail sales by 2024, and provides examples from Amazon, eBay, Zalando, and Satoshi Lab’s move2earn concept.