Threat to utilities

Utilities face the greatest risk of lost revenues from distributed generation (DG), including residential solar photovoltaics and fuel cells, according to Accenture’s Digitally Enabled Grid research, now in its fourth year. The survey of over 100 utilities executives across more than 20 countries revealed that 58 per cent of distribution utility executives believe DG will cause revenue reduction by 2030.
 
The concern is higher in North America and Asia Pacific than in Europe, due to the prevalence in these regions of vertically integrated utilities, which face the double impact of declining energy sales revenue and increased network costs to support reliable energy delivery. Executives said the biggest DG-related stress on utilities’ network hosting capacity will come from energy prosumers who are driving small-scale DG (cited by 59 per cent), followed by medium or high-voltage connected DG such as a large-scale solar plant (28 per cent).
 
Loyalty is key

 
Ninety per cent of retailers agree that engaging customers after they make a purchase drives new site traffic and revenue, according to a report titled “Pathways to Loyalty and Post-Purchase Success” released by WBR Digital and Narvar. Among five initiatives, recommending new, related products brings the highest value for 40 per cent of retailers, the report says, while 87 per cent respondents agreed that providing customers with proactive information about their orders decreases call centre volume. Retailers also identify price, internal resources and availability as their biggest obstacles to moving forward with post-purchase initiatives.
 
“The period of anticipation between when a consumer buys a product and when it arrives on her doorstep is the new moment of truth in retail. This is a critical opportunity for retailers to continue the conversation and drive retention,” said Amit Sharma, founder and CEO of Narvar, a company that helps with post-purchase data.