J.P. Morgan and FreedomPay surveyed senior leaders from 50 large retail and hospitality businesses to understand the ways executive, finance, technology, operations and marketing teams are driving digital transformation across their organizations. The study reveals how changing customer behaviors are driving the need for digital transformation, including the integration of commerce silos, renewed focus on customer safeguards and transition of vendors to partners tasked with providing greater strategic value.

The survey revealed key areas of technology investment and the value organizations can derive from “big data.” The four key themes highlighted in the study are:

• Challenges and opportunities associated with customer data-driven change
• Measuring and achieving successful new technology return on investment
• Senior management, shareholder, consumer and regulatory roles and responsibilities
• Ethical considerations related to new customer-facing technology and data analytics

The study revealed the rapid pace at which digital transformation accelerated in 2020 and the role that seamless payments experiences play in protecting and growing revenue and customer loyalty. About half of the study was conducted prior to Covid-19 with the remainder being conducted in the midst of the pandemic.