Sara Richter, CMO, SAP Engagement Cloud.
SAP Engagement Cloud Debuts Its Engagement Vision at NRF 2026
At NRF The Big Retail Show 2026, SAP took the stage with a provocative message for both B2C and B2B brands: loyalty is increasingly claimed, but harder than ever to truly earn. What once appeared as repeat purchases or long-standing relationships often masks a more fragile reality—customers who stay not because they feel deeply connected, but because switching feels inconvenient or costly. Attracting and retaining loyal customers today requires intentional, coordinated engagement across an entire organization, from the very first touchpoint to long after the purchase is complete.
Just weeks later, on February 19, that message gained a new name—and a broader mandate—with the launch of SAP Engagement Cloud. The evolution of SAP Emarsys into SAP Engagement Cloud reframed these insights as part of a larger shift: moving beyond marketing-led personalization toward enterprise-wide, AI-driven engagement orchestration that connects insight with action across every customer interaction.
At NRF, I shared new findings from our latest Customer Loyalty Index (CLI) and first Buyer Loyalty Index (BLI), exposing a widening gap between what customers say and how they behave. While 77% of consumers claim to love and trust a favorite brand, more than half will switch for a better price, and many disengage silently after a single poor experience. In B2B, 71% of buyers report loyalty, but 70% of that is “Default Loyalty,” driven by switching friction rather than genuine commitment.
We’ve called this phenomenon “Quiet Quitting” in B2C and “Default Loyalty” in B2B—both of which are fragile forms of loyalty rooted not in intent, but in operational complexity. The underlying issue is dark data: behavioural, service, operational, and transactional signals brands already collect, but cannot activate in real time because they remain trapped in disconnected systems.
That’s where AI comes in. AI connects dark data across the business, turning insight into action as conditions change. This philosophy underpins the evolution from SAP Emarsys to SAP Engagement Cloud, now designed to connect customer engagement directly with real-time operational execution across the enterprise.
In the Engagement Era, loyalty isn’t declared by customers — it’s continuously earned through real-time action, enterprise-wide intelligence, and meaningful connection at every moment.
Sara Richter, CMO, SAP Engagement Cloud.
This approach helps organisations maintain consistency, compliance, and brand standards globally, which is increasingly important in an age of AI decision-making and automation, while also staying responsive to local needs.
For example, a global consumer goods company operating dozens of brands and regional teams can manage engagement roles, permissions, and data centrally while allowing local teams to execute the relevant interactions. When inventory levels, fulfilment delays, or service disruptions occur, engagement can adapt without manual coordination across disconnected systems.
Brands like Molton Brown are already seeing the impact. By unifying data and leaning on SAP’s expertise, the retailer achieved a 20% uplift in repeat purchases, five times more revenue from email, and record omnichannel performance.
As SAP Engagement Cloud enters the market, the message from NRF is clear: in the Engagement Era, loyalty isn’t claimed. It is continuously earned by how well a business connects what it knows with how it acts, in real time.
MAR 2025
