Business and arts executives to increase spend on digital

Almost nine in 10 business and arts executives plan to increase investment in digital technologies to enhance customer experience in the coming year, according to a poll by PwC.

The joint PwC/Business to Arts poll found key areas for investment are social media (88 per cent); website/digital content (88 per cent), customer data analytics (58 per cent) and online/e-commerce (48 per cent).

According to business and technology leaders, a step-up in investment is needed in key emerging technologies such as the internet of things and artificial intelligence in order to keep pace with global levels.

Some 79 per cent of business and arts executives were confident about their revenue prospects in the year ahead.

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Just half of executives with responsibility for the digital strategy said they “highly understand” the opportunities presented by the world of digital.

Improving customer experience (42 per cent) was the single key opportunity as a result of enhancing digital offerings. Other opportunities cited by business and arts executives were increasing sales (27 per cent) and increasing customer insight (18 per cent).

Growing revenues (88 per cent) was the top reason for digital investment followed by increasing profits (58 per cent) and better customer experiences (42 per cent).