Michael Zakkour is the Founder and Chief Strategist at 5 New Digital, a consultancy that advises clients on strategy, structure, implementation, and transformation in the digital realm. Michael has over 20 years of experience in eCommerce, specializing in digital transformation, data science, the China/APAC market, digital commerce, and new retail strategy. He is also the Founder and Managing Director of China BrightStar, LLC. As an author and speaker, Michael has been interviewed for The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, NPR, the BBC, and many other media outlets.  In this episode… As the digital landscape evolves to include modern technology and performance-driven marketing strategies, brands are looking to increase profitability, drive conversions, and maintain customer loyalty. With so many trends influencing these factors, it’s tough to know where to begin. How can you adapt to the disrupted eCommerce and retail spaces to boost the customer experience and streamline growth? Digital-savvy marketing strategist Michael Zakkour stresses the importance of unifying online and offline channels to scale sustainably and elevate the customer journey. This involves integrating supply chain operations, content, and marketing to develop an immersive retail experience that includes 3D product images and augmented reality stores, increasing conversions and reducing customer acquisition costs. Michael also cites the value of AI in personalizing customer recommendations and strengthening experiential commerce. In this episode of The Digital Deep Dive, Aaron Conant welcomes Michael Zakkour, the Founder and Chief Strategist at 5 New Digital, to discuss unified and immersive commerce. Michael explains how immersive commerce differs from the Metaverse, how to create experiential retail experiences, and how to integrate online and offline retail to drive growth.