Ideas around using data insights to pinpoint what value and experience really mean to consumers as huge economic trends overlap are the obsession of brands, merchants and payments firms as the digital shift moves into a next phase of removing channel boundaries.

This emerged as a key finding of the “2022 Global Digital Shopping Index,” a PYMNTS and Cybersource collaboration, where we see merchants offering smartphone-assisted shopping features providing in-store experiences with 49% less friction than those that don’t.

Digging into this convergence of channels, modes and optimization, Cybersource vice president product, digital commerce solutions Ben Laluc and Harley-Davidson global director of eCommerce Ryan Dennis agreed that engagement is personal — and data drives it.

Harley-Davidson long ago transformed itself from a motorcycle maker into a lifestyle brand, Dennis said. And it’s learned that its eCommerce provides the ideal opening to building relationships with enthusiasts eager to express their devotion in ways that the gamut from T-shirts to trikes.

“There’s no better way to do that than through selling someone a T-shirt or a lifestyle product digitally,” he said. “We love what our dealers are doing, but we’ve found that consumers are more open to beginning their journey with us online.”

Few brands speak for themselves like Harley-Davidson, and there’s power in that. But whether a brand is an icon or an upstart, Laluc said, taking a…