Plano-based retailer JCPenney has appointed company executive Katie Mullen as chief customer officer.

Previously JCPenney’s chief digital officer, Mullen will continue to oversee the company’s e-commerce strategy and omnichannel development, with an added emphasis on customer marketing, engagement, analytics, and more.

“A core part of JCPenney’s overarching transformation strategy and our shift back to the basics has been a relentless focus on our customer’s needs. There are encouraging signs that we’re on the right track. We’ve seen an uptick in customers returning to shop with us – an increase in customer frequency for the first time in five years – and they’re spending more,” CEO Marc Rosen said in a statement. “Creating space for Katie to link our digital technology, customer insights and personalization capabilities and to bring it to life through an integrated, end-to-end customer experience is a natural evolution of her role and will help take us to the next level.”

JCPenney said that Mullen will lead its efforts to deliver an end-to-end integrated shopping experience that’s relevant for today’s customers.

Using digital and data to enhance customer experience

A key focus of this new role is driving innovation in digital, data, and analytics to transform how customers experience JCPenney, the company said.

To deepen loyalty with existing and new customers, the company said it will continue to invest in experiences both physical and digital, powered by technology. JCPenney said the approach reinforces its focus on providing customers a warm and welcoming experience but with a modern twist.

Throughout her career, Mullen has leaned into the application of customer data analysis to support brand strategy, JCPenney said. In her most recent role as the company’s chief digital officer, Mullen had an important role in supporting JCPenney’s transformation journey, focused on the digital enablement of the organization.

“I’m looking forward to continuing to improve how JCPenney reaches and serves America’s diverse working families,” Mullen said in a statement. “In our efforts to restore relevance with customers, we’ve sought to better meet their style, product and shopping preferences while also making our stores more reflective of the communities around us. I’m excited to work alongside our JCPenney leadership team to continue engaging customers in ways that matter most to them.”

Before JCPenney, Mullen was the chief digital officer at Dallas-based Neiman Marcus Group where she led the $1 billion neimanmarcus.com business and oversaw the performance marketing team responsible for product and category management, site merchandising, analytics, data science, promotions, drop-ship buying, e-commerce operations, establishing new sales channels, and more.

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