Personalization is a word that has been touted for many years now by loyalty marketers. Achieving true personalization with your customer base, though, remains a challenge for many brands.
But, when done correctly and effectively, it can drive customer engagement and brand loyalty.
Many organizations have omnichannel plans or implementations in progress, and a new report from Kibo explored the all-important theme of consumer behaviors and trends to help business decision-makers determine and understand how to best move forward with omnichannel initiatives.
One of the biggest insights gleaned from this report centers on personalization:
Personalizing a consumer’s experience can have a big impact on their path to purchase, with 85 percent stating they are influenced by personalized homepage promotions and 92 percent stating personalized shopping cart recommendations influence them to complete a purchase, the report says.
Here are some other revealing insights:
Pricing is a Driving Factor: Price was a top factor for consumers when considering a purchase, followed by product brand and retailer website brand. The survey indicated that 76 percent of consumers regularly price-check competitors, up from 66 percent from last year’s survey.
Online and In-Store as One Seamless Experience: 94 percent of consumers state they do research online before visiting a store, up 8 percent from last year. Nearly three-quarters of consumers expect store associates to be able to access their customer history when they visit a store after purchasing online. Almost half of consumers surveyed had store associates find an item in another store for ship-to-home in the past six months.
Inventory and Fulfillment: 81 percent of consumers said they have looked up inventory on a retailer’s website before visiting the store and 80 percent are less inclined to visit a store if a website does not provide current product availability (up 24 percent from last year).
Influencers on the Path to Purchase: Top influencers on completing an online purchase include interactive content (92 percent), product reviews (82 percent), simplified shopping cart (78 percent), and multiple fulfillment options (66 percent).
“As consumer behaviors, expectations, and demands continue to rise, retailers and brands equipped with the latest data will be better prepared to win in the new year,” said Tushar Patel, CMO, Kibo. “In order to satisfy consumers with high expectations of a cohesive experience no matter the touch point, merchants need to do a holistic evaluation of their commerce programs. Knowing where to focus efforts will allow them to make changes that provide the biggest impact on customer satisfaction, loyalty, and ultimately, the bottom line.”
The report was based on responses from nearly 3,000 consumers in the U.S. and U.K.