A new report found that 40% of employees anticipate getting a holiday gift from their employer—and digital-friendly, contactless rewards will be favored. Enter physical and digital gift cards, which can both be uploaded to mobile wallets, redeemed online and spent in-store for optimal flexibility.

The brand new research reveals 82% percent of employees would like to receive a gift card from their employer as a holiday gift. Gift cards are preferred employee gifts because they:

• allow employees to choose what they want (76%)
• can be delivered physically or digitally (46%)
• can be re-gifted (29%)

Merkle (www.merkleinc.com), a leading technology-enabled, data-driven customer experience management (CXM) company, released its Q3 2020 Customer Engagement Report. The report explores the modern marketing technology platform, how it is implemented, and how marketers feel their platforms deliver engaging customer experiences. Merkle’s research also explores the balance of real-time versus relevant-time activations of data.

The research shows that marketers are generally happy with their current platforms and latest purchases, but many may not be using them to their full potential. 78% of marketers said their current platform is delivering expected ROI, but later 68% stated they need to build a custom platform. 
 
Additional findings include:

• 90% of marketers realize the significance of real-time data, but fewer put it into practice today
• 25% of marketers have a distributed streaming platform leveraged throughout the enterprise
• 78% say current platform is delivering expected ROI
• 89% say current martech enables omni-channel experience
• 70% of Health, Retail Consumer Goods, and High-Tech respondents prefer a best best-of of-breed approach to implementing martech 

Emotions are the hidden motivations behind consumers’ purchase decisions. And including a person’s name in an email is no longer enough of a “personal touch.” According to a new survey of 1,000 U.S. consumers’ holiday shopping preferences, published this morning by growth marketing company Iterable, 83% of respondents are more likely to purchase from a brand they have an emotional connection to. This will be a key consideration for retail brands as we approach the holiday shopping season.  
 
Other key data points from the study include: 

• Consumers look to brand CEOs: Three-fourths (77%) agree that statements made by a brand’s leadership have the power to influence their purchasing decision.
• A majority of shoppers aren’t looking forward to holiday shopping amidst the pandemic: Over one-third (36%) of respondents said the pandemic impacted their attitude toward holiday shopping “somewhat negatively,” and 27% reported feeling “very negatively” toward the shopping season. 
• No “hard sells” for younger consumers: Straight-forward product descriptions won’t cut it for Gen Z, as 32% prefer an “empathetic and comforting” promotional tone.
• Value-driven brands have gained importance: 16% of consumers are most likely to purchase from a brand they feel would align with their values. 
• Consumers choose emotional connections, if they can afford to: More than 50% of those making more than $100,000 said they are “much more likely” to make a purchase when they connect with a brand, whereas the majority of those earning less said it makes them just “somewhat more likely.”

Nearly 10,000 respondents helped retail brands understand consumer expectations and prepare for the upcoming holiday shopping season. Here are three key themes from the research:
 
1. Financial concerns are looming – Although 58 percent of respondents are concerned about their financial situation due to the pandemic, 59 percent of respondents indicated they plan to spend about the same on holiday gift shopping as they did last year, and 20 percent indicated they plan to spend more. To quantify holiday spending, respondents were asked how much they plan to spend: 47 percent of respondents plan to spend $499 or less on holiday gifts whereas 24 percent plan to spend more than $1,000.
 
2. Value will be key this shopping season – Despite the ongoing financial concerns created by the pandemic, 91 percent of respondents plan to shop for others this holiday season, with 31 percent of respondents shopping for 10 or more people. When asked about the most important factor when deciding where to shop for holiday gifts, nearly one third of respondents chose value for the money (32 percent), followed by selection of merchandise (14 percent) and convenience (12 percent). The four most popular types of gifts selected were clothes (63 percent), gift cards (56 percent), electronics (51 percent) and toys (49 percent). The least popular gifts were experiences (16 percent), fitness (12 percent) and automotive (8 percent).
 
3.  Holiday shopping will start early and be dominated by digital – When you consider the double-digit growth of digital holiday sales in 2019 and how the pandemic is impacting the in-store experience, it’s not surprising that 3 in 4 respondents plan to do most of their holiday shopping online this year. When asked to compare the timing of their holiday shopping to last year, 42 percent of respondents said they’ll start shopping earlier. With 61 percent of respondents planning to do most of their shopping before Thanksgiving, we found just 15 percent of respondents plan to stock up on Black Friday and only seven percent plan to take advantage of Cyber Monday. When we compare the timing of the two groups of shoppers, 62 percent of online shoppers plan to start shopping earlier whereas 44 percent of in-store shoppers indicate they’ll take advantage of Black Friday sales or do most of their shopping in December.
 

Merkle has released a special edition of its annual Loyalty Barometer Report. The updated report reveals the importance of loyalty as businesses re-emerge from the pandemic. Highlights include:

• The #1 cause of dissatisfaction with loyalty programs is the time it takes to earn a reward.
• 35% of consumers would like to be able to unlock additional features or utilize tools to find the right product.
• 85% of consumers would like to be able to select the benefits and rewards they receive.
• 59% of consumers indicate that the most important way a brand can interact with them is through surprise offers and gifts.
• Baby Boomers are most interested in writing online reviews, taking surveys, or attending an event. They are less likely to engage in social media or download an app.
• Millennials and Gen Z enjoy competition and achievement. 35% want badges as a feature and 27% want leaderboards as a feature.
• Gen Z prefers community-focused program aspects. 22% want access to a community of like-minded people and 19% want to compete against other members.

Household essentials have been flying off the shelves since the pandemic first hit in March, and months later, most consumers are still stocking their pantries. More people (59 percent) are stocking up now as compared to June (53 percent), purchasing items such as food and water (87 percent), toiletries (81 percent), cleaning supplies (68 percent), hand sanitizer and soap (65 percent), medicine and/or medical items (48 percent) and animal supplies (37 percent).

As the economic impact of COVID-19 continues to affect consumers’ budgets, the majority (54 percent) say they are now spending less than at the start of the pandemic, compared to only 26 percent who reported decreased spending in June. When asked to compare spending to this time last year, 62 percent say they are spending less.

With more widespread reopenings, 89 percent of consumers say non-essential retailers have reopened in their local area (compared to 70 percent in June), while more than half (52 percent) have already visited these retailers (compared to 37 percent in June). Of those who have visited non-essential retailers, 58 percent have hit apparel, shoe and accessories stores, followed by restaurants and bars (55 percent), and beauty stores (39 percent).

For those who have not visited reopened retailers yet (48 percent), 65 percent say they plan to wait more than one month to visit, a 20 percent increase over June.

Across five states experiencing particularly high spikes of the virus, an average of 92 percent of consumers say they or a member of their household is still visiting physical retailers to fulfill essential shopping needs. On average, nearly three out of four consumers (74 percent) from these states are taking one to two shopping trips per week, which is either about the same or less often than one month ago.

As these states experience greater numbers of COVID cases, rates for stocking up on essentials are generally higher than the national average. While Californians match the national numbers (59 percent) more Floridians, Georgians and Texans report stocking up (64 percent, 62 percent and 60 percent, respectively), while Arizonians actually report slightly lower rates (55 percent).

Most Georgians and Floridians are visiting grocery stores to purchase essentials (91 percent and 87 percent, respectively). Meanwhile, Arizonians, Californians and Texans (85 percent, 84 percent and 86 percent, respectively) are more likely to head to big box stores like Target and Walmart.

Arizonians and Californians are most likely to visit restaurants and bars once they reopen in their local area (50 percent and 51 percent, respectively), while Georgians are most likely to visit apparel and shoe stores (60 percent). Meanwhile, Floridians and Texans are nearly equally split between wanting to visit restaurants and bars (45 percent and 42 percent, respectively) or apparel and shoe stores (44 percent and 45 percent, respectively).

Consumers predict that some changes in behavior will continue after the pandemic is considered over. Seventy-three percent expect to continue eating more home cooked meals, and 62% expect to continue improving cooking skills and eating more fresh ingredients. Only 22% predict that increased “pandemic snacking” will continue.

Loyalty may be stronger for toilet paper, while 57% had to purchase something outside of their typical brand during COVID-19, 49% will return to their original brand.

During the pandemic, 60% percent of consumers purchased food brands not typically used before—only 21% predict they will return exclusively to their original food brand; 54% tried something new for cleaning with 33% planning to return exclusively to their original cleaning brands. Many expect the future to include a mix of both newly tried and usual brands after COVID-19 (72% food, 55% cleaning).

12% will only use contactless payment going forward
23% say they will rely more on same-day ordering with curbside pickup
37% believe they will purchase more items online or through an app
12% of consumers who subscribe to meal-kits are new to the service, in response to the pandemic
21% are new users of food delivery apps, in response to the pandemic
37% have ordered groceries online for the first time in response to the pandemic
23% of new investment app users are women
18% of new personal finance app users are over age 55
34% of new cryptocurrency users are between the ages of 18–24
11% have begun using mobile payment apps for the first time due to the pandemic
5% are new direct deposit users in response to the pandemic
15% have used mobile checking for the first time in response to the pandemic

3 steps to implement and scale with Formation

Step 1: Understand customers individually
Developing a holistic view of each customer may seem like a daunting task, as it will involve integrating data from all of that person’s interactions across all of a brand’s touchpoints and data sources

Step 2: Build and automate dynamic offer templates
Once marketers have mapped transaction data and identified the most valuable customer behaviors, it’s time to build their dynamic offer templates. These are variable templates where every aspect of the offer can be individualized

Step 3: Experiment and optimize while scaling
Formation is designed to get offers to market quickly not only for efficiency, but to allow marketers to learn as they scale.

In addition, marketers are better prepared from a technical perspective with 41% feeling “significantly better,” while 51% feel they are “a little better” prepared from a strategic perspective. Marketers also report preparedness for re-opening in the form of plans for getting “back to normal,” with 95% of marketers having a plan for a national lockdown exit, and 62% having multiple sets of plans.
Looking ahead, the report shows that marketers are optimistically prepared for the possibility of future stay-at-home orders with about 80% of respondents stating that they are better positioned to continue operating business as usual should stay-at-home orders continue.
Additionally, 74% of marketers have changed their approach to content developed for consumers and an overwhelming 96% of respondents state that their organizations will continue with their recent customer marketing innovations once the crisis is over.
Over 90% of respondents indicate that they are reassessing historical practices to eliminate under-performing activities or campaigns. Marketers have also been using this time to cut waste in their marketing programs, with 67% implementing new programs to improve first-party data capture, and 57% investing more in existing programs.

46% of brand members responded that they have realized strategic/ programmatic opportunities in their customer loyalty/CX offering they would like to address.
65% of brands had plans to make program changes or updates pre-COVID-19 that are now on hold
73% of respondents said their brand has experienced a shift in the allocation of marketing/technology spend due to COVID-19
Over a quarter of respondents (27 percent) said that their current technology offering precludes their brand from making required changes needed for their customer loyalty/CX program
Brands are looking to address a wide range of opportunities, but the most mentioned were: 50% extending status/point exploration, 50% increased personalization, 43% different reward options
Over half of brand member respondents (54%) said that as a result of COVID-19, their brand has realized technical opportunities in their customer loyalty/CX offering they would like to address.

90% agree that it’s “a good reward for their hard work.”
78% agree that it keeps them motivated to work harder.
77% agree that it makes the feel their company cares about them.
65% agree that digital incentives are better than other kinds of recognition.
81% completely or somewhat agree that a digital incentives would make them more likely to do business with that company in the future.
80% completely or somewhat agree that it would spur a brand recommendation to family or friends.
74% completely or somewhat agree that it increases loyalty to the company.
64% would be encouraged to shop online when they wouldn’t otherwise.
60% would lead them to make purchases they wouldn’t make otherwise.
When given the option, 52% of respondents chose digital incentives over plastic prepaid so they could receive their reward faster.
72% of digital incentive recipients report high levels of satisfaction adding the cards to a digital wallet.
63% of respondents report wanting to receive digital incentives to make online purchases.
There is also notable interest in digital incentives among mobile wallet users, regardless of how they are categorized generationally, based on their lifestyle preferences—evidenced by the fact that 59% of digital incentive users surveyed have a mobile wallet.
Gen Z employees surveyed are 150% more likely than Baby Boomer respondents to want a digital incentives from an employer; millennials are 140% more likely than Baby Boomers.
Gen Z and millennial respondents are each 120% more likely than Baby Boomers to want to receive a digital incentive from a business as a special offer or promotion.
Overall, 72% of respondents are highly satisfied with receiving digital incentives as a payment, incentive or rebate.

Loyal customers are 5x more likely to make a repeat purchase and 4x more likely to refer the brand to others.
Eighty percent of executives feel their brand understands the needs and desires of their consumers; only 15% of consumers agree.
Nearly three in four customers (73%) are likely to invest in a retailer’s premium loyalty program if they already belong to that retailer’s free loyalty program.
86% of consumers would choose retailers with premium loyalty programs they belong to over other retailers. This is even higher at 90% for millennials.
And 84% of consumers are likely to recommend a retailer to friends or family when the retailer offers a premium loyalty program with valuable benefits.
80% of millennials would be willing to join a premium loyalty program if their favorite retailers offered them and the benefits were valuable.
87% of consumers who are satisfied with the special benefits offered by a retailer’s paid loyalty program will likely choose that retailer over a competitor that is offering a lower price.
No matter the category, if the value is there, customers will gladly sign up and pay to be members of premium loyalty programs. They perceive these programs as “paying for themselves”

Setting up a world-class digital experience program to do that is a 3-phased approach: 1 Track & Diagnose 2 Optimize through Journey deep dives 3 Activate & Transform
92% of people who gave a high score for ‘emotion’ said they were more likely to purchase more from that company.

In just two weeks, the average company in our study saw the percentage of calls scored as “difficult” more than double from a typical level of 10% to more than 20%. Issues related to the pandemic — from unexpected travel cancellations to appeals for bill payment extensions and disputes over insurance coverage — dramatically increased the level of customer emotion and anxiety in service calls, making a job that is hard for reps on a normal day far more challenging.

One company in our study saw financial hardship-related calls, among the most difficult for reps to handle, increase 2.5 times in the span of a week.

Another big contributor is the fact that reps — most working from home for the first time — now find themselves without the infrastructure (like a reliable phone connection) or support (peers and managers available to lend a hand) they once enjoyed in the contact center. As a result, they may struggle more than usual to help customers. For instance, we measured a massive uptick in instances of both customers and reps saying, “I can’t understand you,” and some companies in our study saw hold times balloon by as much as 34 percent and escalations (calls sent up the chain of command) skyrocket more than 68 percent.

For one company in our study, difficult interactions had only a 6% chance of resulting in a cross-sell or up-sell, compared with a more than 80% chance that an easy interaction would. And, among customers threatening to defect, those who had had a difficult interaction had less than a 4% chance of accepting the company’s “save offer” (a promotion to entice them to stay) as compared to a 20% probability for customers whose interactions were scored as easy.

At the time the survey was conducted, 65% of shoppers using Amazon said they couldn't get everything (32.75%) or anything (32.25%) they really needed from the retailer. Less than a week later, it was reported that Amazon Prime delays reached the one-month mark, leaving consumers scrambling to find other online options to get the essentials they need.

Additionally, nine industries improved their score averages, and the number of brands with good scores jumped 3 percentage points to 20%, the largest gain in five years. The top 5% of brands that scored the highest across industries in their regions — the CX elite — include Lexus, Lincoln, Navy Federal Credit Union, USAA, and Zappos.com.
27% of brands improved their CX Index scores over the past year, a significant jump compared to previous years marked by minimal gains.

Stress and anxiety due to COVID-19 appears to impact our younger respondents differently depending on age (figure 14). More than 65% of Millennials (25-34, 35-44) reported feeling stressed, and that figure jumped to almost 90% for Gen Z (18-24). This finding aligns with known influences for these generations— younger workers tend to have less security (both job-based and financial) and typically are under more pressure to quickly adapt to more tools and technology while working from home.
Digital service usage has been skyrocketing since the onset of COVID-19. We looked more closely at usage across nine digital service categories and five generation segments. Unsurprisingly, more than 50% of Millennial and Gen-Z respondents said that, on average, they have used digital services more frequently in the past few months. 
Despite the burnout reported by many, more than 60% of employed respondents still expressed interest in working from home after COVID-19, and nearly 90% give their employers a passing grade on the amount of support they’ve offered. This may suggest that the stress that leads to burnout relates more to unmet technology needs that facilitate working from home. It might also indicate that stressors from other, non-workrelated aspects of consumers’ lives are affecting work/life balance and job satisfaction. It may take a while to fully analyze the many nuanced variables influencing people’s perceptions and feelings, but one thing is clear – now that they know it’s possible, people would like more work-from-home opportunities.
Since the onset of COVID-19, 14% of respondents lost their full-time employment status, primarily being forced to transition to either part-time employment or unemployment (figure 9). Regardless of employment status, all groups of respondents reported a decrease in spending in at least one common expenditure category (vacations, dining out, shopping, etc.).
Respondents highlighted confusion around how organizations are developing plans for the future of their physical locations. Many recognize the need for a new strategy, but are unsure about the actual plans (figure 8). Across the board, the majority of executives (58%) expect that a return to physical office spaces will occur within one month of stay-at-home orders being lifted. Some are planning to wait much longer once stayat-home orders are lifted – 12% say employees will return within the year.
Digital innovation is a priority with more than 75% of respondents planning to prioritize digital innovation in key areas like augmented and virtual reality following the crisis. 42% of executives also plan to increase spending on this initiative, and it saw the single largest improvement in priority among initiatives (figure 5). Interestingly, data modeling fell in priority, a potential indicator that with new behavior still developing it may not yet be the time to explore new data models.
Many businesses are re-prioritizing as a result of the changing landscape of the post-COVID-19 world. Organizations report that they are spending substantial time on efforts related to COVID-19, with 52% reporting spending at least as much time on COVID-19-related efforts as on normal initiatives (figure 4).
Most executives are regularly reviewing their employees for burnout as a result of the crisis. An additional 31% have only engaged in burnout reviews for their leadership and strategically critical roles. The majority of employees reported feeling regularly burned out or stressed, but the majority who felt this way also stated that they are interested in continuing to work from home regularly after this experience (figure 3).
16.4% Productivity has not been impacted by the COVID-19 crisis
34.1% Productivity has increased since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis
49.5% Productivity has decreased since the beginning of the COVID-19 crisis

Customer loyalty is a critical component of LTV because those who return to shop your brand purchase 31% more on average than new customers. Over time, loyal customers are estimated to be worth 10x more than their first purchase.

83% Consumers who are more likely to continue doing business with certain brands as a result of loyalty programs
50% The likelihood that existing customers are to try new products, compared to new customers
76% Consumers who said loyalty programs are part of their relationship with brands
89% Companies that see customer experience as a key factor in driving customer loyalty and retention.89% Companies that see customer experience as a key factor in driving customer loyalty and retention.
60% to 70% - The probability of selling to an existing customer, compared to just 5% to 20% for new prospect.


 

And research has shown that nearly 40% of a store’s revenue is generated from only 8% of its most loyal, repeat customers. 

25% to 100% The increase of average profit per customer that results from just a 5% increase in customer loyalty.

48% of customers have left a brand’s website and purchased from a competitor due to a poorly personalized experience
92% of marketers report using personalization techniques in their marketing
55% of marketers don’t feel they have sufficient customer data to implement effective personalization
63% of marketers say datadriven personalization is the most difficult online tactic to execute
89% of digital businesses are investing in personalization
80% of customers are more likely to purchase a product or service from a brand who provides personalized experiences
Personalization is the ultimate measure of a quality customer experience, with 91% of customers more likely to shop with brands that provide relevant offers and recommendations.
 

As many as 52 percent of retailers offer a loyalty program today, with another 12 percent planning to implement one. (Retail Touchpoints - Loyalty Playbook 2019 w/ Highlights)

We found that nearly 70% of consumers agree their loyalty is more difficult for a retailer to maintain than ever before, while 88% agree retailers could do more to earn their long-term loyalty

Focus on the person, not on the purchase: Brands that focus their personalization efforts beyond the purchase itself to include all the important moments that comprise the Member’s experience with the brand, and that endeavor to fulfil on a broader set of customer needs, will be successful in achieving personalization that truly delivers.
Keep up with changing preferences: Consumers aren’t static: their preferences, interests, behaviors, and life stages all change over time. Don’t take a “set it and forget it” approach. Check in with your Members regularly about their needs and use the data in a way that aligns with their current preferences.
Put an eye to privacy: You may have permission to collect and use data, but you can’t do personalization well without an eye to privacy. The beauty of loyalty is that it is an overt, transparent relationship. Consumers expect brands to know them if they’ve signed up to a program. That said, you must always consider where your personalization efforts will land on the “cool to creepy” continuum. For example, a customer might not mind being alerted to a promotion when they walk past their favorite coffee shop. Yet, if they’re driving by their bank and get an alert about a payment, it might feel more invasive.
Take credit for your efforts: Consumers are often blind to the level of personalization that brands are serving up because they don’t recognize their experience is different from that of others. Be sure to overtly draw attention to and take credit for your personalization efforts. For example, with an email, you can confidently write, “This has been personalized just for you.” Members will feel more special and recognized—two important drivers of Member satisfaction.
Just get started: Many marketers feel they need to get their entire house in order—from having the right technologies in place to breaking down organizational siloes—before they can unlock personalization. While those factors are important, our advice is to just get started. Everything you need to do personalization effectively is available to you. Don’t let striving for perfection get in the way of making progress. Just make sure you use the data you’re asking for in ways that add to the relationship.
5 recommendations to help brands move forward on personalization
Our research found that when personalization is done well, there is a 6.4× lift in satisfaction. Other benefits are: Members “say good things about the brand” (6× lift), “stay longer,” (5.2.× lift) and “spend more with the brand” (3.5× lift)—all important KPIs for loyalty marketers aiming to keep Members engaged and drive bottom-line results.
On even the most basic level, brands are falling short. While the vast majority of Members say information such as their first and last names, and demographic details (96%) are being collected, only 57% say that information is used.
Our Loyalty Report found that only 22% of loyalty Members are very satisfied with the level of personalization they get from brands with which they interact.

Research found that existing customers are 50% more likely to try new products and spend 31% more, on average, compared to new customers.

63% of consumers say they're prepared to modify their spending habits in order to maximize the benefits of a loyalty program.
70% of consumers are more likely to recommend a brand with a good loyalty program.
Bond Brand Loyalty • 77% of consumers say they are likely to stay with a brand that has a loyalty program.
According to Temkin Group, 77% of customers would recommend a brand to a friend after a single positive experience.
Bain & Company and Harvard Business School report that "increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits by 25% to 95%."
According to Marketing Metrics, the probability of selling to an existing customer is up to 14 times higher than the probability of selling to a new customer.

When survey respondents were asked what their biggest concerns related to global consumer contact regulations were, 65% stated that financial penalties were top of mind. However, when asked if they register with relevant Do Not Call lists to prevent violations that would result in fines prior to conducting outbound calling campaigns in other countries, 54% said they either did not register at all or they weren’t sure if they registered.
PossibleNOW™, a leading provider of enterprise preference management, consent, and compliance solutions, today announced the results of its latest survey, showing 81% of U.S. businesses engaged in international telemarketing report little to no knowledge of international laws and regulations.

Let’s take one step deeper. Out of all the respondents that are seeing an increase in online traffic, nearly 60% of brands are focusing heavily on marketing promotions. Seems to be working.
Out of the brands seeing no change or a decrease in online traffic, only 24% are shifting their focus to digital.
Out of the brands seeing an increase in online traffic, 80% are pushing forward and
investing more in digital.
74% of brands are heavily focused on investing in digital
Because of government mandates, many “non-essential” physical stores were forced to close down, while online stores can remain in operation. While it’s fortunate that brands can continue selling
online, there are still many challenges these brands are facing. For example, what can brands do to make sure they don’t run out of inventory? What about the inventory that’s been left in stores? Can retailers make up for the lost brick & mortar sales by selling
that inventory online? 69% of brands are planning to do just that. Since online traffic is increasing, inventory can be taken from physical stores and sold online. But it needs to be done fast — especially for brands that sell seasonal items, like apparel and footwear.
With the way things are looking, online shopping is not going to slow down anytime soon, so there is a solid opportunity here to make up for lost sales.
When asked if their websites are prepared to handle the anticipated influx in traffic due to more people shopping online, amazingly, 94% of respondents said “yes.” This would be great if it were true, but history
suggests otherwise. Each year, retail brands have around 10 months to prepare for the five biggest shopping days of the year: “Cyber 5.” And every year, major brands and small brands alike experience slow and inconsistent
site performance, crashed sites and use of waiting room technologies, destroyed reputations, issues at checkout, and millions of dollars lost to lack of preparedness.
45% Said online shopping will be a “necessity” for them to live their daily lives
94% Stated online shopping will be an important activity during the current crisis
Brands seeing traffic increase 72%
Brands seeing no change in traffic 21%
Brands seeing a decrease in traffic 7%

About three-quarters of consumers insist that brands must adapt others to their personal requirements and expectations, or they’ll choose to shop elsewhere.
One study shows that 92% of marketers report using personalization techniques in their marketing efforts.

Both seniors and millennials are impacting the U.S. in discernable and distinctive ways, affecting everything from the housing market to workplace culture to the healthcare industry. And with seniors and millennials making up over half the U.S. population – seniors making up 28.9% and millennials making up 23.3% – it’s easy to understand why.

21% of seniors and 22% of millennials are connecting to 7+ wi-fi accessible devices on a weekly basis, but the majority are connecting to 5 or less (73% of seniors and 66% of millennials).

Unsurprisingly, millennials lead the way in terms of digital service adoption with one exception: 2% more seniors say they shop online versus millennials (87% versus 85%).

Across generations, the biggest gap in digital service use is seen in riding sharing apps – while just 15% of seniors use these services, 37% of millennials say they do.

While many seniors (39%) have them listed on a sheet of paper that’s locked in their home or office, most millennials (40%) utilize an online password storage system.

Fortunately, a very small number from each generation “use the same password for all online accounts” (3% of seniors and 5% of millennials).

Across generations, a similar number have a few different passwords that they rotate between accounts so that there’s no need to store them (16% of millennials and 14% of seniors).

Seniors have a leg up on millennials regarding password reuse: 45% of seniors use the same password across 0-1 online accounts, while only 31% of millennials can say the same (most millennials [43%] are using the same password across 2-3 accounts).

44% of seniors and 48% of millennials always change their password afer a breach.

3% of both seniors and millennials never change their password after a breach.

While almost half of millennials (49%) have chosen the highest privacy settings possible, only 30% of seniors can say the same.

While 42% of millennials say they are extremely likely or likely to share “your location and away from home status at the time you are away,” only 14% of seniors practice this risky habit.

27% of millennials say they are extremely likely or likely to share their social media passwords with close friends

A whopping 56% of millennials allow either parents, siblings, close friends, or another familial relative to access their banking information.

19% of seniors allow either parents, siblings, close friends, or another familial relative to access their banking information.

Almost 1 in 2 (46%) of seniors and just 1 in 3 (33%) of millennials say no one else has access to their banking information.

We’ll admit we were a little shocked to see that over half of millennials and roughly 1 in 5 seniors share their banking information with at least one family member or friend outside of their spouse. But perhaps we shouldn't be so surprised knowing that familiar fraud is on the rise:  Javelin saw this rate jump to 15% in their 2018 Identity Fraud Study.  

While 35% of seniors feel they have a solid foundation of identity theft prevention knowledge and/or regularly seek out such knowledge, only 28% of millennials feel this way.

For those that didn’t feel they had a good grasp on identity theft prevention, the trending reason for seniors was “there’s so much conflicting information that I’m not sure who to trust” and for millennials “I know the information exists but don’t know where to find it.”

And while 21% of seniors regularly seek out the latest and most relevant identity theft prevention information, just 13% of millennials are doing so.

The top three “safe habits” that seniors and millennials engage in were the same: antivirus/antimalware (79% seniors and 55% of millennials); regularly checking their credit report/score (56% of seniors and 44% of millennials); and regularly monitoring financial accounts for suspicious activity (63% of seniors and 40% of millennials).

58% of seniors and 62% of millennials believe they’re doing all they can to protect themselves, but just 21% of seniors and 13% of millennials have identity theft protection.

Many consumers – no matter their age – aren’t sure where to buy an identity protection program, despite wanting one. A previous GGA study revealed that 58% of U.S. consumers plan to buy an identity protection program – so why the disparity? Often, it’s simply a matter of opportunity, and for most, the companies they trust to protect such data just aren’t offering a solution.

Amongst seniors, 84% believe that financial institutions are doing all they can to protect their data, and 82% believe that insurance companies are doing all they can.

Amongst millennials, 80% believe that financial institutions are doing all they can to protect their data, and 88% believe that insurance companies are doing all they can.

A little over 50% of our respondents said that they or someone in their household was working or studying from home.

As network of clients sees an 20% year-over-year increase in online orders since the beginning of 2020, Bazaarvoice highlights how user-generated content, social commerce, and brand advocacy are critical to e-commerce success.

When shopping online, the largest portion of shoppers (56%) said reviews were the e-commerce feature they relied on most to make informed purchase decisions faster, far ahead of the product description and professional photos (16%). When asked what type of UGC they wish they had more access to, photos from real customers was consumers’ top request. UGC doesn’t just address these preferences, it also impacts revenue: globally, when shoppers engage with reviews on best-in-class websites, there is a 138% lift in conversion and a 159% increase in revenue per visitor, both up from the previous year. To address this preference for more UGC, especially now as more consumers are shopping online, we expect brands to prioritize UGC on the e-commerce product page and to incorporate a wider variety of authentic content from consumers, making product descriptions and professional photos the secondary focus.

Not only do consumers prefer recommendations from peers, they are also purchasing directly from each other: This evolution of the typical e-commerce environment is already playing out one step further in two different but related trends: social commerce and recommerce. In the last year, 45% of respondents said they had purchased a product through a social media platform, 41% had purchased a product an influencer had recommended, and 62% had made a purchase from a secondhand marketplace. With much of the world shifting to online environments in the last two months, brands should determine how social commerce plays a role in their e-commerce strategy, particularly platforms or features that allow consumers to connect and shop with each other, with brands playing a less overt role.

Brands should leverage increased customer feedback to their advantage: Consumers can reach out to brands at any time through a variety of channels. Compared to other regions, North American consumers were most likely to say they had complained about a brand on social media (44%) and to have asked a brand a question across different channels, including through chat bots (36%), online Q&A features (41%), and store associates (46%). The always-on nature of customer feedback should be an advantage for brands, as long as they respond to and learn from their customers. 89% of consumers expect to hear from a brand within 24 hours when they ask a question through social media, and almost half expect brands to improve their products based on negative reviews. As consumers are unable to experience products and engage with brands in person, brands should be prepared to address an influx of customer questions and feedback, identify common praise and complaints, and quickly learn from this feedback to strengthen their business.

To build trust with consumers, brands and retailers should evaluate their approach to brand advocacy: Consumers look to a wide variety of people when it comes to reviews, recommendations, and content to inform purchase decisions. Overall, 75% of shoppers said they sometimes or always trust consumer reviews, 39% said they trust a brand employees’ product recommendation, and 40% said they’ve purchased a product from an influencer because they trusted their endorsement. It is critical for brands and retailers to have an approach to advocacy that includes a mix of different types of authentic, trustworthy “influencers” — from everyday consumers and employees to subject matter experts and micro-influencers — especially at a time when social media is playing a larger role in the shopping experience. Consumers are choosing to shop with businesses they want to see succeed in a post-pandemic world, and brand trust is more important now than ever: three out of four shoppers choose products based on brand reputation.

The insights we found, while based on research conducted in early 2020, are especially relevant today, as businesses everywhere navigate this period of uncertainty, said Joe Rohrlich, Chief Revenue Officer at Bazaarvoice. More shoppers are turning to online shopping out of convenience and necessity. This shift will accelerate innovation in e-commerce across a variety of industries, and our research shows what consumers are looking for from their shopping experience. Brands that provide an authentic online experience, agile customer service, and the ability for shoppers to connect to each other are poised to succeed now and in the future.

Forrester’s Consumer Technographics reveals that only 24% of US online adults agree that it’s cool to be associated with a company/brand on social media. And 68% don’t agree that brands/companies share interesting content on social media.

Tellingly, in 2020, only 24% of US online adults agree that it’s cool to be associated with a company or brand on social media (see Figure 1). When organic presences didn’t work, marketers binged on social advertising, increasing global social ad spend from $75 billion in 2018 to a forecasted $165.6 billion in 2023.

Thirty-seven percent of US online adults believe social media does more harm than good, and only 14% believe the info they read on social media is trustworthy.4 Sometimes brands are the source of this toxicity. Detox tea used celebrity endorsers on social networks to mispresent its health benefits.5 The Fyre Festival acted similarly to promote a fantastical music concert that never came to fruition.6 Amazon launched an employee ambassador program to almost comedic effect when seemingly planted ambassadors engaged in a Twitter war of words with company critics.7 Even honest social advertisers aren’t absolved: They fuel social networks with their advertising spend while asking for no safeguards for a healthy environment in return.
 

The survey also uncovered insights regarding projected purchasing habits as they relate to COVID-19 among U.S. female shoppers in 2021, as demonstrated by findings including:

● The commitment to local retail boutiques is consistent in the younger generations of female shoppers as well. 70% of female respondents ages 18-29 think about supporting a local business when they choose a retailer.

● Only 9% of female consumers have stopped shopping in person, a relatively small portion of the general population despite the widespread reports of a decline in in-store traffic. However, the survey results signal a shift in in-store shopping behavior, with 10% of respondents planning to exclusively shop in person in the new year.

● The female shoppers polled are highly motivated by the entire shopping experience and where she does life. When these consumers are out shopping, they enjoy shopping at apparel stores (43%), grabbing a cup of coffee (46%), dining at a restaurant (49%), and shopping for groceries (69%) or home goods (29%). These shoppers intentionally seek out multiple local retailers for a well-rounded shopping experience.

The brand new research reveals 82% percent of employees would like to receive a gift card from their employer as a holiday gift. Gift cards are preferred employee gifts because they:

• allow employees to choose what they want (76%)
• can be delivered physically or digitally (46%)
• can be re-gifted (29%)

The majority (89%) of Americans plan to celebrate Halloween this year. With most of those celebrations being just with family or virtual – but trick or treating traditions hold strong.

• 48% plan to host a house party with only members of family
• 39% plan to host a virtual Halloween party
• 41% plan to take their children trick or treating

Enthusiasm for Halloween treats remains high - 96% plan to buy Halloween candy this year, and are buying with the intention to:

• 31% give out to trick or treaters
• 28% to have a small gathering of friends and family
• 25% to give to their children

Ron Ruffinott, Senior Research Solutions Consultant at Toluna, said, “While trick or treating will likely be scaled back to some degree this year, candy sales are up ahead of the holiday.  This speaks to a strong desire to return to normalcy, as well as an emotional need for consumers to ‘treat’ themselves for their endurance over the last several months.”

Of those surveyed, 90% will celebrate Thanksgiving this year, with the pandemic driving adjustments to those holiday plans to be smaller and more family only type gatherings relative to prior years.

• 34% plan to celebrate with a quiet, small gathering of immediate family
• 24% plan to celebrate only with those they live with
• 14% plan to attend a large family gathering if social distance rules allow

Travel plans for Thanksgiving have also suffered, as 58% of people do not plan to travel at all for the holiday.    

Of those planning to travel, their trips this year will be primarily semi-local:

• 65% report they will stay within the state
• 66% of those will travel by car

Many are opting out of Friendsgiving plans as well, with 44% reporting they will not host or attend a Friendsgiving celebration.

Ruffinott said, “Even strong, broadly celebrated, holidays like Thanksgiving, where the core celebration is togetherness, will be different in 2020.  How and where they travel, who they celebrate with, and the size of those gatherings will all be impacted.  This is most strongly evidenced by only 14% of people planning to attend a large family function.”

Despite caution about gatherings and travel for the holiday, people still plan to do their Black Friday shopping in stores:

• 78% believe stores will be very busy on Black Friday
• Yet, 47% of those surveyed plan to shop in store

Americans believe there are good deals to be had on Black Friday, with 79% expecting there to be better and bigger sales this Black Friday. In order to get the best deals, people are split on strategy:

• 38% plan to visit a store or shopping center
• 36% plan to purchase an item online and get it delivered
• For holiday gifts in particular, 40% plan do a mix of online and in store shopping

Meanwhile, enthusiasm for Cyber Monday remains lower than Black Friday – with only 61% of Americans reporting they will participate, despite 79% expecting there to be better and bigger deals this Cyber Monday.

Along with the promise of good deals, Americans are conscious this year’s shopping will be quite different than past years.

• 40% believe there will be many more deals and discounts
• 39% believe items will be going of stock faster due to surge in online shopping
• 36% believe popular items will be going out of stock quickly due to smaller inventories

The fear of low stock has caused many Americans to start their shopping early – 56% report fears about being able to get the gifts they want. As a result, 59% have already begun their shopping or plan to this month.

If stock is low, people are prepared to shell out for what they want. 56% of Americans are willing to pay more for gifts this year if they are in short supply.

Ruffinott said, “We see people looking to return to normalcy, and look forward to the holiday.  They are planning to shop earlier given the shortages experienced over the last few months, and concerns about shipping delays.  We’ll see people compromise in some areas.”

When it comes to the December Holiday, people are less likely to celebrate in groups than Thanksgiving:

• 35% plan to have a small, quiet gathering of immediate family at home
• 27% plan to have small celebration on with those they live with
• Only 12% plan to attend a big family gathering if social distance rules allow

Despite caution around gatherings, Americans plan to keep some holiday traditions, including:

• 48% plan to attend a Holiday party
• 34% plan to attend a Holiday market

Ruffinott said, “We’re seeing a ‘back to basics’ approach to the holidays and end of year.  Most are introspective, and plan small gatherings with family.  As resolutions are made, they are simpler, less commercial, and more reflective on learnings from the past year.”

Fewer yet plan to celebrate New Year’s, as:

• 29% plan to have a small, quiet gathering of immediate family at home
• 25% plan to have small celebration on with those they live with
• Only 12% plan to attend a house party  

In the New Year, Americans are resolved to improving health, being happier and becoming a better person. This year’s top resolutions are:

• 31% - be happier and more content with life
• 30% - be a better person
• 29% - eat healthier
• 28% - more self-care

“Early” is even earlier than brands might initially think for the holiday shopping season, especially for this demographic. In fact, nearly half (48%) of millennials begin holiday shopping before October, and just under 1 in 4 do so before July. For those millennials who begin holiday shopping before October, 73% have joined a loyalty program solely to use the benefits and rewards during the holiday shopping season.
During the holiday season, millennial shoppers are fiercely loyal to their favorite retailers: 89% of millennial respondents are more likely to holiday shop at a retailer where they are already a loyalty member. And among millennials who are already premium loyalty members and plan to join more programs in 2020, the number who choose their loyalty retailers during the holidays jumped to 95%.
First and foremost, 40% of respondents expect to receive their premium loyalty benefits immediately, not after 10 purchases and not after a month of consistent buying.
In fact, 67% of respondents are likely to join a premium loyalty program if they already belong to that retailer’s free loyalty program.
The survey found that 66% of respondents currently belong to a premium loyalty program. This is a promising increase when compared to the 58% reported in 2019.
74% of millennials plan to join additional premium loyalty programs in 2020
88% of respondents are likely to choose a retailer whose premium loyalty program they belong to over a competitor that is offering a lower price
70% of those not in a premium program would join if their favorite retailer offered one and the benefits were valuable
94% of premium loyalty members shop at that program’s retailer at least once a month
69% of premium loyalty members plan to join additional premium programs in 2020
In 2020, loyalty is critical: Nearly two-thirds of customers say their loyalty is more difficult for retailers to maintain than ever before, confirming what we already know to be true: With unlimited choices at customers’ fingertips, earning loyalty today takes more than just a plastic punch card or weekly coupon.

This trend appears to be here to stay as approximately three quarters (74 percent) state they will continue to use contactless post-pandemic.
The majority of respondents (82 percent) view contactless as the cleaner way to pay, and contactless payments are up to 10 times faster than other in-person payment methods, enabling customers to get in and out of stores faster.
Globally, nearly half of respondents (46 percent) have swapped out their top-of-wallet card for one that offers contactless – this proportion climbs to 52 percent among those under 35 years old.
79 percent of respondents worldwide say they are now using contactless payments, citing safety and cleanliness as key drivers. Consumer polling by Mastercard, studying changing consumer behaviors in 19 countries around the world, paints a picture of accelerated and sustained contactless adoption.
Between February and March, contactless transactions grew twice as fast as non-contactless transactions in the grocery and drug store categories
In a Mastercard global consumer study, nearly eight in 10 say they use contactless payments

Points’ data shows that up to 26% of total promotional revenue can come from smart web and mobile placements.

Loyalty leaders grow revenues roughly 2.5x as fast as other companies in their industries.

48% of consumers have left a brand’s website and purchased from a competitor due to a poorly personalized experience.
42% of marketers do not segment at all, despite the fact that segmented, campaigns account for 77% of the email ROI
70% of customers say that connected processes, including offers designed based on past purchases, are very important to earning their business.
About 84% of customers say that being treated like a person, not a number, is very important to winning their business
 

A third of customers (34%), especially millennials and younger consumers, demand more bespoke and alternative benefits for their loyalty instead of points. In 2013, 73% of women and 55% of men said they really valued the benefits they got from loyalty cards, but this sentiment fell to 63% of women and 45% of men by 2019. 60% of consumers who say their loyalty to their favourite brand is genuine go on to name brand social responsibility as a reason for their loyalty.
Most popular loyalty programs in the U.S: These are the top three mentioned loyalty programs our survey respondents participate in: 1. Amazon Prime 2. Kroger Plus 3. Starbucks
Only 12% of the consumers we surveyed said their favorite brand successfully personalizes for them.
We asked survey participants to select all of the rewards that appeal most to them. 88% of people want discounts and cash back rewards, 65% want free products, and 41% want to be able to redeem for charitable donations.
Of the consumers we surveyed we found that 55% want to receive personalized recommendations, however, only 37% have purchased something that was recommended to them by a brand in the past six months. Bad personalization is worse than no personalization.
While 45% of the people we surveyed said they were willing to share their data in exchange for personalized experiences there is a massive opportunity for brands to build trust with consumers and overcome concerns they have around data collection and use.
Over half of the consumers we surveyed cite high shipping fees as their biggest online shopping frustration, followed by fees for returns and lengthy delivery wait times.
Only 37% of respondents are willing to download an app to help them navigate a store and check inventory. We also found that 64% of consumers prefer to be left alone when browsing in-store.
41% of consumers still enjoy trying and buying in-store, however 40% of consumers stated that long check-out lines is their biggest in-store shopping frustration.
64% of consumers prefer to shop online and 48% of consumers also enjoy shopping in-store.
People understand the value of loyalty programs, and are willing to pay for them. 59% of people are willing to pay for a loyalty program with valuable perks like free shipping (for example, Amazon Prime).
Our research found that consumers want to be rewarded for recommending or endorsing a brand. For example, 72% of consumers answered that they would write reviews or refer their friends to earn points. In addition, 87% of respondents answered that they would refer friends and family to their favorite brand.
Our research finds that 39% of consumers want free delivery and 29% want special member prices and perks as a loyalty program member. Consumers are less interested in VIP events or access to exclusive sales promotions.
54% of consumers said the number one reason they join a loyalty program is to save money. The second biggest reason consumers join is for member-only perks like free shipping and free samples.
The main reasons why consumers abandon loyalty programs are because the rewards aren’t compelling or relevant enough (27%), and it takes too long to earn points (27%).
71% of people are active in at least one to five loyalty programs per month.
Reward redemption is also comparatively high. 68% of people redeem rewards at least once a quarter, and 25% of those redeem at least once a month.
71% of the consumers we surveyed are active in at least one to five loyalty programs per month. 56% of respondents have at least one loyalty program app on their phone.
40% of respondents said their favorite brand has a loyalty program and they are a member. 20% said their favorite brand doesn’t have a loyalty program but they would join if they did.
62% of the consumers we surveyed answered that they could be persuaded to choose one brand over another due to the presence of a loyalty program.
What exactly makes a consumer feel happy or valued? We asked consumers what makes them loyal to a specific brand and 72% answered a good product selection, 67% answered that the products are fairly priced, and 43% said a good shopping experience.
We asked consumers to tell us what emotion they felt when they think about their favorite brands. Almost half of the respondents answered “happy”. The second strongest emotion was “understood”.

Upon establishing a loyalty strategy, retailers first must differentiate between building true loyal connections and delivering pure incentives or discounts, said Shep Hyken, Chief Amazement Officer at Shepard Presentations. 
With shoppers on average participating in 14.8 memberships , they are active in less than half, according to Bond Brand Loyalty. 
As many as 52% of retailers offer a loyalty program today, with another 12% planning to implement one, according to the 2019 Retail Touch Points Customer Acquisition and Retention Benchmark Report. Loyalty members candrive a large portion of company sales: 44% of retailers sayat least 40% of their total revenue comes from loyalty program members. As many as 60% report that members spend 2X to 3X more than non-members, a LoyaltyOne report said. 

Many of today’s revamped loyalty programs involve incentives and benefits including points, product discounts (68%), cashback rewards (61%), birthday perks (57%) and free shipping (49%), according to the 2019 Gartner L2 Loyalty Intelligence Report.