Accenture: Consumers want personal offers; wary about disclosing personal info
New York -- U.S. consumers want a more personalized retail experience but are conflicted about disclosing the type of personal information that goes along with it, according to a survey from Accenture. Nearly 60% of consumers want real-time promotions and offers, yet only 20% want retailers to know their current location and only 14% want to share their browsing history.
In the “Accenture Personalization Survey,” nearly all (90%) of the respondents said if the option was available they would limit access to certain types of personal data and would stop retailers from selling their information to third parties. In addition, 88% would prefer to determine how the data can be used and 84% want to review and correct information.
Consumers are more willing to share certain personal details with retailers, including demographic information such as gender (65%), age (53%) and contact information (52%). But only 24% would share their contact information on social media. Financial (credit score), medical and social media contacts details are deemed the most sensitive, with 13, eight and five percent, respectively, willing to share this information with retailers.
Other notable findings include:
• Almost half (48%) of those surveyed are receptive to getting reminders online to order items that they might have run out of and need to be refilled (from mass retailers, drug stores and grocery stores) and 51% like the idea of “one-click” checkout retailers who know how consumers want to pay and have items shipped.
• Forty-eight percent say they don’t like the idea of in-store purchases being charged automatically to their account without them taking out their wallet or mobile phone.
• As part of the information exchange for a more personalized retail experience consumers also expect to get something in return. The key benefits cited include: access to exclusive deals (64%), automatic crediting for coupons and loyalty points (64% a one-time discount (61%) or special offers (61%).
• Millennials are more likely than Baby Boomers to look for advice on in-store purchases. Forty-five percent like the idea of a personal shopper who can pull items according to the customer’s style, fit or wardrobe, versus 28% of Baby Boomers.
• Baby-boomers are more demanding than Millennials when it comes to receiving benefits in exchange for their data. Almost three-quarters (74%) expect to get automatic crediting for coupons and loyalty points, and 70% expect special offers for items they are interested in, versus 58% and 61% of Millennials, respectively.
“Personalization is a critical capability for retailers to master, but as our survey shows, addressing the complex requirements of U.S. consumers is challenging because they are conflicted on the issue,” said Dave Richards, global managing director of Accenture’s Retail practice. “If retailers approach and market personalization as a value exchange, and are transparent in how the data will be used, consumers will likely be more willing to engage and trade their personal data.”