Study: Brick-and-mortar shoppers make it personal
Even in the age of self-checkout, consumers want a personalized store experience.
According to results from a new special report on personalization from Boston Retail Partners (BRP), 79% of consumers indicate that personalized service is an important factor in determining at which store they choose to shop. Yet only 53% of retailers listed personalization as one of their top customer engagement priorities for 2019, revealing a store experience disconnect between retailers and customers.
Shoppers are even willing to sacrifice privacy for some personalized attention in the store. Almost two-thirds (64%) of consumers are comfortable with retailers identifying them via their mobile phone when they enter a store, as long as it means they are offered a personalized experience. The retailer disconnect is even more pronounced here, with 63% of retailers unable to identify their customers prior to checkout and 20% incapable of identifying them until after checkout or not at all.
Brick-and-mortar customers are also receptive to personalized loyalty programs. Approximately seven in 10 (68%) are likely to shop at a store offering personalized rewards based on customer loyalty. However, only slightly less than half (48%) of retailers currently offer personalized in-store rewards based on customer loyalty and another 30% plan to offer them within two years.
“Effective customer engagement requires retailers to offer a personalized, relevant, compelling and consistent experience across channels,” said Ken Morris, principal at BRP. “In today’s crowded and highly competitive market, personalization is a critical component for optimizing the customer’s shopping experience. Customer identification is necessary to personalize the in-store shopping experience; however, 63% of retailers can’t identify their customers prior to checkout, which is too late to empower the associate to influence the current purchase decision.”
Findings are taken from the BRP Consumer Study and the 20th Annual POS/Customer Engagement Survey.
According to results from a new special report on personalization from Boston Retail Partners (BRP), 79% of consumers indicate that personalized service is an important factor in determining at which store they choose to shop. Yet only 53% of retailers listed personalization as one of their top customer engagement priorities for 2019, revealing a store experience disconnect between retailers and customers.
Shoppers are even willing to sacrifice privacy for some personalized attention in the store. Almost two-thirds (64%) of consumers are comfortable with retailers identifying them via their mobile phone when they enter a store, as long as it means they are offered a personalized experience. The retailer disconnect is even more pronounced here, with 63% of retailers unable to identify their customers prior to checkout and 20% incapable of identifying them until after checkout or not at all.
Brick-and-mortar customers are also receptive to personalized loyalty programs. Approximately seven in 10 (68%) are likely to shop at a store offering personalized rewards based on customer loyalty. However, only slightly less than half (48%) of retailers currently offer personalized in-store rewards based on customer loyalty and another 30% plan to offer them within two years.
“Effective customer engagement requires retailers to offer a personalized, relevant, compelling and consistent experience across channels,” said Ken Morris, principal at BRP. “In today’s crowded and highly competitive market, personalization is a critical component for optimizing the customer’s shopping experience. Customer identification is necessary to personalize the in-store shopping experience; however, 63% of retailers can’t identify their customers prior to checkout, which is too late to empower the associate to influence the current purchase decision.”
Findings are taken from the BRP Consumer Study and the 20th Annual POS/Customer Engagement Survey.