Series Four – The Impact of Loyalty, Discounts & Personalization
Our latest blog series pulls together valuable retail statistics and series 4 reviews customer expectations around loyalty, discounts and personalization in retail today.
The Opportunity
It seems there is a huge amount of opportunity to improve customer perception with 64% [1] of consumers believing retailers do not truly know them.
How Fickle Is Today’s Consumer?
A big topic in the retail world is customer loyalty and it would seem consumers still have a special place in their heart for some retailers. A reported 77% [2] of customers, 60% of which are millennials, have an affiliation with specific brands which spans more than 10 years.
Should retailers invest in Loyalty Programs?
There is a demand for the RIGHT type of loyalty program. Statistics show that the average U.S. household is enrolled in more than 18 loyalty programs but is only active in approximately 8 [3]. Ensuring your brands loyalty program is one of the chosen can be lucrative, when you consider that loyal customers are seven times more likely to test an offering, five times more likely to make a repeat purchase and four times more likely to refer the brand [4].
Impact of Discounts
Without doubt discounts heavily impact consumer purchase behavior with 77%5 indicating that discounts influence their shopping habits and a further 48% stating discounts also speed up their decision-making process.
Discounts Versus Experience
However it seems consumers are complex beings and are not always looking for discounts. When customers have a great experience, they’re willing to pay up to a 16% price premium [6] for the privilege.
Personalization
Personalization has been heralded as one way in which retailers can stand out and make a positive impact on customer interaction and ultimately their bottom line. There is a growing expectation from consumers that retailers should be personalizing shopping experience with 62% [1] expecting companies to send personalized discounts or offers based on previous purchases. Personalization matters so much to today’s consumers that 57% [1] are willing to share personal information if the retailer can provide personalized offers.
1. https://www.salesforce.com/blog/2019/04/customer-retail-statistics.html
2. http://www.inmoment.com/solutions/retail/
3. http://www.macorr.com/blog/?p=347
4. https://experiencematters.blog/category/roi-of-customer-experience/
6. https://www.pwc.com/gx/en/industries/consumer-markets/consumer-insights-survey.html