As more and more retailers employ active multi-channel customer engagement strategies in a bid to foster loyalty, the danger of sending irrelevant information to shoppers has been highlighted in a new survey.
In today’s multi-channel retail environment, retailers are stepping on each other’s toes to offer the flashiest deals, rewards programmes and bonus perks, with the goal of capturing long-term consumer attention and turning one-off buyers into repeat, loyal customers, says ecommerce firm Fresh Relevance.
Yet, in this abundance of choice, it proves challenging to define what makes the modern shopper keep coming back for more. In its 2018 Loyalty Forecast, Fresh Relevance identified the four pieces of the loyalty puzzle, breaking down the touchpoints that create repeat customers. The Forecast was based on a survey of over 1,000 consumers by third party research firm YouGov.
Convenience rules
With an oversaturation of online and in-store options, any slight inconvenience can prompt a shopper to turn to a competitor. Retailers would be remiss not to prioritise optimising their online presence, as nearly half (46%) of respondents state that a frustrating online experience hurts their opinion of a retailer. More than a third (38%) are unlikely to purchase from a retailer if their mobile site doesn’t function well.
The age of the experience store
Despite the growing prevalence of ecommerce, physical stores are crucial to a satisfactory customer experience. Investing in experiential retail is particularly beneficial for retailers targeting millennials, as more than one in five (22%) would be more likely to purchase from a retailer that offered a unique experience in relation to their offerings.
Ease of services
One way of attracting loyal customers is as easy as simplifying services like shopping and returns. Yet, emerging forms of expedited check-out and delivery aren’t a major priority for shoppers yet. Just one in six (17%) said scan & go checkout (a la Amazon Go) is a critical option. However, more than one in four (26%) with children under 18 consider this service important. Additionally, just 9% place an emphasis on drone delivery.
Targeted communications
To ensure consumers are happy with the content and frequency of marketing communications, retailers should consider abandoning large scale untargeted email marketing strategies: over one in four (28%) are more likely to be loyal to a store that sends messages that are tailored to them.
However, calling consumers by their first names isn’t an effective personalisation strategy: 35% of consumers don’t find it important.
Two in five consumers (41%) would consider not shopping with a retailer that regularly emailed them irrelevant information while 25% want to be sent product recommendations based on items they’ve already viewed or purchased.
