The latest study by RedShift Research on behalf of the newly launched personalized discovery platform firm BloomReach, shows that most e-commerce marketers in the UK fail to deliver on online shoppers’ expectations in regard to personalization experience.
The survey that polled 1,000 consumers and sampled 122 UK online retailers, reveales that Amazon is perceived by 82% of responders as the number one e-retailer by level of personalization.
The 2014 Consumer and Marketer Personalisation Study explores attitudes towards some personalization features, such as product recommendations, intuitive search results, relevant content and ease of navigation. Some interesting facts from the study are, as follows:
- 34 percent of retailers said they thought that brand reputation was the most important factor when consumers choose a retailer and just 2 percent thought that personalized shopping experience was an important factor;
- 31 percent of consumers said they would be more likely to make purchases if they were offered personalized experiences such as product recommendations or tailored content;
- 85 percent said brand reputation was not an important factor;
- 59 percent of consumers believe that online experiences are more unique to their needs;
- however, 80 percent of retail marketers disagreed with this, saying that online could not offer a more personal experience;
- 54% of customers find that online retailers are beginning to customize website experience;
- just 10% of customers find name greetings worthwhile;
- 54% of UK e-commerce marketers do not have a customized or personalized purchasing experience on their website;
- 10% of e-retailers believe social media, paid search and display ads help drive customers to their websites.
Raj De Datta, co-founder and CEO of BloomReach said: “There is clearly a gap between what UK consumers are looking for in an online experience and what UK retail brands think consumers are looking for.
Amazon has raised the bar in customer experience and the challenge is for retailers across the world to try to match that. The good news is that consumers are more open to competitor brands, placing little value in brand reputation but a lot of importance in the experience.
Marketers need to recognize that brand reputation is not as important as they think it is and focus more on improving customer experience.”
The infographics below better visualize the quantitative findings of the study:
