Online shoppers want to get personal with retailers—but perhaps not too cozy and close, suggest new survey findings from Accenture, a consulting and technology services firm.
The survey finds about 60% of consumers want to receive from retailers “real-time promotions and offers,” but only 20% of shoppers desire to share their current locations with retailers, and only 14% want to share their web browsing histories.
Accenture bases its findings on a survey conducted in October 2014 of 1,000 U.S. consumers between the ages of 20 and 40.
“Personalization is a critical capacity 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,” says Dave Richards, global managing director of Accenture’s retail practice. “If retailers approach marketing 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.”
The “Accenture Personalization Survey” also finds:
• 48% of consumer respondents “are receptive to getting reminders online to order items that they might have run out of and need to be fulfilled.”
• 51% of respondents like the idea of “one-click checkout retailers who know how customers want to pay and have items shipped.”
• Retailers hoping to gain more information from consumers should offer exclusive deals—cited as motivation for sharing personal data by 64% of consumers—automatic crediting for coupons and loyalty points (64%), one-time discounts (61%) and special offers (61%).
•Consumers are more willing to share gender information (cited by 65% of respondents) than age (53%), contact information (52%) and contact information for social media (24%).