Personalization is a key factor
UK consumer behaviour is being reshaped by the current COVID crisis, with 27% of people saying they’ll do more activities digitally long-term. Yet, despite the opportunity for brands to increase digital revenues, 59% of consumers are not happy with the level of personalization and reassurance delivered online by most companies, according to a new consumer study.
The research, commissioned by Kameleoon and Conversion.com, found that nearly three-quarters (73%) of the 1,000 consumers surveyed said the current digital experience would change who they bought from, and their future spending. Those brands that do provide a personalized experience now will benefit long-term – 50% said they’d spend less (or switch completely) from brands that hadn’t delivered during the crisis.
© Kameleoon
73% expect online personalization as standard and 83% want to receive personalized emails from brands. However, many brands are not meeting their needs – 76% of respondents said that not all companies were making the effort to customize the online experience. “This needs to be a wake-up call for brands to focus on experimentation and customizing the experience for each and every consumer if they want to retain their business in the future”, said Jean-Rene Boidron, CEO, Kameleoon.
Consumers identified the top benefits of digital as saving money (ranked first by 31% of respondents), ahead of having greater choice (23%). They are willing to exchange these benefits for sharing their data – 43% listed being tracked by brands as the least important factor when embracing digital.
“COVID-19 has accelerated digital adoption. That means late adopters are coming to market for retail and grocery shopping. But it also means a larger number of customers are engaging with digital products and services for the first time,” commented Stephen Pavlovich, CEO, Conversion.com. “That’s a huge opportunity for brands that adapt quickly – those with the leading edge will benefit most. But as their audience profile changes, brands need to invest in upfront research to better understand their new customers’ needs.”
The research is part of a global study carried out in April 2020 that evaluated the impact of COVID on the digital behaviour of 5,128 consumers from the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy. Key differences between countries included:
- 24% of French consumers said they didn’t see any brands making an effort to personalize the experience, against 11% in the US
- 52% of US consumers wanted websites to adapt automatically to meet their needs, against 22% of Germans
- 43% of Italians are doing more online, compared to a study average of 32%
- Just 9% of Italians said they’d switch back to just using offline channels – in contrast to 19% of Germans
Source: Kameleoon
