Personalised online shopping preferences vary for UK & US

AgilOne, a predictive creative cloud, has completed a survey of marketing personalisation preferences for shoppers in different territories.

The company surveyed more than 3,000 adult consumers in the US and UK on their shopping personalization preferences using retail research agency Conlumino. Everyday marketers are searching for new ways to be more targeted, customized and relevant with their communication efforts, be it via email, newsletters, advertising or social media.

More then 70 percent of consumers expect some type of personalisation

More than 70 percent of consumers in the US and UK expect some type of personalization from the brands they interact with. The survey found the highest anticipated customized efforts to be ‘remembering how long a person has been a customer’ and ‘remembering past purchases’.

Consumers may expect personalization from their brands, however, the type of personalization these customers would like varies from person to person. It is important to understand which customized communications are appreciated by which customers in order to ensure maximum engagement and reduce opt out rates.

Many people appreciate email discounts as opposed to pop up offers (66 percent vs 24 percent in US), for example. Geographic location is a large factor as well; consumers in the UK are much more selective about which communications they appreciate. For instance, less than 20 percent of consumers in the UK would like automatic refill reminders.

The younger generation aged 18-34 is leading the way in expecting and demanding more personalization of their brands. They are more comfortable than older generations with brands having their personal information such as size (45 percent 18-24 vs. 21 percent 65+) and birthdays (52 percent 18-24 vs. 21 percent 65+). Milennials are also more interested in customized campaigns such as a discount to check out an abandoned cart online (54 percent -34 vs. 31 percent 65+) and new customer welcome offers (61 percent 25-34 vs 39 percent 65+). The preferences of the younger generation are a great indicator as to what the future of shopping behaviors and marketing strategies holds.