Online loyalty 'best with a personal discount'
Consumers on the internet are apparently embracing the idea of the personalisation of marketing offers, with 74% of internet users saying they want customer loyalty schemes that offer discounts based on their online browsing behaviour, according to a survey commissioned by web content management firm SDL Tridion.
The survey, entitled 'What the Customer Wants', noted an increasing sophistication in consumers' internet usage, and provided new insights into what they really want from their online shopping experiences.
Contrary to popular belief, internet users do not generally consider businesses that track their online behaviour and shopping habits to be overly intrusive. In fact, 74% of respondents said that they value customer loyalty programmes more when they offer discounts based on their personal shopping habits.
Consumers also said they want convenience and relevance to help speed up and simplify their online experience, with two-thirds (66%) expecting to view web site content that is specific to their interests and needs.
"The recession may have prompted consumers to shop online to find the best deals and save money, but what is refreshing is how much more sophisticated they are in their online usage," said Tim Norman, SDL's sales director for Northern Europe. "They understand the benefits of having their behaviour tracked and profiled, and most will welcome customer loyalty schemes that reward that willingness with individually tailored discounts. Many consumers no longer see personalisation as a threat to their personal privacy but actually as a way of deriving convenience and savings, both time and money."
Among they highlights of the study:
- The recession has prompted 30% of internet users to shop online more often than they did previously;
- When browsing content or shopping online, 74% of internet users value customer loyalty schemes that offer discounts based on their personal shopping habits more highly than other feature;
- 51% of internet users say that their decision of where to shop online would be swayed by a vendor offering a customer loyalty scheme;
- Almost half of internet users think it is important that web sites should email them with updates on products or services that cater to their specific preferences or interests (47%) and a similar proportion (45%) would like to see suggestions for other products or services of interest whilst they are browsing;
- 84% of internet users would be less likely to visit web sites that hit them with unsolicited and unwanted information (like pop-ups and emails);
- 41% would be more inclined to shop online with a vendor that allowed them to create a personal shopping profile which stored information about browsing habits and purchases;
- 30% of internet users consider consistency to be important, expressing dissatisfaction with the inconsistent look and feel of company web sites, emails, blogs and forums.
Sources: SDL Tridion / The Marketing Factbook.
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