• by Ray Schultz , December 13, 2018

Consumers are doing their Thanksgiving week shopping earlier than before. And they are willing to trade personal data for a better experience, according to a study by Qubit.

The lesson for email marketers is that they need to send tailored messages — and send them earlier. 

Qubit’s own platform data shows that 19.48% of this purchases occurred in the five-day period prior to Thanksgiving, compared with 14.78% last year and 3.48% in 2016.

And of 417 U.S. residents surveyed in the consumer part of the study, 1.25% say they started their shopping earlier than they did in 2017, versus 29.3% who didn’t and 29.5% who say their habits are about the same.

Meanwhile, 68% say they will share preferences and data with brands to obtain a personalized experience. But 24.54% don’t want brands using their data.

In addition, 44.36% find recommendations useful, and 49.88% have bought something that was suggested to them. Almost 60% visit two to three websites before they buy.

And 50.1% are finding more products on mobile, and 44.8% are buying via mobile. 

Meanwhile, 30.7% say relevance is the main reason they shop on Amazon. In addition, 27.58% are attracted by Amazon stocking everything, and 19.42% say they shop this way because of delivery times. 

"Shopping starting earlier means more browsing and product discovery, which means more data points that can be used for the customer experience," states Leah Anathan, CMO of Qubit.

Anathan adds: "Consumers are expecting personalization now more than ever. This indicates that personalization provides real benefits to both shoppers and retailers and is an accepted part of shopping online.” 

Anathan continues that “another surprising takeaway from the consumer survey is the growing acceptance of product recommendations. As recommendation engines have advanced, they’re also proving to be a consistent revenue driver for retailers.”

Regarding mobile, Anathan says: “Retailers still have some way to go to close the revenue gap, but mobile is clearly a huge engagement driver across the peak shopping season. Mobile also shows great potential for retailers as they launch campaigns for Christmas and other major holidays throughout the year.”