Cookies Or Not, Consumers Expect Marketers To Know Them

It would be an understatement to say online shopping has undergone a major transition in the past year. Adoption of real-time payments grew by 41% in 2020, and consumers flocked online to buy their groceries. And while online shopping has changed, so have consumer expectations.

As marketers transition their targeting tactics, 27% of consumers cited challenges to deal with inconsistent messaging across channels, 25% said when brands fail to remember preferences based on previous purchase, and 24% pointed to irrelevant content or products that send too many or two few messages and doesn’t personalize the experience. That's according to data released today by MoEngage, an insights-led customer engagement platform.

MoEngage fielded a survey of adults that analyzes shopping behavior between February 25 and March 8, 2021, across 1,000 consumers in the U.S., the U.K., Canada, and Germany.

The survey provides insights into the type of personalized messages consumers prefer, and how often they prefer them. A breakdown of consumer preferences by global region and their future shopping behaviors, including how many consumers have regularly shifted from in-store to online shopping, and how global consumers intend to shop online vs physical stores in the future. It also looks at future media types marketers might use. 

The results show that overall, consumers have moved on from the question about brands collecting personal information to when and how brands use this data to present offers. 

Not only do consumers expect brands to know who they are and what they want to buy, but they also notice when brands fail to create a unified personal experience across channels.

How do North American consumers expect brands to personalize their experience? About 36% cited buying more online than in person, 28% cited reducing shipping costs, 17% said done business with a new brand, 12% said buying more in person than online, and 8% said no change in shopping habits.

When it comes to brand loyalty in the United States and Canada, consumers rate the quality of the product as most important, but great customer services and communication are close behind.

  • 33% of North American consumers still prefer to be communicated to by brands through email
  • 18% prefer websites
  • 14% prefer social media
  • 12% prefer text, SMS messages, and apps.

Consumers want to receive messages through a mix of channels. For example, top interests include:

  • 30% promotional offers and coupons
  • 24% sales and campaigns
  • 20% new merchandise, products and services

In the United States, the most commonly adopted channel is mobile app, with 22% of consumers adopting it to communicate with brands. Email follows with 18%.

In Canada, the data is contrary to the United States. Email at 26% is most commonly adopted channel by Canadian consumers, followed by mobile app at 18%.

When asked how often North American consumers prefer to receive messages from brands, 37% said weekly, 26% cited monthly, 16% said frequency doesn’t matter, and 6% said quarterly.

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