• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, October 25, 2021

Nearly 45% of consumers do their mobile shopping in bed, according to survey data released Monday. About 27.6% said they shop from their mobile device while watching Netflix, and it's not clear whether this is positive or negative.

Some 7.4% make a mobile purchase while in the bathroom, and 5.1% while driving, 3.5% during a conference call, 3.4% on a date, and the remainder either on a date, in church, or when they are drunk.

The survey data from Formation reveals U.S. consumer shopping habits.

The survey fielded 1,016 responses from U.S. adults, about 51.1% female and 46.9% male. The remainder are associated with transgender and intersex and preferred not to say.

The data shows that this is not a typical year.

With prices of gasoline, propane and basic grocery items climbing, this year retailers will need to think beyond mass discounts and loyalty, and more toward personalizing the shopping experience.

Some 41% of people expect a much more personalized shopping experience when shopping physically in-store. 

Shoppers want discounts or rewards that align with their normal spending habits. And in order to do that, brands need to know their customers. Consumers said they will ignore the offer if it lacks personal relevance, if the reward is too small, and if it takes too much effort to complete the offer.

Consumers are loyal, but they belong to a limited amount of loyalty programs. Some 51% said they belong to between one and four loyalty programs, and 16.9% said they belong to between five and 10. A whopping 25% said they belong to none. The remainder range between 11 loyalty programs and up.

Shopping habits have changed since COVID-19 restrictions have relaxed. About 44.1 said they are doing more shopping online, while 23.5% are doing less shopping online, 17.7% said they do all their shopping online, and 14.7% don’t do any shopping online.

Some 27.5% of consumers said they trust brands with their personal information, while 32% said they are willing to provide personal information to brands in exchange for more customized deals.

When they have a good relationship with brands, 43% said they will spend more money with them. Offers that provide discounts will increase their overall spend with brands, according to 47.1%. And 33% said having a loyalty card with the brand increases their overall spend.

Getting offers that are not relevant to the consumer is the top reason that people unsubscribe from a loyalty program. Some 41.8% said they will unsubscribe in this instance. Nearly 40% said they would unsubscribe if they get too many emails. About 26% said they will unsubscribe if they receive big, infrequent rewards over small, repeated gains and incremental rewards.

The top five incentives that loyalty rewards members desire are free shipping, vouchers or discounts, free gifts, faster delivery, and faster checkout.

Brands that are thinking about improving their loyalty program or starting a new one might want to ensure it is convenient, efficient, and easy to navigate. These are the top three attributes that consumers want.