• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, December 15, 2023

Top-performing retailers participating in a survey from Coveo and RSR Research said 59% of customers only log into websites one-quarter of the time while shopping.

The percentage is similar to that of lower-performing retailers at 53%. That is why many brands and retailers try to get consumers to use an app to make purchases.

About 92 U.S.-based retailers participated in the survey, and most with annual revenue of more than $250 million. 

Strategies popular with high-performing retailers that are used to counterbalance the guest log-in challenge include loyalty programs.

Some 9% of retailers push loyalty platforms to personalize the shopper experience with relevant offers based on preferences, purchase history, and behavioral models.

About 55% said they use in-session behavior data to determine personalized offerings in real-time, while 47% make value offers at check-out when customers identify themselves

About 59% of the top-performing retailers reported investing more in CRM, 55% invested more in ecommerce platform, 52% invested more in order payment processing and inventory management, 50% invested more in artificial intelligence (AI) search and personalization.

Only 15% of slower-growing large retailers said they invested more in ecommerce platforms this year. 

Investments in generative AI (GAI) has become a key focus.

Among above-average performing retailers, 93% have either implemented some automated capabilities using GAI technologies, or are experimenting with the capabilities for possible implementation next year.

Of the average or lower-performing retailers, 67% are reporting the same. About 4 in 10 retailers surveyed said they are aggressively pushing consumers toward online service chatbots and FAQ pages to help control the volume of service calls.

Personalization is a hot topic this holiday season. McKinsey & Company asked 60 shoppers to create mobile diaries of their personalized interactions with various brands during a two week period. With more than 2,000 entries in total, the data shows what kind of personalized communication works for customers and what doesn’t. Some include knowing when to send a message, provide relevant recommendations, and remind me of thing I want to know, but might not keep track of. And do all this without being creepy.