“Big Data” holds big promise for grocery retailers, but the collection and use of personal information

have many consumers concerned. Shoppers are not only asking, “How do they know that about me?” but also “Why do they want to know that?” Tis is where the “creep factor” sets in: the feeling that business is getting a little too personal.

While uneasiness can arise from common tactics such as ad retargeting, the creep factor can emerge from a number of practices. One is cross-ing the privacy line with targeted ofers. Tere’s a well-known story about Target knowing a teenage girl was pregnant before her father found out. Te retailer reportedly sent the teen coupons for baby-related items before she had revealed the news to her family. While this example is a bit extreme, some product categories shouldn’t fall into the world of personalization.

Te creep factor also exists when consumers don’t have control. In a grocery environment, customers can choose not to use their loyalty cards at the cash register, thus becoming more anonymous. However, some programs and technologies make it virtually impossible for consumers to opt out or set their pref-erences, so they have little to no control.

Another aspect of the creep factor is not giv-ing customers a tangible beneft in providing their information. Certainly, people understand that when they’re looking for a restaurant on Yelp, the app will ask for their location, but consumers will have a hard-er time fguring out why a recipe app needs to know a user’s location. Whatever the beneft is, it should be made clear to consumers from the outset.

Of course, the creep factor is in the eye of the consumer, and what’s creepy to some may be “cool” to others. Unsurprisingly, Millennials are more com-fortable with the notion of personalization than older generations are. In fact, a 2015 Accenture survey found that almost three times the number of Mil-lennials versus Boomers think being reminded about needed items while shopping is cool.

Balancing the Creep FactorHow to deliver personalization without getting too close for comfort.

Digital DialogueBy Sylvain Perrier

Sylvain Perrier is president and CEO of Mercatus Technologies, a Toronto-based enterprise-grade software company specializing in digital solutions for North American grocery.

Of course, the creep factor is in the eye of the consumer, and what’s creepy to some may be “cool” to others.

For those who are less comfortable with technolo-gy, there exists a sense of wariness: what if something happens? Will my identity be compromised?

For grocery retailers, the question becomes, how can the business beneft from personalization without sacrifcing customer trust? Before getting started, companies may need to re-evaluate their goals. Many organizations want to understand how to use personalization to increase revenue, foster loyalty and boost customer satisfaction. Ultimately, however, those elements are byproducts of a properly established program.

Te frst, most important stepping stone is to put the consumer at the center of the experience. Retail-ers can do so by:

Asking customers what they want to get out of the experience across various channels

Explaining the benefts of personalization and creating a value exchange

Giving customers control and allowing them to set preferences

Having a clear privacy statement and an easy opt-out

By and large, people today are comfortable with sharing a tremendous amount of data, whether it’s on social media or with various brands. A recent Aimia study found that although consumers are worried about how their personal data are being handled by companies, they’re willing to share if they get reward-ed. For grocery retailers, it’s critical to be transparent and communicate with customers at every step.

Ultimately, the idea is to guide customers through a journey, as opposed to coming on strong and invad-ing their personal space. Te result is that they won’t feel the creep factor — they’ll feel like they had a great customer experience. PG

138 | Progressive Grocer | Ahead of What’s Next | April 2016