Retail Personalization Index Consumer Survey 2021

Value-Based

Personalization

Is the Future

of Retail

Marketing

McKinsey highlights several major shifts in consumer

shopping that were clear to us in our own consumer

survey: Flight to online, Shock to loyalty, Need for hygiene

transparency, Back to basics and value, and Rise of the

homebody economy. McKinsey notes that not all of these

new drivers will remain as important as they are now, but

all of them will have lasting impacts on the future.

Two-thirds of the consumers in our survey said that a

brand’s ethics and values, particularly as they relate to

the COVID-19 pandemic, are either “slightly” or “very”

important. Women tended to hold ethics and values with

greater importance than men. And while it might seem as

though younger generations care more about corporate

values, age actually wasn’t a significant factor. This aligns

with major research that’s been published throughout the

pandemic, including the Consumer Culture Report that

noted 71% of shoppers prefer to shop with brands that

are aligned to their values.

Looking ahead in 2021, consumers, and the retailers

that sell to them, see the light at the end of the tunnel.

But, as life opens back up, these new priorities that

drive consumers will mean a higher bar is set not only

for personalized, value-driven online experiences, but

for meaningful, relevant experiences at every customer

touchpoint.

COVID-19, civil unrest, political upheaval - the

past 12 months have posed challenges large

and small for everyone, which has translated

into a variety of changes for shoppers and

retailers alike. As a result, millions of people

moved more of their shopping online, and

reconsidered the priorities and values that

drive their brand preferences, purchase

behavior and loyalty.

As part of our annual Retail Personalization

Index, we surveyed 5,000 consumers in the

US and UK about their shopping preferences,

priorities and behaviors. What we found shows

that people want a personalized shopping

experience that aligns with their newfound

focus on health, home, and values.

The Health and Safety

Impact of COVID-19

Health and safety, like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, have

become major priorities for pandemic-era shopping.

Sailthru’s survey found that more than half (53%) of

consumers feel that it is “very important” for the brands

that they shop with to have a strategy in place for

social distancing and staying within CDC-recommended

guidelines with regard to the Coronavirus, and another

25% rated it at least somewhat important (4 out of 5).

Women are generally more concerned about brands

having these measures in place than men (56% vs. 49%),

and older consumers placed a much larger importance

on having these safety measures. This is likely not just due

to increased risk factors, but also higher rates of in-store

shopping for these groups.

Action Items:

Embrace More Change

Retailers should anticipate that COVID-19 guidelines

will fluctuate as the year progresses and protocols will

continue to vary across regions. The ability to segment

the customer base by geo-targeting will prove extremely

valuable to ensure customers have pertinent updates

and information.

Engage The New Omnichannel Shopper

Even as physical retail continues to re-open, retail

marketers should have plans in place to continue

online engagement of newly converted omni-channel

shoppers. This can be especially valuable for the older

demographic consumer.

Design For Flexibility

Remaining agile was key for retail marketers in 2020, having

to update customers on things like store regulations,

shipping delays or changes to return policies. Preparing to

be nimble with email templates and messaging that can

be used in many scenarios that emerge in the year ahead.

Be sure to plan for make-good offers ahead of time that

can be personalized based on things like customer tenure

or LTV or level of experience delivered in order to keep

customers engaged whatever 2021 brings.

Importance of COVID-19 Measures, by age100%

90%

80%

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%18-24 25-34 35-44 45-54 55-64 65+

The Acceleration to

Online and Mobile

Commerce

Consumers are much more likely to shop online, and

particularly on their smartphones. Shopping online

is more complex than it sounds. Email benchmarks

published by Campaign Monitor, our sister company,

saw a record number of emails sent to shoppers, and

unmatched open rates of those emails. There were

record numbers of apps downloaded, too. Retailers

quickly ramped up innovations in personalization, SMS

push, online-to-store order fulfillment, returns, and

upsell online to capture this new online engagement

and make up for much lower in-store activity.

Consumers responded well to the new approaches

retailers took, particularly when it came to mobile

shopping. Survey respondents were most likely to say

that they shopped on their mobile phones more than

before, at nearly 50% of all shoppers which translates

to a higher percentage of mobile traffic for retailers,

as much as 80% for many.

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

I shop more on my smartphone

I visit retail locations less often

I shop more online with a PC/laptop

I bought something online for in-store or

curbside pickup

I am more likely to read and open email

from retail brands

I have changed which brands of goods I

regularly purchase

None of the above

Nearly one-in-three (31%) consumers bought

something online for curbside pickup, and one-in-

four (25%) say they’re more likely to open email from

retailers now. By gender, men have been significantly

more likely to up their online purchases on a PC/

laptop, while women are more likely to turn to

smartphones.

On the whole, smartphone use for shopping tends

to skew younger. In fact, the major impact for older

consumers is just less shopping overall, but on the

whole the major behavior shift for people 55+ is for

online orders with curbside pickup.

Many of these online and hybrid habits are likely

to persist post-COVID; more than half (53%) of

consumers say they plan to continue shopping that

way often in the future and post-COVID, and 43% say

it’ll depend on the item. Although older consumers

are less likely to have made a massive change, they’re

equally likely to consider the new habits they did pick

up for the long-term.

Action Items:

Increase focus on experience efficiency:

| Test for dark mode optimization and update text and

template designs to ensure good user experiences for

both.

| Design mobile-first templates to render emails on small

screens, where nearly half of email is viewed.

| Use deep linking into mobile apps to smooth the shopping

journey.

| Build out holistic behavioral touchpoints flows across

channels like email and SMS. The strategies for each

should not be the same and they should not be separate,

but work together.

The Importance of

Personalization

WIth so many more consumers searching, shopping

and purchasing online, personalization has become

a particularly valuable tactic for retailers to improve

experiences. At the same time, people have a heightened

sense of risk when shopping in stores, whereas a

personalized experience can make them feel safer, help

them complete their shopping more quickly, and create

much-needed loyalty for retailers.

Just under two-thirds of consumers (62%) say it’s

important to them that brands personalize their retail

experiences, either online or in the store. Personalization

appears to be slightly more important for men (66%) than

it is for women (59%), and tends to be more important

for younger shoppers (under the age of 44) than for older

shoppers, particularly those ages 55 and older.

Personalization and luxury go hand-in-hand for in-store

shopping, although luxury brands have been slow to

adopt personalization on digital channels, which is

an important opportunity for improvement. Shoppers

from higher-income households place more importance

on personalization and nearly 81% of consumers from

households with an annual pre-tax income over $200k

rated personalization as important.

1- Not at all important

2

3

4

5- Very important

0% 10% 20% 30%

Q4.7 - How important is it to you that a brand personalize your retail experience, either online or in the store?

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80%

81%

71%

67%

67%

63%

63%

61%

59%

58%

66%

66%

90%

$200k+

$150 - $200k

$100 - $150k

$90 - $100k

$80 - $90k

$70 - $80k

$60 - $70k

$50 - $60k

$40 - $50k

$30 - $40k

Less than $30k

Importance of personalization by annual HHI

Action Items:

Take personalization beyond product recommendations.

Integrate a personalized content strategy for customer

emails. This can be particularly useful for retailers with

smaller assortments and longer purchase frequency

cycles. Personalization can be used to engage and

nurture relationships and also maximize existing assets

like blog and influencer content.

Use personalization behind the scenes. Personalization

does not always need to be explicit in order to deliver

an effective experience. Identify interest affinities such

as product-level affinities, like tops with 3/4 sleeves or

brand affinities like Nike vs. Adidas, that can help deliver

relevant content that will build alignment from the brand

with the customer.

Consumer behavior shifted towards essential goods at

the beginning of the pandemic. As we start to see the

light at the end of the tunnel, now is the time for luxury,

travel and jewelry retailers to prepare their strategies.

Personalization does not need to come at the sacrifice

of branding or creative. Luxury shoppers have a high

expectation for experience and clienteling, which can

be accomplished starting with effective segmentation

and behavioral strategies that can predict a browser vs

a high-intent shopper.

Likelihood to

Make a Purchase

Given these changes in values and preferences, price and

necessity still drive volume. Amazon is by far the most likely

retailer to see a planned consumer purchase in the next

six months, and generally, essential retailers made out the

best. However, innovative brands like Dollar Shave Club and

Food52 have used their marketing savvy to become part of

this established category of “essential” retailers as well.

Top 10 Brands by Likelihood to make a purchase, next 6 months

Amazon

Dollar Shave Club

Food52

Carter’s

Torrid

Home Depot

Columbia Sportswear

Target

Lowe’s

Chanel

Brand Top 2 box

72% 4.12

68% 3.93

68% 3.88

67% 4.01

66% 3.86

65% 3.90

65% 3.84

65% 3.98

64% 3.85

63% 3.81

Score

Action Items:

| Identify high-intent shoppers through predictive analytics.

Test ways to best help the customer towards their path to

purchase.

| Understand customers’ individual shopping habits and

frequency. Create a personalized lapsed customer flow

rather than a broad lapsed customer segment definition.

| Develop automated back in stock or replenishment

reminder notifications.

| Identify the company’s value proposition that will drive

long-term customer loyalty, for example fast shipping or

great prices.

Consumer

Satisfaction

Amazon also scored top marks on consumer satisfaction,

though they were very closely followed by Etsy, Adidas,

Lowe’s, Sephora, and LEGO. These other brands

differentiate with unique customized experiences, creative

fulfillment options and unique products.

Top 10 Brands by Consumer Satisfaction

Amazon

Etsy

Adidas

Lowe's

Sephora

LEGO

Kohl's

Columbia Sportswear

ULTA Beauty

Vans

Brand Satisfaction Avg.

4.42

4.41

4.41

4.40

4.39

4.39

4.38

4.38

4.38

4.37

Action Items:

Bring In Social Proof

High-intent shoppers engage with product reviews

before making their final decision. Marketers should

prioritize social proof efforts through a compelling

product review collection strategy across site, email and

push notifications.

Encourage Loyalty In Many Ways

Building loyalty does not always require a loyalty

program. An effective loyalty strategy segments users

by shopping behaviors and preferences for everything

from shipping options to promotions and incentives

even if they aren’t loyalty members. Creating loyalty

with personalized offers and an effective post-purchase

experience can add a positive impact to both sales and

customer satisfaction scores.

Embrace New Fulfillment Options

Offer effective and convenient fulfillment options like

BOPIS and curbside pickup that contribute to positive

customer satisfaction. Test the demand for different

forms of fulfilment in different locations and for different

customer segments to deliver personalized shopping

experiences.

Conclusion:

Creating Valuable

Experiences

In-Store and Online

Deloitte notes that “during the first months of the

COVID-19 crisis, there has been an acceleration of

digital retail: those retailers with strong platforms

and sophisticated data analysis have succeeded

in connecting with consumers and offering them

additional services and value.” and engaged.

However, as the pandemic went on, people returned

to stores when they had to or when they could. People

embraced BOPIS and curbside pickup. Retailers

innovated with outdoor sales and streaming content to

bring more engagement to their consumers.

In 2021, all of these elements will come into focus as

the “next normal” shopping experience. Every customer

touchpoint will require sophisticated data to offer

additional services and value. What’s more, customers

will expect seamless transitions between online and

store experiences.

Customers care deeply about the values that a brand

lives by, but they also care about convenience, price and

relevance. This challenge is within every retailer’s grasp,

and the payoff is a savvy customer base that’s both

loyal and engaged.

About Sailthru

About Liveclicker

Sailthru, a CM Group brand, helps modern marketers drive higher revenue,

improve customer lifetime value and reduce churn by using its powerful

suite of connected capabilities. Sailthru’s high-performance email, website

personalization, mobile marketing automation, and unique integrations power

new customer acquisition by leveraging machine learning and first-party data

to easily deliver relevant, personalized engagement across all channels. The

world’s most innovative publishers, including Business Insider, Refinery29 and

Food52, and the world’s fastest growing ecommerce companies, including

Everlane, JustFab and Thrive Market, trust Sailthru to help them succeed.

For more information, please visit www.sailthru.com.

Founded in 2008, Liveclicker, a CM Group brand, is a global provider of real-

time email personalization solutions for B2C marketers. Since the release of

its VideoEmail platform in 2009, marketers have used Liveclicker to captivate

consumers and drive program performance. Today, top brands such as

Chico’s, Torrid, AT&T, Kroger and Trusted Housesitters rely on the company’s

market-leading RealTime Email solution to deliver engaging, personalized

messages simply and at scale.

For more information, visit www.liveclicker.com or email sales@liveclicker.com.

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