Shoppers Want Real-Time Targeted Offers, Adweek Event Told

Consumers want better cross-channel shopping, said Leah Logan, Inmar Intelligence vice president-media products, on a Thursday Adweek webinar. Three-fourths of survey respondents said retailers should allow seamless access to offers, and 70% wanted offers or promotions integrated in a one-click add-to-cart option. More than half were open to being prompted about relevant offers while shopping and to being steered to relevant areas in the store based on interests or season, Logan said. Nine in 10 consumers are more likely to shop brands that provide relevant offers and recommendations; 71% expect companies to communicate with them in real time “and solve their issues quickly.” A screen grab showed the example of a beauty company sending an instant message to a customer asking if she would like to get a free sample of hand soap and then prompting her to load the sample to her loyalty card. Features shoppers want within a social media shopping experience are add-to-cart (64%), shopable livestreams (47%), "pre-scripted" buying recommendations (44%) and influencer shopping integrations (37%). Among the latest shopping technologies, 54% of shoppers said they're using buy online, pick up in store, 41% use checkout-free technology, 27% use virtual reality/augmented reality, half use curbside pickup and half use ads or offers from geo-targeted marketing when they arrive in store, she said. Use of VR and AR could be lagging "because we haven’t quite figured out how to add enough value there” or that “consumers just aren’t ready yet," Logan said. Currently, the most important shopping channel to consumers is social commerce, followed by traditional retail, mobile commerce and e-commerce, she said. Some 65% of consumers are willing to share personal information in exchange for more personalized shopping experiences, offers and other benefits, Logan said.