When it comes to shopping consumers want all the conveniences of technology – the ability to check store availability or grab a coupon – as long as stores don’t add on tracking features. According to new data out from RichRelevance consumers find some technology to be ‘creepy’ – and that includes stores tracking them.
Survey of over 1,000 US consumers finds that “cool” features help shoppers discover relevant products, information and get through the store; “creepy” ones identify, target and track
San Francisco, CA— May 5, 2015— RichRelevance®, the global leader in omnichannel personalization, today released a new study, “Creepy or Cool”, that reveals consumer attitudes towards digital enhancements to the store shopping experience. The study finds that shoppers think it is cool to get digital help finding relevant products and information – and navigating the store. But they are creeped out by digital capabilities that identify, track and use location and demographics, such as targeted advertisements for consumers based on facial recognition. In addition, the dressing room is the one area where personalized product information and recommendations are not welcome.
“Shoppers want digital personalization when they are ready to engage,” said Diane Kegley, CMO of RichRelevance. “They may not be ready for personalized messages the moment they walk in the door or even when they hit the dressing room, but our survey suggests they welcome relevant information and promotions when they are making a purchase decision.”
The study also breaks down attitudes by age group. Millennials are fairly aligned with their older counterparts when it comes to in-store personalization, although they are more comfortable with edgy capabilities such as facial recognition. One area of significant difference: dynamic pricing in the aisles (the practice of offering different prices for the same product). Millennial shoppers were the only age group to rate this feature more cool than creepy.
Creepy or Cool: Key Findings
According to Forrester, nearly 7 in 10 shoppers now use a mobile device while in the store, and retailers are investing heavily in new technologies to make the in-store shopping experience better than ever. This survey of 1,016 consumers was conducted in April 2015, and locates nine digital store capabilities along a continuum of cool and creepy. Highlights include:
Cool
- You can scan a product on your mobile device to see product reviews and recommendations for other items you might like. Overall rating: 76% cool
- An interactive map on your mobile phone shows exactly where items are located and charts your most efficient path through the store. Overall rating: 69% cool
- Your location in the store triggers personalized product recommendations, promotions and coupons to pop up on your mobile device as you are shopping. Overall rating: 44% cool
Getting Creepy
- Products in the store don’t have price tags; instead digital screens display prices that are tailored just to you. Overall rating: 42% creepy
- Digital screens in each dressing room provide products recommended just for you based on your current items and past purchases. Overall rating: 55% creepy
- A salesperson unlocks the dressing room door before you arrive based on your detected location within the store. Overall rating: 62% creepy
Creepy
- Facial recognition technology identifies age and gender to target advertisements on digital screens. For example, an eye cream promotion for an older female shopper. Overall rating: 73% creepy
- A salesperson greets you by name when you enter a store because your mobile phone signals your entrance. Overall rating: 74% creepy
- Facial recognition technology identifies you as a high-value shopper and relays this information to a sales associate. Overall rating: 75% creepy
An infographic is available at https://richrelevance.com/insights/infographic-creepy-cool/.
“Our study shows that retailers need to focus on digital store capabilities that drive engagement and convenience by making sure the right products and content are always available to shoppers,” Kegley continued. “Retailers have a huge opportunity to leverage their biggest asset, the store, to gain an edge when it comes to customer experience.”
Source: RichRelevance
Notes: Almost three-quarters of consumers feel OK with scanning a product on their mobile device to see product reviews and recommendations, but their attitudes swing decidedly to the “creepy” side of things when it comes to personalization tactics that use facial recognition technology, according to a RichRelevance survey. Indeed, it seems that tactics that identify shoppers by name or other personally identifiable information are generally considered “creepy.”
RichRelevancehas been selected by leading costume developer, MorphCostumes, to deliver highly authentic, custom experiences to online shoppers. MorphCostumes will use RichRelevance’s solution to recommend products to shoppers based on their onsite behaviour.
Founded in 2009, MorphCostumes began life creating all-in-one spandex bodysuits called Morphsuits for fancy dress occasions. The Edinburgh-based company has expanded rapidly over the intervening period, and now offers a range of over 1000 costumes via its website. These include many well-known comic book characters and superheroes, such as characters from the Avengers and the Star Wars films, with the company having signed deals with Marvel, Disney and Power Rangers.
MorphCostumes and RichRelevance dress to impress online shoppers
Costume innovator selects RichRelevance to deliver a relevant on-site experience
Reading, UK –28 April 2015 — RichRelevance®, the global leader in omnichannel personalisation, has been selected by leading costume developer, MorphCostumes, to deliver highly authentic, custom experiences to online shoppers. MorphCostumes will use RichRelevance’s solution to recommend products to shoppers based on their onsite behaviour.
Costume innovator selects RichRelevance to deliver a relevant on-site experience
Reading, UK –28 April 2015 —RichRelevance®, the global leader in omnichannel personalisation, has been selected by leading costume developer, MorphCostumes, to deliver highly authentic, custom experiences to online shoppers. MorphCostumes will use RichRelevance’s solution to recommend products to shoppers based on their onsite behaviour
Founded in 2009, MorphCostumes began life creating all-in-one spandex bodysuits called Morphsuits for fancy dress occasions. The Edinburgh-based company has expanded rapidly over the intervening period, and now offers a range of over 1000 costumes via its website. These include many well-known comic book characters and superheroes, such as characters from the Avengers and the Star Wars films, with the company having signed deals with Marvel, Disney and Power Rangers.
As Halloween and the holiday season approached last year, MorphCostumes called on RichRelevance to deliver personalisation across its site to help drive sales activity during this busy period. The UK site went live at the end of September, with the US site following just two weeks later.
“It’s great to be working with RichRelevance, and it’s fantastic that we were able to get them on board in such a short space of time,” said Mike Traill, Head of eCommerce at MorphCostumes. “Halloween and the holiday season is absolutely core for our business, and to have had the RichRelevance recommendation engine in place ahead of Halloween and Christmas was a critical imperative and represents a massive bonus for us.”
Last year, MorphCostumes went digital, merging with US costume designer DigitalDudz to create a new range of costumes that incorporate high-tech visual trickery into their designs. With the extensive range of costumes now available on the MorphCostumes website, the RichRelevance platform is vital for linking recommendations with consumer behaviour on the site.
“Five years ago, we had just six costumes available to buy online; today we have over 1000 and counting,” says Traill. “To have a powerful recommendation platform integrated with our website architecture on Magento is absolutely vital in order to put the right products in front of our customers. To date, RichRelevance has delivered on all the major key performance indicators (KPIs).”
“MorphCostumes is an ambitious company with big growth plans to increase their global footprint. As the company expands, they required a scalable merchandising solution to deliver intelligent product recommendations that improve the customer experience,” said Matthieu Chouard, Vice President and General Manager for EMEA, RichRelevance. “Working on an open platform like Magento, we are able to quickly and easily implement custom personalisation that meets the unique needs of different geographies. Our data centres are globally dispersed to ensure information are analysed and acted on in real time, another way to help retailers of all sizes to gain a competitive edge.”
For more information on RichRelevance solutions, please visit: https://richrelevance.com/relevance-cloud/.