• Survey of 1,000 American shoppers shows that mobile phones are primarily used to research, browse and compare—not make a purchase
• Two of out 3 Millennials will use mobile phones to research items before they buy them in the store this holiday—up significantly from last year
San Francisco, CA – November 18, 2014 – It’s no secret that shoppers will be turning to their smartphones to shop this holiday—but a new study shows that it’s not always for the reasons retailers think.
RichRelevance®, the global leader in omnichannel personalization, today announced key findings from a nationwide survey of over 1,000 American shoppers that details how and why real consumers are using their phones to shop this holiday. The study finds that researching and browsing gifts on mobile far outranks purchasing items (whether at home or in a competitor’s store)—and, in fact coveted Millennial shoppers are heading to the store or laptop to complete major purchases.
Study highlights include:
- Nearly 3 out of 4 Millennials (72%) plan to use their mobile phone to shop this holiday compared to 54% of middle-aged respondents. The top three reasons that Millennials turn to their phones are to research (51%), compare prices (46%) and browse (44%), which far outrank purchasing gifts (31%).
- What is keeping shoppers from hitting the mobile “buy” button this holiday? Millennials and middle-aged shoppers overwhelmingly cite frustration with research and checkout on a small screen as the #1 barrier to purchase (74% and 54% respectively). The desire to see and touch an item ranks a distant second for Millennials (41%), indicating that conventional wisdom on the role of the store may need to change.
- When it comes to price point on mobile, the majority of shoppers across all generations shy away from big-ticket items on their mobile phones. Overall, 58% won’t purchase anything more than $100 on mobile. The hesitation is surprisingly more acute for younger shoppers: 68% of Millennials won’t purchase anything more than $100 on mobile, with 41% setting $50 as their upper limit.
The survey also drills into the intersection of mobile and store to yield additional generational findings:
- When asked specifically about the store, 62% of Millennial respondents said they will use mobile phones to research items before they buy them in the store, and well more than half (56%) plan to use their phones to research in the store more than they did last holiday season. Looking across generations, 52% of shoppers will use their mobile to research a purchase.
- More than any other generation, Millennials are comfortable turning to their phone instead of a sales associate when they need information in the store. Forty-two percent would rather use their phone than find an associate (versus 23% for middle-aged shoppers).
- Favorite digital innovations for Millennials in the store include special deals and promotions served to a smartphone (52%), the ability to order online and pick up in the store (52%) and the ability to check out anywhere in the store (45%). Millennials are also more excited about charging stations than any other generation—an easy holiday addition for retail stores.
“Mobile shoppers are increasingly using their phones to research items—particularly expensive items—for purchase in the store,” said David Selinger, CEO of RichRelevance. “They’re also using phones to replace store functions previously held by associates such as information and checkout. Successful omnichannel retailers are respecting the multitude of ways that Americans shop, and providing personalized digital experiences in the store, on mobile—wherever consumers are shopping.”
Les Galeries Lafayette ont fait appel à RichRelevance afin d’offrir à leurs clients une expérience d’achat plus pertinente et plus personnalisée à travers tous les canaux de vente
Grâce à la solution choisie, les Galeries Lafayette vont pouvoir puiser dans les données en temps réel pour proposer des recommandations adaptées à chaque acheteur afin de les aider à trouver rapidement et facilement ce dont ils ont besoin lors de leur shopping sur le site Internet de l’enseigne.
Les Galeries Lafayette ont fait appel à RichRelevance afin d’offrir à leurs clients une expérience d’achat plus pertinente et plus personnalisée à travers tous les canaux de vente
Grâce à la solution choisie, les Galeries Lafayette vont pouvoir puiser dans les données en temps réel pour proposer des recommandations adaptées à chaque acheteur afin de les aider à trouver rapidement et facilement ce dont ils ont besoin lors de leur shopping sur le site Internet de l’enseigne.
The use of mobile in holiday shopping is much higher for millennial consumers than older demographics. According to new research from RichRelevance, three out of four millennials plan to use their mobile phone to shop this holiday, compared to 54 percent of middle-aged respondents.
Leading decoration and furnishing specialist personalizes its online shop with product recommendations from RichRelevance
Munich – 20.11.2014 – RichRelevance, the global leader in omnichannel personalization, today announced that leading decoration and furnishing specialist DEPOT has implemented the personalization solution RichRecs in its online stores, which currently offer approximately 7,000 products. Apart from decorative items, these include products ranging from bath and spa, kitchen and furniture to home furnishings. DEPOT is part of Gries Deco, which owns and operates more than 400 stores in Germany, Austria and Switzerland, achieving an annual turnover of 408 billion euros in 2013.
Because the online store within Gries Deco is set up as a profit center, Martina Novotny, Division Manager of eCommerce/Multi-Channel-Retail, decided to implement recommendation software in order to meet targets for revenue growth in turnover. With its strong focus on retail stores, the online store functions as an internal startup and the decision makers at DEPOT sought professional personalization provider RichRelevance to achieve their goals.
RichRecs deliver the right recommendations to the right consumer at the right time
The DEPOT website uses the RichRecs solution for personalized product recommendations. This SaaS-based solution is designed especially for retailers and is based on the enRICH personalization engine, which collects, analyzes and evaluates all data based on the customer’s real-time click history. Leveraging over 125 algorithms, the enRICH engine is able to respond to altered user behavior to offer the right recommendation to the right customer at the right time, while simultaneously considering the behavior and interests of similar visitors.
Personalization’s role in DEPOT’s business growth
DEPOT hopes to achieve sales growth of up to 15 percent over the long term through its use of RichRecs. The solution—currently implemented in Germany, Austria and Switzerland—is not only used for recommendations in the online store; information generated is also used to create microsites, individual newsletters and personalized banners that cater to the individual shopper’s interest.
“We investigated several providers in the market, but finally decided to choose RichRelevance based on their industry expertise and the fact that they had the best price-performance ratio,” says Novoty. “Furthermore, RichRelevance offers much better personalization algorithms compared to our previous solution, as the company is specialized solely in personalization and innovates its solutions on an ongoing basis.”
Theo Khoja, Regional Director DACH at RichRelevance, says: “Small and mid-sized retailers increasingly face tough competition against big players like Amazon. We are dedicated to offering retailers a scalable and professional personalization solution with a superior price-performance ratio, so that they can increase their online sales in the face of ongoing competition. That’s why we are really pleased to partner with DEPOT as it drives its business objectives through a superior personalization experience on its online shops.”
Not so long ago, the practice of a store staying closed on Thanksgiving was simply a given: one more holiday in which workers assumed they’d get some time off. Then, amid the corporate tug-of-war over Black Friday crowds, retailers began eyeing the juicy hours of Turkey Day as the best time to kick off their crucial holiday shopping seasons.
The move drew both sales and backlash from shoppers, who worried the sacred day was being plowed beneath the tough work schedules of Black Friday creep.