“The ones that are going to win are going to be those that personalize the consumer experience.”
After a while, I got used to personalized ads and actually liked having those little reminders and suggestions show up here and there. It tells me that brands are paying attention to what I like. I know that even if the girl sitting next to me in class was also looking at Steve Madden’s website, the banner ads that would show up on her screen would definitely not be the same as mine. Mine would be made to be more specific to me, based on what products I was looking at on the website.
Personalization is a word that has started to be used more and more in retail.
Retailers everywhere are racing to figure out how to speak to consumers on a personal and relevant basis. According to BCG, brands that use technology and data to offer customers personalized experiences are seeing revenue increase by 6% to 10%.
Personalization, however, is not the easiest language to learn. Retailers have so many consumer with different demands and need to find the best way to reach all of them. Every consumer is different and we all have unique wants, needs, and desires.
With the rise of online retail, it is increasingly easy to track consumer preferences with the help of browser history, cookies, and even social listening. The true challenge of personalization arises with brick-and-mortar stores.
How can retailers offer personalized experiences to every consumer who walks into their store? They can’t change the physical environment for everyone, so what exactly is the best way to work around this roadblock?
For consumers, it’s not just about getting personalized experiences. It’s also about personalized content. In other words, it’s about getting consumers what they want in real time — a concept George Hanson, VP of Under Armour’s North American e-commerce and brand house stores calls “‘digital concierge,’ where the customer… participates in the personalized experience.” Now, retailers not only have to be able to offer tailored marketing, but also be able to cater to their consumer’s needs when they ask for it and let them have a voice in the process. They have to be able to create both products and experiences that resonate in the minds of consumers.
For retailers to provide consumers with personalization, and for consumers to receive it, the two must meet half way. Personalization requires data and input on behalf of the consumer. Therefore, they must be willing to share the information that retailers need.
Retailers want their customers to think of them vending machines. They are faced with a multitude of options and they can input their selection. Based on what customers pick, and what products run out the fastest, retailers will re-stock what resonates the most with their consumers.
Data tracking is often considered “creepy” but how else are retailers expected to get into the minds of their consumers? And in reality, personal and meaningful interactions are exactly what customers want.
To learn more about how millennials are influencing the retail world, pre-order my book, Talk Beauty to Me: How Marketers Can Speak the Language of Beauty to the Next Generation, here.
