Magnetic Study Reveals Heightened Consumer Expectations for Personal Marketing

NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, technology company Magnetic, in partnership with Retail TouchPoints, released a study revealing the disparities between consumers' marketing expectations and retailers' existing strategies. Based on data from 200 consumers from the U.S. and Canada, as well as 100 retail executives, the study found that while marketers recognize the value of delivering personal experiences across channels and devices, many retailers are falling short when it comes to actually delivering experiences that people want and expect.

Retailers are in the early stages of successfully meeting heightened expectations, and are not reaching the level of personalization shoppers demand. Half (50%) of consumers surveyed say that they regularly see emails with irrelevant information, even though 71% of retailers claim that they send tailored messages to people either often or almost always. Similarly, 61% of retailers claim that they always or often deliver messages tailored to individual profiles or interests, but only 30% of consumers see online advertising relevant to their interests and only 24% see relevant information when browsing a retailer's site.

"Retailers recognize the need to keep customers at the core of their marketing decisions, but there are barriers to delivering the level of personalized experiences that consumers expect across channels and devices," said Alicia Fiorletta, Content Strategist at Retail TouchPoints. "Having the right data continues to be among their key challenges."

Additional key findings from the study include:

• 55% of retailers send emails featuring relevant information such as reviews, recommendations, sales or trends; even fewer (37%) deliver online ads based on consumer interests and only 35% provide a personalized site experience.
• Only half (50%) of retailers know what messages and offers resonate with customers.
• 41% of consumers who received a highly relevant digital advertisement or email said they spent slightly or significantly more with that retailer.
• 50% of consumers find it "frustrating" or "extremely frustrating" that online ads are irrelevant to their personal tastes and preferences. And nearly just as many consumers (49%) say it's frustrating that ads are irrelevant to products they're interested in buying.
• Approximately one out of four consumers expect their apps (27%) and mobile ads (21%) to be more relevant and personal.
• 75% of consumers feel retailers do not educate or empower them in the buying process.

"Creating personal messages across the channels people use and the devices they engage with can significantly improve their buying experience," said James Green, CEO of Magnetic. "When it comes to shopping, the most important factors relate to efficiency, ease of use and relevancy. Digital experiences give retailers a unique opportunity to present shoppers with what they need and want."

To learn more about the insights, challenges and opportunities regarding consumer expectations and retailers' capabilities, download the full study, Closing the Gap Between People's Expectations & Retail Realities.

About Magnetic

Magnetic is a technology company with a marketing platform for enterprises, brands and agencies. Our ad, email and site solutions help marketers find, keep and bring back customers. These solutions are powered by our unique data including purchase intent data from more than 450,000 partner sites, shopping profiles of over 250 million individuals, and behavioral insights across a billion active devices.

For more information, visit magnetic.com.

SOURCE Magnetic

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