Most Canadian shoppers are using their smartphones to assist them while shopping and would like businesses to send them location-based offers and rewards, reveals a new report from the Canadian Marketing Association (CMA) and LoyaltyOne.
Over half (56%) of those surveyed have used beacon technology at some point while shopping and overall consumer awareness of beacons and location-based services (LBS) technology is high (86%).
"Today's consumer is even more empowered thanks to the advances in mobile technology," says Sandra Singer, Vice-President of Research, CMA. "Our research indicates shoppers are already using their smart devices in-store which indicates a clear opportunity for Canadian businesses to directly market to customers through mobile devices."
Of those surveyed, 62% of shoppers said they use their mobile devices to assist them with their in-store shopping experience, and this increases at the millennial generation with 80% using their device. Almost half (45%) of those surveyed indicated they have used a device in-store that has led them to make an immediate purchase. When asked what is appealing about connecting with retailers through in-store beacons, 62% of shoppers indicated they like the idea of receiving rewards relevant to their location and over half (56%) like the idea of receiving alerts relevant to their whereabouts.
"Canadian retailers as a whole have approached beacon retail technology with caution. Beacons now have consumers' attention and we are seeing more and more retailers testing the waters," says Michael Cohen, Director of Mobile API & Analytics Innovation, LoyaltyOne. "For retailers that are currently using beacons or thinking about entering the beacon market, it is vital that they merge these new digital customer solutions with big data so that their customers receive relevant, personalised offers."
For the select Canadian businesses that are already using beacons and LBS technology, the study found that frequency of LBS is a big reason consumers uninstall or opt-out of receiving beacon notifications. Of those surveyed, one-fifth (23%) of respondents said they have uninstalled or opted out of push notifications from a retailer's app due to the frequency of messaging, while another one-fifth (20%) uninstalled or opted out due to lack of relevance.
The complete report Using Digital Solutions to Enhance the Customer Experience is available at: http://www.the-cma.org/resource/leadership/enhance-customer-experience.
|
More Info: |
