Retailers: Looking For More Mobile Payments Opt-In?

Retailers have a lot of troubles when it comes to customers. The constant changes in desires and hyper-protectiveness about data can be a huge problem for retailers. Moreover, trying to get customers to opt-in to things like loyalty programs and the like can actually be difficult, and a new study sent our way from Fluent Commerce not only shows just what retailers are laboring under, but also offers some insight on what to focus on to get ahead.

The report found that 82 percent of consumers preferred communication via email rather than social media or text message. But for 42 percent of consumers, only 10 percent of retailer emails actually get opened. This in spite of the fact that 35 percent of customers check their email three times a day.

Worse, customers want contradictory things; 85 percent want retailers to be able to recognize their individual shopping habits and work accordingly to send relevant incentives and coupon offers. Yet 58 percent don’t believe it’s helpful for retailers to have access to their location data.

Then just to top it off, the view from the future—Generation Z—is only more fraught with contradiction. While most want email contact, 41 percent of Gen Z is looking for contact over social media. Additionally, 84 percent of Gen Z shoppers would like messages monthly to buy certain products that are recognized as consistently purchased, and 72 percent of Gen Z would be willing to hit the stores if given coupons that are super-relevant, but only 42 percent believe that retailers having location data is helpful.

So essentially, customers want highly-personalized content that’s created without taking any kind of useful data from the customer him- or herself. This is helpful for marketing firms who hire large numbers of psychics, as that’s about the only reasonable way to set up such a program. Sadly, it can’t work both ways; customers either need to provide data for customization or customization can’t happen.

While there are undoubtedly security concerns, it’s important to remember that the most secure room around is the room with no doors or windows. It’s also impossible to get into that room, so its utility is therefore limited. Personalization runs on data.