Personalisation: The New Buzzword

‘Personalisation’ and ‘Experiential’ management are the new buzz words in the retail and shopping centre sectors, with consumers demanding more from their visits and innovations allowing schemes to get more creative, it’s not surprising the sector is really tailoring their approach. As of 2017, retailers have begun to heavily invest in personalisation and will continue to invest more time, imagination and budget into personalising each consumer experience this year.

Personalisation strategies change a whole experience for a customer. It means retailers have the ability to make changes to what marketing strategies individual consumers are exposed to and only have products visible that have been tailored to their specific needs. Many brands have begun to use technologies that support a personalised approach such as Mom’s Purse, 3D bag builder, Nike ID and Audi Configuration.

Retailers have data available which allows them to provide a personalised service to consumer’s fingertips using technologies such as beacons, purchase history, cookies, the list goes on. Consumer’s expectations for a personalised, innovative experience will only heighten throughout 2018 and with the developments ongoing; they can certainly expect their experience to become more and more tailored. Retailers are working hard to master the art of creating digital experiences that will drive the customer experience, exceeding their expectations!

Personalisation strategies give brands the opportunity to become recognised and communicate with their shoppers on a more intimate level. Integrating technology into the shopping experience on varied channels including social media to proximity marketing helps shopping centres deliver on personalisation while driving the customer experience and footfall, consequently maximising sales.

Retailers will race to become even more intelligent and creative about how they use data to delve into the customer’s mind to create truly consumer-centric strategies. They will buy into customer interests to deliver trends and profile information to allow them to offer the right products and events, ultimately, proving exceptional customer service.

Starbucks recently launched a personalised rewards programme and payment app which allows customers to earn incentives and discounts based on what the app already knows about them. The app will log and memorise each purchase and what time allowing Starbucks to send varied, unique personalised emails and offers based on each individuals purchase history.

With consumer’s expectations only rising, creating a personalised experience is essential to meet the new, developing consumer demands, resulting in high footfall and increasing dwell time.