'You can't just hyper-personalize everything'

Privacy

There’s a tension at the heart of the digital commerce experience: Consumers want choice and convenience, but remain skeptical of surrendering data in return.

This privacy push and pull has long animated the discourse around digital advertising. CI&T’s survey found that it is continuing to extend to personalization of the shopping experience, as well.

The survey found a majority of consumers (58%) believe that data sharing is necessary for personalization. Yet a far greater number of respondents (87%) said that it’s essential for retailers to ask for permission before they collect that personal information.

Still, 56% of respondents said they are excited, as opposed to uncomfortable, with the idea of a retailer using their personal information to personalize the shopping experience.

It shows consumers are of two minds on this tradeoff.

“There's acknowledgement that they need to share data,” Minkow said. “But there's also this acknowledgement that they don't like sharing data.”

They’re also particular about how they want to share data. When asked which perks they would be willing to trade personal information for, the top three responses centered on finding exact product attributes, enhancing search and locating the right pricepoint. It gets at another mixed signal, the report states: “Shoppers do not want brands to know their annual household income, but they do want discounts and low prices.”

Unique vs. individualized

In any conversation about industry trends, it’s worth remembering that consumers don’t think about industry terms such as “personalization.” They only think about buying stuff.

So there’s a lot to learn by actually posing the idea of personalization to consumers, and asking them what they think of it.

Again, CI&T found there were mixed reactions in this area.

For one, consumers have different ideas about what personalization means.

When asked about the definition of personalization, the survey found that 29% of respondents believe that it means “getting a unique experience that is designed for me and people like me.” Meanwhile, 20% agreed that it means something more specific: intentionally sharing personal data in exchange for a unique shopping experience.

It’s a reminder that not all consumers are thinking about the data tradeoffs taking place.

When it comes to how that data is used, CI&T’s survey also found that preferences are mixed: 52% of respondents prefer that a retailer personalize a shopping experience to a group, while 48% believe that experiences are tailored to the individual.

This again highlights that there are underlying concerns about privacy at the heart of the personalization shifts taking place.

The results indicate that there’s a disconnect between what brands and retailers are doing, and what consumers understand about what they’re doing. Minkow believes more communication from brands and retailers could serve as a bridge, especially as technology moves faster.

“There's a massive elephant in the room here,” Minkow said. “If retailers just had more transparent dialogue with shoppers, I think they could get a lot further [with] the data that they're able to collect and the experiences they're able to provide. But because the conversation isn't happening, there's this wall being put up by shoppers because they're weirded out by what retailers are collecting without talking about that first.”

Consumers still want to shop

Retailers also may want to take a step back and consider the ways in which they deploy personalization. The findings underscored that consumers aren’t quite ready to give up complete control of their shopping experience.

Consumers indicated they are interested in a personalized search process. But there wasn’t much interest in personalized landing pages that show items selected for them. The survey found that 47% would rather first be shown the same website everyone sees, then navigate to the type of item they want with filters. Only 15% want to “automatically be shown a web page with the products that the retailer thinks I would be most interested in.” Plus, survey results indicated that consumers aren't yet ready to fully embrace virtual shopping assistants provided by brands.

Online shopping has introduced plenty of new tools for efficiency that are designed to show a shopper exactly what they want. But it has also given consumers tools that allow them to do their own research and browse endlessly without leaving their couch.

Shoppers may be able to get recommendations instantly, but they're still willing to put the time in to find things themselves. In a world of constant marketing, they also still want to consider all of the information that's available about a product before they choose to click buy. They may even be delighted by finding something they didn’t know they wanted along the way.

In other words, people still like shopping. There's a difference between showing people products they like and letting them make a decision, and finding the exact thing they want by mining their behavior without asking.

“The majority of consumers said they are excited by the idea of personalization, but you have to really get it right,” Minkow said. “You can't just hyper-personalize everything.”