by MarkLives (@marklives) Our weekly wrap of the latest market and consumer research:
- Transmedia on the rise
- In-store personalisation
Temporal fluidity
Fluidity is what sets Generation Z apart from other generations according, to the new white paper produced by Joe Public Shift, “Generation Fluid: Understanding the dynamics of today’s youth market”. Market Research Wrap presents the second excerpt in a four-part series. [Cheryl Hunter]
Gen Z is frequently described as being the multitasking generation, fluidly spreading time and attention across multiple activities and multiple devices or screens. With attention spans decreasing and cynicism increasing, there has never been a greater need for competing brands to focus on their audience and embrace multimedia. The rapid incline in social media and ‘information overload’ leave advertisers with the difficult challenge of capturing their audience, especially considering the multiple online channels available to young consumers.
Transmedia is on the rise: different (often bite-sized) components of a story are communicated across multiple channels in order to build a holistic content experience. This is more than just traditional multichannel campaign thinking or repurposing the same content across different platforms; it’s about creating a seamless content experience to keep users engaged in a singular narrative across a variety of content formats.
While the transmedia approach has worked well for many brands in terms of engaging a multitasking audience, there are others that are succeeding through powerful, once-off content pieces that are strong enough to break through the clutter in their own right.
Visual storytelling and multimedia are two ways we should be communicating and engaging with Generation Fluid — a detail-orientated youth.
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Download the full white paper by registering at Joe Public United.
Consumers expect in-store personalisation
Technology is bringing new life to brick-and-mortar stores as the physical and digital retail environments collide. This is according to the new BRP “2019 Special Report – Personalization”.
Today’s online shoppers are accustomed to features such as product reviews, expansive merchandise choices, one-click transaction processing and personalised recommendations. These expectations don’t dissipate when the customer walks into a physical store. In store, sales associates are an integral part of the necessary personalisation, offering relevant recommendations and offerings. According to the study, 79% of the customers indicated personalised service from a sales associate was an important factor in determining at which store they choose to shop.
“Effective customer engagement requires retailers to offer a personalised, relevant, compelling and consistent experience across channels,” says Ken Morris, BRP principal. “In today’s crowded and highly competitive market, personalisation is a critical component for optimising the customer’s shopping experience. Customer identification is necessary to personalise the in-store shopping experience; however, 63% of retailers can’t identify their customers prior to checkout, which is too late to empower the associate to influence the current purchase decision.”
- When it comes to customer identification, 64% of US customers are comfortable with retailers identifying them via their mobile phone when they enter a store, as long as it means they are offered a personalised experience. Meanwhile, 63% of US retailers are unable to identify their customers prior to checkout and 20% can’t identify them until after checkout or not at all.
- When respect to personalisation, 79% of US customers indicate that personalised service is an important factor in determining at which store they choose to shop. Meanwhile, 53% of retailers indicate that personalisation is one of their top customer engagement priorities for 2019.
- Regarding personalised rewards, 68% of US customers are likely to shop at a store offering personalised rewards based on customer loyalty. Meanwhile, 48% of US retailers currently offer personalised rewards based on customer loyalty and another 30% plan to offer within two years.
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Download the report by registering at BRP.
This weekly “Market Research Wrap” column offers an overview and critique of the latest market and industry research.
Cheryl Hunter (@cherylhunter) has written for the South African media, marketing and advertising industries for more than 15 years. A former editor of M&M in Independent Newspapers and contributor to Bizcommunity, AdFocus, AdReview and the Ad Annual, she has also produced for various television networks and currently consults on communication strategy and media liaison.
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