Online retailers falling short in personalised messages

Only a quarter (26%) of online retailers in the UK are sending insight-driven personalised communications to customers, according to new research.

The Teradata study into top 50 UK online retailers reveals need for more insight-driven personalised communications.
Key findings:

• Just 26 per cent of retailers send insight-driven personalised communications to consumers

• Percentage of retailers with a preference centre dropped from 64 per cent in 2014 to 36 per cent this year

• Only 28 per cent of emails were personalised by demographic information (e.g. age and gender)

This finding, when considered alongside a recent survey from Teradata and Celebrus Technologies, which revealed that 63 per cent of consumers across every age group like to receive personalised offers, demonstrates that retailers are failing to capitalise on consumers’ growing appetite for personalised brand interactions.

Teradata’s research also highlights a significant decrease in online retailers with a preference centre, which has dropped from 64 per cent in 2014 to 36 per cent this year. Whilst this indicates that businesses are moving away from preference centres in favour of more dynamic data collection methods, there is still work to be done to implement effective data-driven strategies which add real value to customers.

Furthermore, the study found only 28 per cent of the top 50 online retailers are targeting customers by demographic, for example age and gender, with only a third (36 per cent) personalising emails by name.

The Teradata study also discovered that whilst 84 per cent of online retailers have a newsletter, only half included the sign-up option on their homepage. This suggests retailers are leaning more towards customer retention strategies over acquisition, which is fundamentally at odds with a lack of personalisation in customer communications.

It’s clear that online retailers are embracing mobile technology, with 75 per cent of respondents reporting that they optimise their emails for mobile platforms, and 33 per cent reporting they are using more mobile-friendly “responsive” design for their newsletters.

“It is counter-intuitive for retailers conducting email campaigns to overlook customers’ stated individual preferences, because ignoring the personal touch risks customer defection to savvier retailers who do address their individual needs,” said Christopher Kollat, country manager UK&I, Teradata Marketing Applications. “Rich data insights are there for the taking, but it’s time to ensure they are harnessed effectively with the right data analytics tools to put personalisation at the core of customer communications.”

The full study results are available for download here.