Consumers Value Personalization. Up Your Game to Not Miss the Opportunity.

| Survey
Research of consumers in France, Germany, the UK and the US reveals a generally positive attitude toward receiving personalized messages from businesses; however, findings reveal that the messages aren’t always hitting the mark.

Personalization is not a new concept. It’s likely that your hairstylist knows how you like your hair cut and can make recommendations on different options and products that best suit your hair type. Restaurants you frequent may know how you like your steak cooked and can provide suitable wine-pairing suggestions. Personalization happens often in the physical world around us.

But what about in the digital arena? Personalized marketing is being seen as providing value for shoppers seeking what they like and want. With the digital world enabling consumers to channel hop, switch between competing companies and price compare with ease, businesses are recognizing they must meet those consumers’ needs and desires with the right messages to drive engagement and sales.

But how do consumers feel about the personalized messages they are receiving? To better understand consumers’ perceptions of personalized marketing, Periscope by McKinsey conducted research in four mature e-commerce markets: France, Germany, the UK and the U.S.

Evaluating the current attitudes of consumers toward personalized marketing, the research findings provide insights on:

  • Consumer sentiment in different markets about receiving personalized messages
  • The types of companies from which consumers want to receive personalized communications
  • Consumer attitude to the relevancy of messages they receive
  • The type of personalized offers that are most appealing to consumers
  • The actions consumers take after receiving personalized messages
  • Variations among these perceptions and actions by gender and age

Key Finding: Attitudes toward personalized messaging differ based on geography, age and gender.

Consumers often receive personalized messages

In all markets surveyed, we observed more than 50% of respondents frequently receiving personalized messages. More consumers in the U.S. and France receive personalized messages than in the other markets, with 62% and 60% of consumers in those markets, respectively, reporting they frequently receive these kinds of messages.  55% of consumers in Germany and 53% of UK respondents say they often receive personalized messages.