Personalised offers will appeal to consumers this Christmas

Monday, December 5, 2016 - 11:32 by Mike Price

Three quarters of people who receive a special offer which is customised to their particular tastes via their smartphone will take action, either by visiting the retailer in question or by shopping online.

This is according to a new study from Vista Retail Support, which found the power of personalised deals is especially potent in the age of m-commerce, while also helping to keep bricks and mortar outlets afloat, as they attempt to appeal to multichannel-savvy consumers.

People were questioned about what put them off visiting real world outlets in the run-up to Christmas, with 70 per cent citing the queuing as being one of the main obstacles to making the experience more enjoyable. Thirty seven per cent said that they were put off by the lack of knowledge about products exhibited by members of store staff.

The nature of shopping online means that it is easier for retailers to not only track what items customers are buying, but also which products they are researching and browsing regularly. This makes it possible to build a solid picture of what deals and offers might be especially appealing to them on an individual basis, rather than taking the blanket approach as was necessary in the past.

There will be no queues in the world of e-commerce, with even the spike in site visits during Black Friday and Cyber Monday failing to cause traffic issues for the vast majority of major retailers.

When it comes to the problems with online shopping, 47 per cent of respondents said that their biggest issue lies with the nature of delivery and the inability to pick a suitable time for items to arrive. They also said that getting into the Christmas spirit was easier after a trip to the high street.