When ever we cover personalization and new technology at Retail TouchPoints, we always have to discuss the “creep factor.”
You know the “creep factor.” It’s that moment when a brand or retailer goes completely over the line…they stop being helpful and just end up skeeving you out.
The challenges in serving mobile shoppers are almost too numerous to count. But then again, so are the opportunities.
As marketers and mobile innovators ponder how many ways they can create a highly personalized experience for an in-store mobile shopper, those consumers seem to have some unwritten rules of their own about what they will accept.
Nearly three quarters of consumers think technology that uses facial recognition to recommend relevant products is “creepy”, according to a new study.
73 per cent of those surveyed by RichRelevance were creeped out by the technology.
A similar number – 74 per cent – thought it was creepy for a salesperson to greet them by name after receiving a notification from their mobile phone signal upon entering the store.
And 75 per cent felt uncomfortable with technology that uses facial recognition to detect a high-value shopper and inform a sale associate.
“Cool” features lead shoppers to relevant products, while “creepy” ones identify, track, and target consumers.
It’s no secret that today’s consumers are viewing mobile devices while shopping in-store. But, as enticing as personalization is, marketers and retailers need to understand that there’s a fine line between creepy and cool.
As more bricks-and-mortar retailers employ mobile and tablet devices to augment consumers’ in-store experiences and drive point-of-sale purchases, they must also be aware of features which customers find helpful, such as product reviews, and those that individuals find abrasive, such as digital display prices, according to a new report from RichRelevance.
E-commerce recommendations firm RichRelevance released a new study called “Creepy or Cool”, which highlights consumer attitudes towards digital enhancements to the store shopping experience, such as facial recognition technology.
The study finds that shoppers generally think it is cool to get digital help finding relevant products and information, as well as navigating the store.
When it comes to shopping consumers want all the conveniences of technology – the ability to check store availability or grab a coupon – as long as stores don’t add on tracking features. According to new data out from RichRelevance consumers find some technology to be ‘creepy’ – and that includes stores tracking them.
Source: RichRelevance
Notes: Almost three-quarters of consumers feel OK with scanning a product on their mobile device to see product reviews and recommendations, but their attitudes swing decidedly to the “creepy” side of things when it comes to personalization tactics that use facial recognition technology, according to a RichRelevance survey. Indeed, it seems that tactics that identify shoppers by name or other personally identifiable information are generally considered “creepy.”