Shopping for Halloween candy a few weeks ago, I walked smack into a store display of tinsel and garland and bright blinking lights. It was 88 degrees that day. The humidity was stuck at insufferable and a tropical storm churned over the warm waters of the Atlantic.
I scratched my head: What holiday were we celebrating again?
This is a contributed piece by Diane Kegley, Chief Marketing Officer, RichRelevance
Our love of technology has opened up new opportunities for retailers. The battle is on for brand owners to capture our attention – whether it’s online, on mobile, or on digital displays in store. The question is: how do we create a more interactive, enticing experience for consumers, without crossing the line of being too “creepy”.
Is facial recognition “creepy or cool?” asked a June 2015 survey of British shoppers. The poll, conducted by product personalisation firm RichRelevance, found that while shoppers were generally OK with personalised recommendations they were a little unnerved by the idea of facial recognition being the source of the targeting. It’s a strange one given that MasterCard recently revealed via CNN that it is trialling the use of selfies as authentication for in-store purchases and Apple has lifted the lid on its biometric authentication mobile commerce software Apple Pay in Europe.
Today, most business leaders recognize that customer relationship management (CRM) is important for the success of their business. Companies continue to invest heavily in technology solutions, including CRM platforms, to better understand and engage more effectively with customers. In fact, the worldwide CRM software market grew to $23.2 billion in 2014, up 13.3 percent from $20.4 billion in 2013, according to Gartner.
Tom Cruise gets an eye transplant in order to evade face-recognition-based marketing. At least, that’s how I recall the scene in the film Minority Report.
The transplant is necessary because his character is on the run but wherever he goes optical recognition sensors identify and then assault him with personalised advertising messages. It is clear that unless he changes his appearance he will never be anonymous.
RichRelevance published a new UK study, “Creepy or Cool” that reveals that 70% of UK shoppers find facial recognition technology that identifies age and gender in order to display product recommendations “creepy”.
The study, which surveyed 1,049 consumers in the UK about their attitudes towards digital enhancements to the store shopping experience, found that 72% of UK consumers find personalization of product recommendations based on purchasing habits a “cool” capability.
Personalisation group RichRelevance and digital marketing benchmarking specialist L2 have previewed findings from their upcoming Intelligence Report: Omnichannel 2015.
The report analyses the efforts of leading retailers to blend digital and in-store experiences, in a bid to identify those that are successfully delivering a true omnichannel experience.
Almost three quarters (72 per cent) of UK consumers find personalisation of product recommendations based on purchasing habits a “cool” capability when shopping, according to a new UK study, “Creepy or Cool”, by RichRelevance®.
British shoppers also welcome location-based personalisation in store, with over 6 in 10 (63 per cent) welcoming a mobile personalised map showing item locations and efficient store paths to help them navigate stores more conveniently. Furthermore, 43 per cent find in-store location deals – where their location is tracked in order to trigger personalised promotions whilst shopping – “cool”.