Marketing research and insights news and information. This issue's keywords: store tracking technology; brand content; online purchasing; Walgreens Balance Rewards; home renovation
Shoppers find some technology to be "creepy," including store tracking items, shows a RichRelevance study. According to the data, some unfavorable technology includes stores using digital screens to tailor prices to the shopper specifically rather than simple price tags and digital screens in dressing rooms making recommendations based on what the shopper is trying on. Shoppers also disliked salespeople opening dressing room doors based solely on their positions in the store and facial recognition that relays shopper value to sales associates or that identifies the age and gender of the shopper to recommend products.
At least half of customers are less likely to open content from a brand that doesn't match their preferences, interests, location or context according to a study by Dublin software company Boxever. Additionally, 59 percent of customers say they would unsubscribe from a company's content if it isn't tailored to them, 31 percent would delete the company's mobile app and 28 percent are less likely to visit the company's Web site. Lastly, 40 percent of customers say that after receiving irrelevant offers, they are less likely to buy from that company moving forward.
Millennials have high expectations when it comes to the delivery of their online purchases according to a study by London delivery management solutions firm MetaPack. The data show that 55 percent of U.K. Millennials, aged 18 to 24, say they value free delivery the most while 33 percent say they value speed. Regarding delivery methods, 82 percent say they would try same-day delivery this year and 51 percent would try delivery drones. Ninety percent of Millennials said a positive delivery experience would encourage them to shop with a specific retailer over others offering the same product but 40 percent said they would take to social media to broadcast a negative delivery experience. Additionally, 90 percent of Millennials say they would do more shopping with a retailer if they made the returns process easy.
Deerfield, Ill., pharmacy chain Walgreens released a white paper showing the efficacy of its Balance Rewards for healthy choices program in terms of weight loss and adherence to diabetes and hypertension medication. The program gives users Balance Rewards points for logging blood pressure or weight loss, tracking daily activity and setting goals. According to the white paper, a 2014 study of 100,000 users found that all of the 6,198 users who logged their weight lost an average of 3.3 pounds over six months. Twenty-seven percent lost more than six pounds and 16.5 percent lost over 10 pounds. Those who logged at least a mile per day lost an average of about 3.7 pounds.
In 2014, U.S. Millennial homeowners (ages 25-34) were just as likely to renovate their homes as any other age groups. This data was gathered by the fourth annual Houzz & Home survey, conducted by Palo Alto, Calif., home remodeling and design platform Houzz. Fifty-five percent said a key motivation for renovation projects was to make a newly-purchased home their own, with one-third purchasing a new home in 2014 alone. Kitchens continued to be the most popular interior remodeling projects among all age groups with about one-third of homeowners renovating their kitchens in 2014. Millennials were just as likely to remodel their kitchens as other age groups and spent an average of $26,300 on major remodels of a large kitchen (more than 201 square feet) and $16,100 for small kitchens (less than 201 square feet). Additionally, 84 percent of all homeowners hired a professional to help with remodeling projects.
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