New research from Epsilon, a marketing and advertising technology company, reveals that grocery has been the most improved sector for personalising customer experiences over the past two years, surpassing technology, fashion and apparel, beauty, and homeware.
In a consumer survey, 20% noticed an overall improvement in brand efforts to personalise messages and interactions over the period. Interestingly, the same percentage reported enhancements specifically in the grocery brand category, indicating that those who recognised improvements did so with messages from chains such as Morrisons, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose.
One of the problems of digital advertising has been the frustration caused by ads being shown to consumers who have already purchased the promoted item. Highlighting the progress that has been made by better connecting ad campaigns with in-market shoppers, 85% of consumers said they are no longer seeing ads for items they have already bought.
Elliott Clayton, Managing Director UK, Epsilon, commented: “These improvements illustrate the contribution of first-party data-led strategies to a more positive consumer perception of advertising. Grocery has long been the poster child of retail media, with the frequency of purchases and vast customer bases foundational to a channel focused on smarter use of transactional data.
“Supermarkets are increasingly focused on making every shopper feel recognised and valued. Morrisons’ ‘My Points Boosters’ scheme is a perfect example, offering customers the chance to select their favourite brands from a personalised list. Similarly, Waitrose impresses with personalised vouchers that reflect individual shopping habits. These tailored approaches show a strong commitment to customer satisfaction.”
However, Epsilon notes that a specific challenge related to retail media is proving incrementality i.e. that a campaign drives new revenue as opposed to being shown to people who are already going to buy an item. While the data suggests most adverts do reach the right shoppers, 17% of respondents reported seeing ads for products they were planning to purchase.
This is by no means an isolated challenge. Consumers still identified other more widespread issues with personalisation, the most prolific of which is irrelevant ads, which 56% of consumers say they still scroll past.
Almost half of consumers identified a frequency issue, with 47% reporting seeing the same ad too many times. Other issues raised included the disruption caused by advertising, with 34% saying ads pop up at the worst possible time.
NAM Implications:
- We all have to eat. Therefore, grocery has to be a logical target for Retail Media personalisation.
- However, we are still at the ‘novelty’ stage in terms of accessing the aisle-consumer with targeted messages.
- The key will be the skill in limiting message-tailoring to a point that provides sufficient incentive for repeat purchases by satisfied shoppers ‘in an aisle’ overcrowded with conflicting messages, excessively targeted…
