Half of UK consumers are unaware of tailored experiences

Almost half of UK consumers are unaware of customisation choices available to them a survey has found.

A new survey carried out by Radius has found that 46 per cent of consumers in the UK don’t know about customisation choices and additionally, even when consumers are aware, brands are only getting their customisation efforts right less than 30 per cent of the time, on average.

Key findings of the survey, which provides insight into how consumers currently view and value customisation, include:

UK consumer awareness lags behind US counterparts

Whilst US consumers enjoy relatively high levels of awareness of customisation options open to them (peaking at almost 75 per cent awareness in under 35s), consumers in the UK remain uninformed of the choices open to them (falling to 50 per cent awareness amongst those who earn less than £40K per annum).

Consumers are loyal to Loyalty Programmes

Customisation has a number of advantages from a business point of view as it can command higher prices, free publicity and greater brand allegiance. Marketers looking to customise the brand experience for consumers should look to loyalty programmes as a place to start. Loyalty programmes topped all other customisation methods, in every category, based on a combined measure of consumer interest (67 per cent on average) and utilisation (58 per cent on average).

Whilst customisation can retain customers, they don’t want too many options

Customisation should not equal proliferation – 40 per cent of consumers already feel that there are already too many options open to them. With only 30 per cent of brands ‘getting it right’ from a consumer’s point of view, marketers should ensure that they are offering the right kind of customisation for their brand and communicate the value of it effectively.

Where there is awareness, consumers understand the benefits of customization

Consumers who are aware of customisation have a clear understanding of its potential benefits. Top of their list is being able to stay in the know about new products and services (48 per cent). They also appreciate the convenience such as less time spent shopping and making fewer trips to the shops (40 per cent). Customisation is also seen as a way to reduce waste by receiving less of what they do not want or won’t use (31 per cent).

Jeanette Vivier, director at Radius Europe, said: “Radius GMR’s survey shows that consumers are potentially very receptive to efforts to customise the brand experience.

“But if marketers don’t do the homework involved to provide and communicate highly relevant benefits to their specific audiences, they are unlikely to capitalise on the opportunity.”