30% of Consumers Will Switch Merchants for ‘Tailored’ Shopping Experience

A “tailored” online shopping experience makes smart use of consumer data to provide shoppers with a more personalized, customer-centric, friction-free shopping experience.

Typically, that involves product recommendations matching consumer preferences to clothing size or color, product options that are easy to see and understand and a rewards program that’s easy to use. And 30% of consumers are willing to switch merchants to get that experience, according to “The Tailored Shopping Experience,” a PYMNTS and Elastic Path collaboration based on a survey of 2,094 U.S. consumers.

Get the report: The Tailored Shopping Experience

Millennials and high-income earners are more likely than other groups to switch to merchants offering tailored shopping experiences, with 43% of millennials and 33% of consumers earning more than $100,000 per year saying they are “very” or “extremely” likely to do so.

Key reasons for consumers’ interest include finding the exact product easily, low-cost or free delivery, personalized recommendations and fast delivery options. Those features are cited by 45%, 41%, 36% and 35%, respectively, of consumers.

The reasons vary among three categories of consumers that were identified in the report.

For “exacting shoppers,” who want all aspects of tailored shopping to be fast, cheap and convenient, the three most important features are low-cost or free delivery, finding the exact product easily and fast delivery options.

“Delivery-focused shoppers,” who are concerned primarily about sourcing products inexpensively and quickly, are most interested in fast delivery options, low-cost or free delivery and easy-to-use rewards.

For “product-seekers,” who primarily desire to find a specific product they want, the most important features are finding the exact product easily, personalized recommendations and the ability to see how home furnishings or clothing fit.

Online shoppers will become even more discerning over time, and tailored experiences will become an essential tool that merchants can leverage to keep their customers loyal and transacting on their site.