Author: Kick Writers

Shopkick survey finds most Americans plan to celebrate Mom in person and shop in-store for gifts this year

This Mother’s Day, the majority of Americans are ready to celebrate Mom in person after a year of virtual gatherings due to COVID-19.  According to a new survey from Shopkick, more Americans plan to physically gather with family this year (61 percent) compared to 2020 (52 percent), and most plan to purchase Mother’s Day gifts in-store (79 percent), a significant uptick compared to last year (38 percent). 

The shopping rewards app surveyed more than 22,000 consumers across the nation between April 7 – 12, 2021 to gain insight into this year’s Mother’s Day plans, preparations and spending habits.

Key Findings:

• Moment for Mom: The majority of consumers (80 percent) plan to celebrate Mother’s Day this year, with 61 percent planning to do so in person. Meanwhile, only 11 percent plan to celebrate virtually, a significant decrease compared to last year’s 27 percent who celebrated via video calls. 
• Group Gatherings: For those celebrating in person, most plan to make a meal at home (55 percent), followed by those who will celebrate at an outdoor get-together (21 percent), head to a restaurant (20 percent), or take part in a different group setting (4 percent). Of those in person celebrations, Gen Z is most likely to go to a restaurant this year, with 29 percent planning to do so, compared to Millennials (20 percent), Gen Xers (20 percent) and Boomers (18 percent).
• Getting Gifts In-Store: Seventy-nine percent of consumers said they plan to purchase their gifts for Mom in-store this year, compared to only 38 percent who did so last year. The most popular purchases include flowers (59 percent), gift cards (49 percent), clothing or accessories (30 percent), food items (29 percent), beauty and wellness products (19 percent) and fragrance or perfume (18 percent). 
• Deals, Please: This year, nearly half (48 percent) of consumers say cost remains the most important factor in making a gift decision, trailed by style (19 percent), convenience (17 percent) and whether the brand aligns with personal values (16 percent). 
• Big Spenders: When it comes to purchasing gifts this year, 15 percent plan to spend more than last year. Of those, 37 percent said it is because they want to make up for not being able to fully celebrate last year. Consumers also said they want to spend more after a year of being restricted by the pandemic (27 percent), want to spoil the women in their life with pricier gifts (24 percent) or plan to purchase a vacation as a gift (4 percent). Across demographics, more Gen Zers (27 percent) plan to have bigger budgets for Mother’s Day gifts this year, compared to Millennials (18 percent), Gen Xers (14 percent) and Boomers (12 percent). 
• Less is More: Similarly, 15 percent said they plan to spend less on gifts this year, with the majority (58 percent) stating it is because their finances have been impacted and they need to budget. Other reasons include choosing quality time over gifts (26 percent), the women in their lives not wanting gifts (7 percent), or planning to save money for a trip later this year (6 percent). 

“For over a year, many of us have been separated from the people we love most. Luckily, it feels like we have reached a turning point,” said David Fisch, general manager of Shopkick. “Americans are celebrating Mother’s Day in person, and they are heading to physical retailers to get their shopping done. That’s why it is essential for retailers to prepare for an influx of in-store shoppers, keep shelves stocked with popular Mother’s Day gifts and maintain a clean environment to create the most positive experience possible for consumers.” 

Today, we’re excited to share that our parent company, Trax, has secured $640 million in a Series E financing round led by SoftBank Vision Fund 2 and technology-focused funds managed by Trax’s existing investor BlackRock, Inc. 

Trax acquired Shopkick in 2019 to accelerate its mission to drive the future of retail, where the physical and digital combine to enable the best shopping experiences. Since then, the team has made major strides in enabling brands and retailers to better navigate the new frontier of retail: delighting shoppers and providing actionable insights right at the shelf.

This financing round accelerates Shopkick’s mission to expand our footprint to new audiences and destinations, enabling our partners to reach consumers all throughout their digital and physical day, beyond our core shopping endemic environments. These new opportunities to earn rewards will attract new and diverse audiences, elevate our omnichannel offering and deepen our first-party consumer insights. In the coming years, we’ll continue to focus on growth through new partnerships, new audiences, and expansion into new markets. 

It’s an exciting time in retail, and we are thrilled to continue to chart the future as part of the Trax family. 

Best,

Dave Fisch

CEO, Shopkick

Read more from TechCrunch

When supply chain issues and panic buying left grocery shelves empty for weeks, shoppers had to consider alternative options when their go-to brands weren’t available. In fact, in the height of the pandemic, 85% of consumers said brand names no longer mattered, and 69% said they would purchase a different brand if their preferred brand wasn’t in-stock. 

There’s no doubt that the past year has had a major impact on consumer purchase behaviors, and many brands and retailers are reevaluating their current strategies and considering new avenues for building, and maintaining, customer loyalty. Enter: loyalty programs and rewards apps. 

“There’s a misconception that if you build a rewards program, customers will love it… but every marketer knows that’s not true. If people don’t feel like they’re getting a benefit, if it’s too limited, if it’s hard to get rewards, if it’s confusing, they can tend to fall flat. And it does impact buying behavior, customers consider the quality of loyalty programs in buying,” says Jaysen Gillespie, SVP of Data and Analytics at Shopkick. 

There’s a ton that brands and retailers can learn about loyalty from the last 12 months, room for improvement, and an abundance of data to inform decisions moving forward. In Market Scale’s Retail Refined Podcast, Gillespie joins host Melissa Gonzalez to discuss trends in consumer engagement and app usage, how the quality of reward programs determine adoption, how to use consumer buying data to cultivate stronger loyalty, and more.

Listen here: https://marketscale.com/industries/retail/strengthening-customer-loyalty-with-data/ 

Any retailer knows that building brand loyalty is key to achieving business success: not only do you have to hold on to existing customers, you also have to attract new ones. And because it costs more to attract new buyers than to retain the ones you already have, strategy is key. Fortunately, there are endless ways to satisfy your current clientele, woo new customers, showcase your brands, and—oh yes—increase sales. 

The Shopping Experience Has Changed…

… But you already know that. The omnichannel customer experience is the new black, and you need to meet this challenge head-on. This is not your mother’s shopping experience: retailers now use multiple channels to reach both existing customers and the ones they have yet to meet. It’s all about the customer here—and most of them are highly distractible. And with such a dizzying array of choices at their fingertips, who can blame them? Here’s where a customer loyalty program is your friend. Customer loyalty incentive programs help build trust between a retailer and its customer. And in a world where 71% of Americans say it takes only one less-than-stellar experience to switch them to another brand—can you really afford not to?

The best customer loyalty marketing strategies work by creating the most convenient shopping experience possible—that’s doubly true if the customer is new. Enter a mobile app. As a tool to build brand loyalty, a mobile app is a no-brainer. As anyone who has ever ridden on a bus can attest to, people love their phones. In fact, the average American checks their phone at least 52 times a day, according to a study by Deloitte.

Building Brand Loyalty 

People don’t put their phones away just because they’re in your store. They might be checking messages, swiping left or right, or pulling up a picture of that to-die-for sweater that brought them there in the first place. If you want to reach a new customer, do it through their devices. A mobile app also lets you send personalized messages to new and existing customers alerting them of exciting offers they can take advantage of.

A popular customer loyalty program idea is the “VIP-pre-sale.” It works on the premise that the customer is valued, loyal, and just a bit better than the rest. These customer loyalty programs often offer an advance sale available exclusively to longstanding and repeat customers—and they work like a charm. Better still, existing customers instinctively forward the offer to friends who they think might be interested.

Referrals Are Retail Goals 

As an active marketing strategy, word of mouth is king. In fact, 92% of consumers say they trust friends and family’s recommendations over all other forms of advertising, even when they don’t know the person. That’s why referrals are such a powerful tool. Recommending a brand is like texting your bestie about a fabulous new restaurant they simply must try. It’s personal. And humans like the personal touch.

Referrals come in many shapes and sizes, including written testimonials, which you can easily incorporate into your marketing materials. You can also reach out to a customer still giddy from a recent purchase and ask them to recommend the brand to 3 friends. This is called the network effect and is a highly proven strategy to pull in new fans. Video testimonials are another powerful way to market your brand and outperform both text and photos. 

Listen—Really Listen—To Your Customers

Your customers need to feel supported. An integral part of customer service is addressing your customer’s issues and any negative experiences they may have had with your brand. Consider their demographics, including, age, gender, income, education, and occupation, to create on-brand messaging that resonates. You’ll also want to continually take the pulse of your customers through surveys, focus groups, communities, and forums—and of course, one-on-one connection. Promotions, giveaways, contests, and social media games are also a great way to build brand loyalty.

Automatic Incentives 

People are more likely to spread the love about your brand or post about it if there’s a little something in it for them. A customer loyalty program provides that extra bit of encouragement. You can also incentivize through bonuses like complimentary premium features or credit toward future buys.  Creating incentives via a charitable donation is another great strategy. Bonus marks if you personalize the donation. It sparks a connection between the customer and the donee and makes them feel like they’re making a difference.  

Another powerful customer loyalty rewards program strategy is geotargeting or location-based marketing. By tracking someone’s real-time location, marketers can deliver the “right message at the right time.” Push notifications are a great example of this. When a customer is in the general area of a retailer they like, they’ll receive notification of an offer they simply can’t refuse. After all, people adore convenience, and everybody loves a bargain. And you’re not just limited to your own brand. With location-based marketing, you can also direct ads at your competitors and nab their customers too.

Shopping Rewards Apps 

Shopping rewards apps like Shopkick work by creating a fun way for shoppers to get rewards in-store and even online. This could be for interacting with in-app content, engaging with products in-store, and of course, purchasing. Like a great game of Candy Crush, the best part is making it to the next level.  

In a world where every new product is seemingly better than the last and convenience reigns supreme, you have to evolve to grow your brand and thrive in today’s retail climate.  

New Shopkick survey compares consumer behavior, concerns, and spending habits over the past 12 months

Continue reading “Most Americans Say Pandemic Has Made Them More Conscious Consumers”

Shopkick survey uncovers why consumers were not swayed to spend, and which brands came out on top

Brands may have dished out upwards of $5 million each to place an ad during this year’s Super Bowl, but for most Americans, these sought-after slots didn’t drive purchases. It turns out, only eight percent of consumers actually bought a product in the days after seeing this year’s ads, and of those, 75 percent said they were already a frequent purchaser of the brand or product. 

Shopkick asked nearly 20,000 Americans about the impact of this year’s Big Game ads, as well as the genres they believe are most effective in influencing them to make purchases.

Insights include: 

• Purchasing Power: Of the eight percent of respondents who purchased a product after seeing this year’s Super Bowl ads, Gen Zers made up the largest segment (14 percent), compared to Millennials (9 percent), Gen Xers (7 percent) and Baby Boomers (6 percent), trending opposite of the common narrative that Gen Z can’t be reached through traditional advertising.  
• Same Day Spending: Of those who made a purchase, 13 percent say they bought products on Super Bowl Sunday just after seeing the ads, followed by 27 percent who purchased the next day and 60 percent who purchased within the following week. 
• Brands That Brought Home the Bacon: This year’s advertisers in food and beverage, alcohol and home products that successfully influenced consumers to make a purchase included Doritos (58 percent), M&M’s (52 percent), Cheetos (50 percent), Dawn (47 percent), Frito-Lay (39 percent), Mountain Dew (26 percent), Swiffer (24 percent), Hellmann’s Mayo (23 percent), Chobani (22 percent), Bud Light beer (20 percent), Huggies (18 percent), PepsiCo’s Rockstar Energy (11 percent) and Stella Artois (10 percent). All other ads in these brand categories influenced less than 10 percent of consumers to purchase products.  
• Can’t Be Swayed: Of the 92 percent of consumers who did not purchase products, reasons varied. Besides simply not watching the Super Bowl (44 percent), respondents also said they enjoyed the ads but did not want to make a purchase (28 percent), they didn’t pay attention to the ads (15 percent), they didn’t like the ads (6 percent) or they prefer other brands and products (3 percent).
• Laughter Wins Dollars: In terms of which advertising genres consumers feel are most effective in influencing them to spend, respondents said comedy (35 percent), followed by values-based ads (34 percent), serious or emotional ads (8 percent), ads featuring scenery and nature (7 percent), and celebrity features (6 percent). Surprisingly, when compared by generation, the largest segments of Gen Z (42 percent), Millennials (40 percent) and Gen X (36 percent) said comedy ads are most effective in influencing them, while the largest segment of Boomers said values-based ads (37 percent).

The online survey was conducted between Feb. 11-15.