More than 50% of the 2,000 respondents polled stated that they do not want to hear from brands on TikTok (58%), Twitter (56%), WhatsApp (53%), Facebook (53%), Instagram (53%) and YouTube (53%).  When asked for their preferred channels to receive promotional messages, email was the highest ranked (35%), followed by a retailer’s website (32%), physical store (29%), app (27%) and Google (20%). 

CEO and Co-Founder of Fresh Relevance, Mike Austin, commented: “Social media can be a very powerful channel to increase brand awareness and engage with your customer base. But our research suggests that retailers need to be smart in how they use it. While respondents told us that they’re not interested in promotional content, they want to be able to use social media to reach out to brands as a communication channel.”

Mike added: “Consumers prefer to receive promotional messages on channels that are owned by the retailer, such as email, website, store and app. This is good news for businesses who might have to cut back on paid media spend at the moment.” 

The need for brands to improve the cross-channel customer experience is highlighted by consumers using two or more channels prior to making a purchase, on average. This rises to three channels for online shoppers aged between 16 and 34.

Convenience is a key criteria for a good cross-channel customer experience. For example, one in four consumers are more likely to shop with a retailer when they can view the contents of their online shopping cart across multiple channels. 22% of those polled said they are more likely to shop with a retailer that shows them tailored content, such as product recommendations, based on what they have browsed and bought previously across multiple channels, for example the website, app, and in-store.

Bridging the gap between online and in-store is also very important, with 29% of those surveyed stating they would be more likely to shop with a retailer that shows them in-store availability at their nearest store for products they are browsing online.  

“It's no secret that consumers want a personalised experience. But retailers can fall into the trap of working with incomplete data and for example, personalise based on insights from one single channel,” added Mike. “For an effective personalisation strategy, it is vital for companies to join up customer data from all touchpoints, such as the website, app, and in-store, to tailor marketing tactics to those omnichannel customer profiles.” 

To view the full report, visit here.