Almost half of Australian consumers think personalized in-store technology enhances the shopping experience

Melbourne, AUSTRALIA – August 18, 2020 – According to a recent survey from SOTI, the world’s most trusted provider of mobile and IoT management solutions, 44% of Australian consumers say the use of personalized in-store technology by retailers can ultimately enhance their shopping experience.

As retailers continue to adopt new innovations to connect with consumers, advanced personalization technology used to provide a better in-store shopping experience is becoming increasingly prevalent – but how do consumers feel about a personalized experience?

“Our research, which surveyed over 500 Australian consumers, found that shoppers are increasingly getting on board with the concept of in-store personalization if it means a better retail experience,” said Michael Dyson, Managing Director of Australia and New Zealand at SOTI. “In fact, 42% of survey respondents stated that they are more likely to choose to shop in a store that uses personalization technology to enhance shopping experiences.”

Improving the shopping experience with in-store personalization
This advanced In-store personalization technology is based around sensor data, which is received from beacons placed around a retail store that can connect with a customer’s mobile phone via Bluetooth and a retail application. The data can identify things such as how long a customer has been in a store and what products they have selected to buy. This offers a wealth of useful information for retailers, which they can then use to send customers promotions, special offers and store information.

These offerings fit well with consumer expectations around the benefits of in-store personalization, with 44% saying in-store personalization technology could result in better customer service, while 34% said that it could create more personalized store promotions. An additional 43% of shoppers said that they would like to receive more personalized services and promotional information based on their in-store shopping habits.

“It’s clear today’s consumers want relevant and personalised enhancements to their shopping experience, and this is something that retailers can now deliver with the data insights obtained through in-store personalization technology,” said Michael. “While more retail customers are aware that retailers could be looking to personalize specific products and services to their individual preferences, their comfort with this is reliant on the data being used primarily to offer them better shopping experiences, and the data being kept secure at all times.”

In-store technology must be secure
Of the shoppers surveyed, 42% communicated concerns around the security of customer data derived from in-store personalization, however, over half of survey respondents said that a comprehensive security process and management solution to protect gathered data would alleviate their privacy concerns.

“Security risks pose a rising threat to retailers who continue to gather more and more sensitive consumer data. For Australian consumers to really have faith in in-store personalization technology, they need to be confident their data is being protected, at all times. For retailers to maintain credibility in this area, they must implement an Internet of Things (IoT) management solution with strong security credentials, that allows them to have visibility and management of all business-critical IoT endpoints, including in-store personalization technology, from a centralised point,” added Michael.

An IoT management solution can help retailers to ensure compliance, security and management of in-store personalization technology, with the ability to remotely manage and shut down any IoT endpoints if there is ever a security breach.

Methodology
SOTI recently surveyed 501 Australian shoppers aged 18 to 75 using the Zoho survey platform – 62.48% of respondents were female and 37.52% male.

About SOTI
SOTI is the world’s most trusted provider of mobile and IoT management solutions, with more than 17,000 enterprise customers and millions of devices managed worldwide. SOTI’s innovative portfolio of solution and services provide the tools organizations need to truly mobilize their operations and optimize their mobility investments. SOTI extends secure mobility management to provide an integrated solution to manage and secure all mobile devices and connected peripherals in an organization. To learn more, visit www.soti.net.

About SOTI Connect – Take Control of Your IoT
SOTI Connect is an IoT solution built for business that provides complete lifecycle management of IoT devices within an organization. Its highly flexible, data-driven architecture means that new IoT devices can be quickly supported and managed, reducing the time-to-market for IoT initiatives.

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