Payment, Personalization Top Transaction Priorities for Consumers

July 12, 2012

capgemini-most-appealing-transaction-criteria-july2012.png73% of consumers find choosing from several payment options appealing or extremely appealing when buying via digital channels, according to [pdf] a July 2012 report by Capgemini. Their next-highest priority is the ability to access and update personal information (62%), followed by the online store remembering personal information and payment methods to speed up the shopping process (61%).

During the all-channel shopping journey, mobile payment applications trail in importance, with 43% finding the ability to use a mobile app to pay for in-store products rather than at a till or register at least appealing. Data from an IDC Financial Insights survey released in July found that among consumers who have made a mobile payment, the most popular methods are via an application at the point-of-sale (POS) and via mobile browser at the POS.

Consumers Trust in Personalization Differs By Channel

Data from Capgemini’s “Digital Shopper Relevancy” report indicates that while 61% of consumers want online stores to remember their personal information and payment methods to speed up the shopping process, only 41% want to be identified through digital devices (such as their mobile phones) when they enter a physical store. Anecdotally, respondents in Sweden and Finland are the least likely to want to share information in-store, while shoppers in India are most likely to do so. This suggests that, whatever the concerns regarding privacy in digital channels, consumers enjoy a “shield of anonymity” when sharing personal information online.

Websites Preferred for Transactions

Internet sites are the digital channel of choice to purchase and pay for products, with 67% of consumers rating them important or extremely important. In-store technology (such as kiosks and integrated devices on shopping carts) is the second channel of choice in making transactions, cited as at least important by 54% of respondents. Email (e.g., newsletters and offers) followed (52%), while mobile phone apps (38%) and phones via call center (35%) trailed.

The internet peaks in relevance in purchasing electronics, with 54% of shoppers reporting they had purchased electronics online in the prior 6 months. Other categories where the internet is particularly relevant are fashion (52%), health-related goods (42%), food (29%), and do-it-yourself products, at 21%. 15% of consumers reported buying none of these.

Mobile App Interest More Mixed

While only 38% of respondents see smartphones as an important digital channel in making transactions, developing markets are significantly more interested in using a mobile phone app to pay for in-store products. In India, 71% of respondents said apps were important when purchasing a product and in China the figure was 69%, compared with 11% in Finland and 19% in Sweden. Also true, younger shoppers, particularly between ages 25 to 34, were more interested in using smartphone apps to buy products. Smartphone purchases skewed higher in the categories of fashion, DIY and electronics products.

In qualitative interviews, shoppers described their expectations for apps being to: check stock availability; receive real-time, location-based offers while in-store; and scan barcodes for prices in order to keep a running tally while shopping.

About The Data: Capgemini worked with ORC International to survey more than 16,000 consumers in 16 countries: Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Turkey, the UK and the US. The composition of the consumer sample in each country was representative of the population for age and gender; income; education; employment and marital status.

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