Meetup: De-cluttering offers to drive revenue
Meetup, a social media platform for hosting and organizing activities, delivers premium third-party offers to its users after they’ve RSVPed to an event. This is a significant revenue stream for Meetup. The platform enlisted Rokt to build out a full RSVP confirmation page that streamlined the user journey, removing multiple competing initiatives (e.g. choice overload) and reducing customer confusion. As a result, Meetup achieved a 2x uplift in performance, generating $78,000 in net profit for every 1M impressions.
Case Study
64%
of US consumers agree
“When I'm shopping online, I expect companies to offer me relevant products, services or experiences curated just for me”
67% UK, 65% AUS
84%
“I feel excited when I receive a promotion that is delivered the moment I need it”
78% UK, 81% AUS
67%
“I am more likely to buy from brands / businesses that provide personalized communications and products / services tailored to my needs”
68% UK, 71% AUS
65%
“I'm looking for online shopping experiences to help me buy more of what I actually want”
65% UK, 63% AUS
Today's consumers have elevated their expectations regarding the level of service they anticipate from retailers:
Today's global shoppers are increasingly sophisticated in their search for products, services, and experiences – hunting for both validation and value. Yet for many consumers, navigating choices feels overwhelming. 46% of US consumers (46% UK, 48% AUS) say they feel exhausted by how many choices they sort through online. Choice, while desired, also comes with diminishing returns: as options proliferate, consumer satisfaction starts to dip. Sifting through choices can lead to anxiety, indecisiveness and fatigue. Inflation has further compounded this stress. 62% of US consumers (62% UK, 61% AUS) say they now spend more time online, searching for lower prices, relevant deals, and offers. For retailers, these stressed out hunters are a growing – and increasingly demanding – audience. That means retailers must become even more deliberate about knowing what the consumer needs and wants – and serve up the best offer at precisely the right time.
Part 1: THE PARADOX OF CHOICE AND THE RISE OF RELEVANCY
Read the Full Report
AI and the rise of relevancy:
Shifting expectations of the modern shopper
Next
Relevant discount/deals
89%
81% UK 86% AUS
Price match guarantees
One-step shops
71% UK 77% AUS
Relevant offers during checkout
67% UK 60% AUS
Give back/Social impact models
56%
51% UK 58% AUS
Curated brand collaborations/shopping experiences
46%
51% FR 58% Mobile/Online 59% Millennial + 64% Gen Z
White-glove experience
63% DE 55% Mobile/Online 59% Millennial + 60% Gen Z
AI based shopping assistants
40%
51% Mobile/Online 52% Millennial + 55% Gen Z
AR/VR shopping experiences
39%
50% Mobile/Online 51% Gen Z
Curated deals from your favourite influencers/content creators
34%
42% US 47% Mobile/Online 49% Millennial 55% Gen Z
Top 2 (Strongly agree/somewhat agree)
Interest in elements of the online shopping experience
Live Nation Entertainment (LNE), the world’s leading live entertainment company, partnered with Rokt in 2015 to improve its fan experience at every stage of the checkout journey. Using Rokt’s machine learning technology and first-party data, LNE was not only able to serve up the right offer, to the right fan, at the right time, but also deliver value through tailored upsell offers for each individual customer. Since working with Rokt Ecommerce to create a personalized checkout experience, LNE has seen $100 million in incremental revenue and an average yearly profit growth of 118%.
Live Nation Entertainment: Using relevancy to fuel the fan experience
Case study
Part 2: RELEVANCY NURTURES LONG-LASTING BRAND RELATIONSHIPS
Download PDF Version
Targeted appeal makes the ‘hunt’ for deals more compelling
Beyond the paradox of choice, we examined the dynamics of relevancy. Our findings illuminated a key insight: the provision of a pertinent and contextualized customer experience cultivates a sense of value, excitement, and appreciation among various audience segments.
When consumers embark on the hunt for deals, the relevance of the deal directly amplifies its allure. Consumers ranked “relevant deals” as the #1 thing they are interested in when shopping. Similarly, strategies such as price match guarantees and personalized promotions, due to their targeted appeal, foster a feeling of recognition among customers. Furthermore, deal placement is crucial, with 64% of US consumers (67% UK, 60% AUS) saying they would like relevant offers during checkout.
Contextualization drives excitement
For retailers, serving up compelling offers at checkout is not just a matter of growing the cart size – it’s a matter of inciting surprise and delight for the customer. For shoppers, online shopping can be a euphoric experience, especially when offers are delivered at just the right moment.
“I feel excited when a promotion is delivered the moment I need it.”
77%
“It’s satisfying when I find something I needed last-minute while checking out.”
61%
“I enjoy the feeling of adding a little something extra to my online shopping cart when I’m checking out.”
Relevancy drives nearly half of consumers to become repeat customers
Relevancy acts as a potent catalyst, motivating nearly half of consumers towards recurring interactions and purchases. Furthermore, relevant experiences serve as strategic gateways to enroll more consumers into brand loyalty programs and amplify organic advocacy, particularly amongst Gen Z.
want to shop again with the brand that delivered the relevant experience
50%
want to join the brand's loyalty program
41%
35% UK, 39% AUS
of Gen Z want to share their experience with friends
33%
Tailoring experiences makes customers feel appreciated:
In a world where people often feel misunderstood by marketing, individualized online shopping encounters can bridge this gap. Nearly half of the consumers (48% US)1 report feeling more valued by customized online shopping experiences, a sentiment that is particularly strong among the time-conscious Millennials (44%). Prioritizing these individual needs is integral to fostering enduring relationships.
Previous
74% UK, 74% AUS
58% UK, 58% AUS
Global average
48% UK, 54% AUS
1 UK 42%, AUS 47%
Today, over half of Gen Z and Millennials (57%) admit that inflation-induced stress affects their online shopping decisions. Nevertheless, many are optimistic about AI's role in optimizing their shopping experience. They foresee AI aiding in navigating the labyrinth of price comparisons and discounts, while simultaneously enhancing personalized product discovery.
Part 3: AI shopping: the new frontier for young consumers
Young consumers embrace the potential and possibilities of AI shopping
88% of Gen Z and 77% of Millennials think AI can improve online shopping
Below are the top five ways Gen Z and Millennials believe AI will improve online shopping:
50% Price comparisons
46% Finding deals
41% Relevant offerings/products
35% Personalized assistance
29% Reviews
55% of Gen Z and 52% of Millennials shoppers say they are interested in an AI shopping assistant. With the lead reason being that it will make discovering new things easy and that it can ‘anticipate my needs/desires’.
The following are the top three reasons Gen Z and Millennials are interested in AI shopping assistant:
35% Makes discovering new things easy
33% Makes online shopping convenient
33% Anticipates my needs/desires
55% of Gen Z and 52% of Millennial shoppers say they are interested in an AI shopping assistant 2
Makes discovering new things easy (35%)
Makes online shopping convenient (33%)
Anticipates my needs/desires (33%)
1 2 3
88% of Gen Z and 77% of Millennials think AI can improve online shopping 2
1 2 3 4 5
Price comparisons (50%)
Finding deals (46%)
Relevant offerings/products (41%)
Personalized assistance (35%)
Reviews (29%)
2 Global averages across all six markets
When shopping experiences don’t feel personalized, between 20-29% of consumers will walk away from the cart, brand, or experience. According to Forrester, cart abandonment causes e-commerce brands to lose $18 billion in sales revenue annually.4
Part 4: Business blindspots: the financial fallout of missed contextualization
I've abandoned my shopping cart
29%
37% FR
I've put off shopping for things I want or need
23%
I stopped shopping with that brand
22%
I haven't used offers because it feels like the wrong time/not what I need right now
20%
26% DE 27% Gen Z
I haven't used offers because it feels like I could find a better one
27% DE
I've felt overwhelmed from too many offers/getting content i don't need
18%
26% Gen Z
N/A - I don't do any of these
28%
33% US 35% Boomers
Reactions to irrelevant / impersonal online shopping
29% Gen Z
A golden opportunity to meet consumers' expectations is at checkout. Capitalizing on mounting consumer desires, the checkout stage offers an opportunity to blend time-efficiency with context-awareness - streamlining transactions while personalizing the experience. 79% of US consumers (79% UK, 81% AUS) say that “when shopping online, I expect streamlined experiences during checkout,” 72% (68% UK, 69%AUS) say they want “checkout that remembers who I am,” and 69% (67% UK, 68% AUS) say they want checkout that “knows how I like to pay.” And yet – 73% of US consumers (83% UK, 80% AUS) say they often experience some form of frustration or barrier at checkout.
Too many ads/offers while checking out
39% UK 42% AUS 42% JP
Irrelevant ads/product recommendations
40% AUS 40% JP
check out Process was time-consuming
34% DE
Tried one payment option to realize it wouldn't work
34% Gen Z
Old credit card(s) stored/manually inputting payment info
25% Gen Z 26% UK
The site not recognizing me across mobile/desktop devices
16%
24% Gen Z
Overwhelmed by the amount of payment options
11%
16% Gen Z
N/A - I do not encounter these
24%
30% FR
Frustrations/barriers during online checkout
Any frustration or long pauses in the shopping experience is the difference between a sale and a lost customer for a brand. Frustration at checkout leads to a direct hit to revenue and the company’s reputation, and it’s a drag on customer perceptions, loyalty, and trust.
Top consumer responses to frustrations during online checkout
Reconsidered purchase/ removed items from the card
38%
Abandoned card, never to return
45% DE | 46% AUS | 46% JP
36%
Found different site to buy items
34% UK | 34% AUS | 34% JP | 34% Gen Z
Abandoned cart, but returned later
26%
Lowered brand perception
27% Gen Z
21%
Reconsidered purchase/ added items to the cart
34% Mobile/Online | 28% Gen Z
17%
Expediting checkout and remembering consumer identities can fulfill escalating consumer desires, making checkout a prime opportunity for optimization and brand impact.
32% UK 34% AUS
22% UK 25% AUS
22% UK 19% AUS
23% UK 26% AUS
Having to log in/ make an account
46% AUS 46% JP
Having to log in / make an account
40% UK 46% AUS
Irrelevant ads / product recommendations
36% UK 40% AUS
25%
33% UK 32% AUS
27% UK 25% AUS
Frustrations / barriers during online checkout
39% UK 42% AUS
reconsidered purchase / removed items from cart.
38% UK, 42% AUS
37%
abandoned cart, never to return.
40% UK, 46% AUS
31%
found different site to buy items.
34% UK, 34% AUS
abandoned cart, but returned later.
28% UK, 28% AUS
lowered brand perception.
23% UK, 25% AUS
4 Understanding Shopping Cart Abandonment
Today's sophisticated shoppers – particularly younger consumers – understand that data is currency, and that use of first-party data in particular enhances their shopping journey. As such, they willingly trade their personal information in exchange for more personalized experiences.
Part 5: First-party data is key to achieving relevance
Companies leveraging 1st-party data to ensure a more relevant experience
57%
14%
71%
Companies buying your data and paying you for it
43%
Companies leveraging 3rd-party data to ensure a more relevant experience
47%
10%
Companies leveraging 3rd-party data to send target advertisements
44%
53%
Companies selling your data to other companies
9%
Would shop less with a company
Would shop the same amount with a company
Would shop more with a company
Impact of companies' data use frequency of shopping
For retailers, leveraging first-party data is a powerful way to signal the next-best action for consumers to take. It provides accurate data that allows retailers to improve targeting, relevance and optimization throughout the shopper journey. Using advanced machine learning, Rokt processes a retailer’s first-party data on the current customer and their cart in real-time, and then instantly predicts engagement via lookalike modeling based on similar customer attributes and similar carts across Rokt’s closed network. The result is an ad message and experience tailored to each individual – without compromising or exposing first-party data. In an industry that relies heavily on third-party data, use of first-party can provide a unique competitive advantage.
With first-party data, retailers can:
Using first-party data allows retailers to more accurately reach consumers within their target audience.
Improve targeting:
To combat the “paradox of choice,” retailers can use first-party data to show only the most personalized content to each customer – fueling more efficient decision making and a reduction in abandonment rates.
Improve the customer experience:
Often overlooked, the order confirmation page is a powerful source of revenue – it’s an opportunity to deliver personalized, non-endemic offers to customers after checkout. Doing so unlocks onsite inventory and generates incremental spend – with no upfront cost, heavy lift, or disruption to the customer experience. Using this approach helps retailers generate an additional $250,000 in profit for every 1M orders on average.
Deliver exclusive, non-endemic offers in-cart and on the confirmation page:
Consumers want to see relevant follow-up post purchase: Grocery / CPG: 46% US, 48% UK, 47% AUS Retail: 46% US, 42% UK, 48% AUS Travel: 27% US, 29% UK, 33% AUS
Push relevancy beyond the checkout:
HelloFresh, the #1 global meal-kit provider, has partnered with Rokt since 2016 to achieve their customer acquisition goals and grow their presence across 12 markets and 4 subsidiary brands. Using Rokt’s machine learning, HelloFresh was able to scale more efficiently across their KPIs, grow yearly customer acquisitions by 164%, and automate LTV and ROAS analyses. Through their tenured partnership with Rokt, HelloFresh has seen global expansion into 10 new countries and portfolio growth with scaled campaigns for subsidiary brands like GreenChef and EveryPlate.
HelloFresh: A fresh take on harnessing first-party data to grow customer acquisition
Impact of companies' data use on frequency of shopping
would shop the same amount or more with companies leveraging first-party data to ensure a more relevant experience.
71% UK, 70% AUS
What companies should / shouldn't use to offer more relevancy
would prefer companies use their past purchases to offer more relevancy.
65% UK, 67% AUS
would prefer companies use items or experiences they’ve looked at / put in their cart to offer more relevancy.
62% UK, 62% AUS
75%
66%
COnclusion
Amid fluctuating economic conditions and spiraling customer acquisition costs, achieving relevance is increasingly critical for brands. Faced with a vast array of choices, consumers are turning to brands that preempt their needs, streamline the discovery of personalized offers at opportune moments, and facilitate seamless and efficient checkouts. Brands that neglect the mounting consumer demand for personalized experiences risk higher cart abandonment rates. The key to success involves leveraging first-party data, analytics, and machine learning to amplify the overall relevancy of shopping experiences, which in turn fosters customer enthusiasm and loyalty, culminating in superior business results.
The survey referenced in this report conducted by The Harris Poll, on behalf of Rokt, from May 1 to May 15, 2023. Survey respondents consisted of 6,023 consumers across the following markets: United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Australia, and Japan. For more information about The Harris Poll, please reach out to libby.rodney@harrispoll.com.
METHODOLOGY
