The fifth annual RIS/Cognizant Shopper Experience Study was released in August. This year’s study polled 5,311 shoppers in North America (2,414 respondents), Europe and China. The RIS study highlighted six areas of interest: mobile, social media, personalized marketing, cross channel integration, loyalty and digital shopping.

Here are some of the highlights from the study:

Mobile

• 52% of shoppers have used their mobile device to make a purchase.
• Less than half of the survey respondents were happy with their mobile retail experiences.

 Social Media:

• 63% of shoppers don’t want retailers to use social media to influence their purchases, recommend products or share deals.
• Retailers should share info sparingly on social media to avoid cluttering their customers’ news feeds.

Personalized Marketing

• Customers will share information about loyalty (43%), personal preferences (33%), birthdays and other events (29%).
• They will not tell you their credit card numbers (69%), social network information (68%), household information or statistics (64%).

Loyalty Plans

• 92% of people belong to at least one loyalty plan, while 75% of respondents belong to as many as 10 plans.
• Grocery stores have the highest rated loyalty plans (42%), followed by pharmacies (31%) and department stores (20%).

Online Shopping                 

• 69% of people shop online for the competitive prices.
• 28% are more likely to use a mobile coupon than a traditional one.
• The top three reasons people shop online are:
  • It’s easy to find information.
  • It’s easy to make returns.
  • The experience is consistent.