Majority ‘very selective’ about sharing their data with brands

In Mindshare's Future of Retail CX report, 65% of respondents said they are very selective about the brands they share their data with, while 56% said that once companies have access to the data, they should do a better job of personalisation.

Mindshare’s research among 1,000 UK adult smartphone owners looked at various aspects of the retail environment but the data implications are particularly pertinent as the new EU GDPR laws come into force next year. The report said of the GDPR: "It also presents many opportunities, the chance for simplicity and consistency, a clean slate and investment in new data processing, procedures, systems and approaches."

Sixty percent said that retail brands will have to keep up with new technology to improve customer experience –up from 53% in 2015.

One aspect of the new tech affecting customer experience is the rise of chatbots and 60% of 25- to 34-year-olds said they find it easier to chat to brands via text, online chat or messenger apps. Just less than a third ( 27%) had used a chatbot while 39% said they had never used one but would consider it.

As with so many things, mobile is becoming more important to the retail experience and 37% use their phone or tablet to research products while they are in-store.

Sixty-five percent can see people using mobiles more in the future to make their in-store experience better.

The report said: "We will start to see the early stages of mobile acting as a hub for the entire brand experience, connecting brand interactions and touch-points."

But the value of the physical store environment remains with the majority ( 83%) saying stores are important as they allow you to see, touch and feel an item in person.