Brands Risk Losing Big UK Online Sales as Consumers Demand More Human and Relevant Digital Experiences 

New consumer research commissioned by MullenLowe Profero to mark its relaunch as a global customer experience agency has found that consumers want brands to deliver a more human, meaningful experience online, but feel that digital experiences are becoming too similar. 

Nearly half of the 1,500 respondents would buy or spend more time with a brand that has a great digital experience. Nearly a third say they actively avoid brands with cumbersome digital experiences, highlighting a real risk of brands losing out on a potential *£12bn in sales - the equivalent of 2020's annual growth in commerce or roughly the entire online grocery category’s annual sales (£13bn) - to other brands due to lacklustre digital experiences.

People feel digital experiences are becoming too similar

According to consumers, there is an underwhelming lack of originality across the board in nearly every business sector. On average, 61% felt that brands in the Finance & Banking, Automotive,Telecoms and Food & Beverage are the most likely to display copycat digital experiences. Retail, Travel & Hotels and Healthcare also fell into this ‘sea of same’ bracket, which points to a critical need for brands to differentiate themselves within their categories. 

People are demanding a faster pace of change in customer experience to keep up with leaders in big tech

The research found that UK consumers are demanding a faster pace of change in customer experiences from brands - in order to keep up with the leaders in big tech, but brands across many categories are falling behind on meeting consumers’ expectations of a good digital experience. This is particularly true of younger consumers (18 - 24 year olds) who are more than twice as likely to feel this way than consumers aged 45 and over. 

People want a more human (meaningful, relevant) experience in digital

Consumers also want a more human (meaningful, relevant) experience in digital, and find that brands do little with their customer data to create these experiences. And when it comes to the trade-off between sharing personal data in return for a more personalised digital experience, 24% of consumers are frustrated with brands that didn’t seem to understand them, but nearly a quarter (23%) said they preferred brands that use their data to create a more meaningful, relevant experience over brands that don’t ask for personal data at all.

In fact, one in five people said they would prefer to give up some of their privacy for a more personal experience, which points to a positive shift in consumer attitudes to data collection by brands. This personalised digital experience approach already seems to be a success within Retail (29%), Finance & Banking (25%) and Travel & Hotels (23%) where customers felt their data was being used to provide the most personalised brand experiences. 

MullenLowe Profero relaunch

Peter Moody, CEO, MullenLowe Profero UK said: “This relaunch came at an opportune time for us to delve into the state of the relationship between UK consumers and the brands trying to capture their attention and loyalty. So many industries are being forced to pivot to digital channels as a result of 2020’s dramatic growth in ecommerce and the use of marketing technology across businesses is reaching a point of parity. This means it's now more important than ever that a brand promise is delivered in digital channels to drive return.

This is why we are relaunching with our Brand Expressionism series - to demonstrate the value of making every experience the best expression of the brand, through digital content, digital platforms and CRM. We will work with clients to solve the four key problems they face when building their brands through digital experiences: distinctiveness, disruption, disconnection and data activation, to help them build experiences that will unlock the next level of growth for their brands.”  

MullenLowe Profero’s ongoing Brand Expressionism series will also feature video interviews with tech advocates from Starling Bank and Cazoo in conversation with CX influencers to uncover the stories behind each brand’s exceptional 2020 customer experience strategy.