Incentives significantly drive customer contact details submission

While just under half of UK consumers never give their contact details to High Street retailers, a surprising two-thirds would be prepared to do so if given a suitable incentive.

These are the findings of a survey among 2,067 shoppers undertaken by pollster YouGov on behalf of marketing and credit software and services provider Callcredit Information Group.

The study revealed that 46% of UK consumers never gave personal information to retailers for future marketing and communications purposes, while 8% admitted giving fake details in order to avoid being contacted.

But 64% of respondents said that they would be prepared to alter their behaviour if they were offered a financial incentive such as a discount off a future purchase (38%), were signed up to the store’s loyalty programme (35%) or were informed about relevant promotions, products and services in future (15%).

A further 11% would hand over their contact details if they were given the chance to be part of an exclusive store club (11%), while 9% would do so simply if they were asked to by a friendly and approachable staff member. Young people aged between 18 and 24 (17%) and men (10%) rather than older women were most susceptible to the ‘flirt factor’, however.

Kevin Telford, Callcredit’s director, said: "The results reveal that retailers are missing a trick as customers are most engaged with a brand at the point of purchase in-store. Whilst consumers have to give out contact details to make a purchase online, they are often more reluctant to do so in-store – but will if they are offered a small incentive or provided with information about products and services relevant to them."

But despite the current hype around mobile commerce, the report also indicated that 41% of respondents did not have a mobile phone that enabled them to make online purchases. Moreover, of those consumers who did not use their phone to buy goods but had a device that enabled them to do so, a huge 78% said they were unlikely to shop this way in future.

Some 58% said that they preferred to physically go into a bricks-and-mortar store or use a PC, while 15% had concerns about safety and security issues.