With the world’s most famous sales day fast approaching, new research from Infobip highlights how different generations want to communicate with businesses and brands ahead of Black Friday – with 86% of all generations expecting targeted and relevant communications, meaning retailers need a personalised approach for each generation of shoppers.
Black Friday is the start of the Christmas shopping season. Millions of consumers search for deals online, providing retailers with a growing opportunity to increase sales and strengthen brand presence. Even a 5% increase in customer retention can boost profits by more than 25%, according to management consultancy Bain & Company.
However, creating an appropriate omnichannel strategy to communicate with consumers across four generations can be challenging.
Get it wrong and brands may lose sales or even loyal customers. Infobip’s Generational Messaging Trends Report reveals the communication preferences of each generation:
- Baby boomers: are less accepting of repetitive content where 40% want more varied communications versus 8% of Gen Z, but favour chat apps more than Gen X (68% compared to 57%).
- Generation X: 73% of Gen X prefer to receive product and service updates compared with just 55% of Gen Z.
- Millennials: younger generations are more open to new communication channels with 60% of millennials happy to make purchases through chatbots.
- Generation Z: 83% expect a brand to understand them as individuals – and 65% want a two-way dialogue with the brands they buy from.
“Our research shows that most shoppers, no matter their age, want brands to engage with them like with a friend through conversational channels and say it will increase their loyalty,” says Ivan Ostojić, chief business officer at Infobip. “However, brands must get customer communications right to enhance loyalty and grow sales. That’s why Infobip has analysed what each generation prefers and published a new report and a playbook to help retailers and ecommerce firms make the most of the shopping season.”