BOSTON: A gap between the perceptions and expectations of digtal consumers and senior marketers has been highlighted in a recent report, which identified five areas of disconnect.

Consumers and brand marketers do not see eye-to-eye on mobile, social media, real-time ecommerce, omnichannel capability and brand loyalty, according to the "State of the Customer Journey 2014" report from Kitewheel.

The customer engagement firm based its report on the responses of 382 US consumers, who self-identified as being tech-savvy, and 209 senior-level marketers.

It said real-time ecommerce presents a "huge opportunity for brands" because 91% of consumers feel an "in the moment" offer might influence their purchase.

However, only 32% of marketers have the tools in place to deliver on this "real-time" promise and most offers arrive too late to make a significant difference.

Just over three-quarters (76%) of consumers use mobile devices to compare prices and read reviews while shopping, the report found, but half (51%) of marketers are not managing mobile apps as a consumer touch point.

Over two-thirds of the consumers surveyed expect a response to tweets directed at a brand, but 45% of marketers say their company would be unlikely to be able to respond to every social media interaction.

Finally, nearly three-quarters (73%) of consumers believe loyalty programs should be a way for brands to show consumers how loyal they are to them as a customer, yet two-thirds (66%) of marketers view loyalty programs from the opposite perspective.

Data sourced from Kitewheel; additional content by Warc staff