A significant number of British consumers are prepared to ignore brands if they receive poor quality personalised marketing that fails to meet their needs, but artificial intelligence (AI) may provide the answer because it can deliver personalisation at scale.

That is the core message from a new study by Emarsys, a global AI marketing platform, which commissioned a survey of about 2,000 UK consumers that was carried out by Opinion Matters in August 2018.

The survey found that 41% of consumers said they wouldn’t purchase from a brand again if they receive “haphazard” marketing material, while 60% wanted offers to be tailored precisely to them and their interests.

In addition, two-thirds (66%) said they would ignore all future marketing from a brand if it sent them hit-or-miss offers, and just 6% believed the offers they currently receive were specifically relevant to them.

While these findings undoubtedly present challenges for marketers, the survey also revealed that getting the messaging right can go a long way to locking in customer loyalty.

For example, 57% of respondents said they would be more likely to repeat purchase if they received more loyalty-based discounts from a retailer, while 41% would be more likely to buy from a brand again if they received offers personalised to them.

“The problem that most brands encounter though is that human-driven personalisation just doesn’t scale,” the report said. “That is, segmentation and personalisation designed and executed by marketers doesn’t provide the level of individualisation, at volume, that consumers demand.”

According to Emarsys, which of course has an interest in promoting AI marketing, its survey found that consumers generally are not concerned about AI-generated marketing, as long as it improves their shopping experience.

Almost half (47%) of those surveyed said they would be happy for brands to use the technology to offer them bespoke experiences, 43% would be open to AI being used to determine the discounts they receive, while a full 82% said they were aware that AI is used in the shopping experience.

“As this study shows, consumers aren’t fussed about what’s feeding the machine – they just want a shopping experience which works for them and provides value to their particular needs,” said Rajan Balasundaram, VP of solutions and strategic services at Emarsys.

Sourced from Emarsys; additional content by WARC staff