Amid supply chain disruption, inflation concerns and the pandemic, consumers want deeper relationships and ongoing dialogues with the retailers and brands they do business with. Research from enterprise customer data platform provider Treasure Data found that these impulses are pushing consumers to embrace loyalty rewards programs, rely more on direct-to-consumer (DTC) channels and a growing preference for flexible financing programs, such as buy now, pay later (BNPL) arrangements.

“Retail brands and stores are using innovative, data-driven strategies to keep up with customers as they navigate the pandemic, supply chain disruption and a period of high inflation,” says Tom Treanor, CMO at Treasure Data. “Our new survey strongly suggests that investments in the customer experience are paying off. With the customer journey extending beyond the point of sale, marketers require data management strategies and solutions that help brands maintain ongoing, productive conversations with consumers.”

The majority of consumers (83 percent) are comfortable engaging with a value exchange with brands and retailers, namely trading personal information for discounts, member benefits and product recommendations. Additionally, 82 percent of respondents indicated loyalty rewards motivate them to buy from certain retailers or brands. These findings signal customers’ desire to enter long-term relationships with brands, as evidenced further by their growing reliance on DTC companies. Treasure Data found that 68 percent of consumers anticipate buying directly from brands more in 2022. The study also highlighted the popularity of BNPL offerings, with more than two-thirds of all shoppers (71 percent) considering some form of financing to pay for products or services.

Treasure Data highlights that the survey results demonstrate consumers are receptive to retail marketing and payment trends that grew in popularity over the past year, and foreshadow what strategies and tactics will make brands successful in 2022. These include loyalty’s weathering of inventory issues. The survey found that facing empty shelves and supply chain hiccups, almost half of consumers (48 percent) would rather wait for their preferred brand to restock rather than purchase a similar product from another brand.

As the coronavirus pandemic lingers, consumers plan on using contactless commerce at a greater rate in 2022, with the study revealing that 60 percent of shoppers anticipating more curbside pickups than the previous year. Social media shopping is also growing. Over three-quarters (80 percent) of consumers made purchases on Instagram or other social media platforms in the past year, while 59 percent believe they will use social more for shopping in 2022. And yet despite the rise in social shopping, the survey also found that consumers trust retailers more than social media. When it comes to sharing data, a majority of consumers (51 percent) trust retailers such as Target or Walmart more than social media platforms such as Facebook or Twitter (29 percent).

The survey also found a change in perception toward marketing oversaturation. Many consumers are now in favor of proactive alerts and notifications, with more than two-thirds (68 percent) finding them beneficial no matter the time or occasion. And traditional marketing continues to make noise. Millennials may have moved their conversations to social media, but more consumers, ages of 25-44, identify email promotions and TV advertisements (68 percent) as channels where they learn about new products, compared to 64 percent who recognize social media as a product discovery tool. Marketers have improved at tailoring their communications to shoppers as well—63 percent of consumers believe brand offers and recommendations accurately reflect their shopping habits.

“The underlying thread that ties these purchase habits together is convenience: more discounts, faster delivery and greater flexibility,” Treanor says. “While third-party platforms and markets have made it easier to buy, customers still want to engage with their favorite retailers and brands. Whether that trend holds true for all brands in 2022 depends on the state of their data infrastructures and the marketing strategies that feed them.”