Retailers in the UAE need to offer more rewards and offer a personal service to customers to thrive in a marketplace where competition is becoming more intense, according to a new report.
New research from ICLP said that despite efforts to engage millennials, retail brands in the UAE are still failing to truly understand this customer base, with only 4 percent of UAE consumers feeling devoted to their favourite brands.
The report revealed that 72 percent of millennials in the UAE would be more inclined to shop with a retailer if they understand their needs and requirements better while 44 percent said they want to feel that they are appreciated as a regular customer.
More than half (57 percent) of millennials said they would proactively opt into brand engagement by following the brands they are loyal to on social media.
Millennials (also known as Generation Y) cover a group of people who were born in the 1980s and 1990s.
The report also showed that 49 percent feel that offering products that are of a consistent quality and provide good value for money is important to them while 41 percent said it is important to be able to rely on the retailer to apologise and put things right quickly when a purchase goes wrong.
Less than half (41 percent) said they would be willing to forgive a brand if they made a mistake.
The report also said that retailers treating customers with a personal approach could help retain customers in the future, with 28 percent of respondents saying that they would like to receive a message, gift or offer on their birthday.
Additionally, the research showed that 27 percent of consumers are likely to spend more in a retail store when they are greeted by name and made to feel like a valued customer.
Increasingly, consumers will shop more with retailers that offer VIP events (15 percent) and money can’t buy experiences (13 percent), the report added.
The report showed that 95 percent of consumers want access to special and exclusive offers while 77 percent of millennials said that they would buy more if they were rewarded better by their favourite retailer.
