Survey: More than Half of Canadian Consumers Want Localized Offers Sent to Smartphones

The idea of localized offers delivered straight to your smartphone isn’t a new one, but it is one that Canadian consumers are definitely interested in. According to a new survey from SAS, more than half of Canadians surveyed said they’d like to receive personalized offers from nearby stores while they’re shopping.

Leger surveyed 1506 Canadian smartphone owners on behalf of SAS during May of this year. A massive 58% of respondents said they’d be interested in receiving local offers right to their phone. Meanwhile, 38% said that if they received a promotion that applied to either an item they were buying or a complementary product, they’d buy both.

Overall, those under 55 seem to display a heightened sense of loyalty when it comes to smartphone offers, as 50% of this age group say they’d return to a store that sent them personalized offers while they were shopping (this is compared to just 29% in the 55+ demographic). When it comes to gender, the divide isn’t so great, though women do come out slightly ahead when it comes to returning to a shop sending out offers (51% versus 43% of men) or cashing in on in-store deals from their phone (44% versus 31% of men).

Regardless of gender or age, it seems nearly everyone is keen for their phone to tell them more about the products they want to buy (82% of those surveyed said they would find detailed product and service information on their phone helpful) and retailers are eager to take advantage of customers armed with smartphones.

“We think the mobile device will be a game changer to our business,” said Sumit Oberai, CIO and executive VP of digital at Indigo Books & Music. “We can drive customer engagement through elevating the in-store experience with loyalty and rewards, decision support, and personalized recommendations and offers that understand our customers’ needs,” he later added.

Indeed, with folks so ready to spend (and save), the potential for creating brand loyalty is huge and we can’t imagine retailers letting this opportunity go to waste. Keep an eye on your smartphone.