As the retail industry discusses the topic of tracking shoppers' location via WiFi signals on their smartphones, an independent study commissioned by Swirl reveals that women are willing to share personal information with retailers as long as they receive value in return.
Personalized offers and content hold strong allure for female shoppers. According to the study "What Women Want When Apparel Shopping," 50 percent would willingly share their mobile phone's location and other personal information with a retailer in return for an in-store credit, gift, flash sale or early access to new styles. For 47 percent, the price tag for sharing mobile location information is just $5. Women are almost twice as likely to value a personalized offer delivered to their smartphone while shopping in a store (58 percent), than being reminded of an in-store sale by a sales associate (33 percent) or making a purchase from an online flash sale site (31 percent).
"Consumers aren't completely opposed to sharing their location information – it's commonly done with social, weather and traffic apps-– but they do want to have control over that information and get a tangible benefit in return for sharing it," stated Hilmi Ozguc, CEO of Swirl. "The same rules apply in retail: if brands create value (like highly relevant, personalized offers and content) for in-store shoppers by using their location, then consumers would be much more willing to share that information."
