66% of people find it creepy when their phone delivers ads based on their conversations

Two-thirds (66%) of consumers in Ireland find it creepy when their smartphone delivers ads based on their conversations, according to Deloitte’s 2022 Global Marketing Trends Consumer Survey.

Respondents were presented with a variety of ways in which brands and organisations access and use consumer data and asked to indicate how helpful or creepy they find them.

With regard to active listening – when their smartphone targets them with ads for a product or service following a conversation about said product or service – two-thirds (66%) find this creepy, while 16% find it helpful.

44% find it creepy when they are targeted with ads following an internet search, while 29% find it helpful. 13% find it creepy when they receive a notification of items going on sale from a brand that they regularly shop with; 67% find this helpful.

78% of respondents expect a brand to seek their express permission for all uses of their personal data. 68% are alarmed by the extent to which brands are tracking and using their personal data, while 47% say they have accepted that their data is used everywhere in the digital world.

The survey also found that 58% are more willing to shop with brands that commit to addressing social inequities.

Online is the preferred purchasing channel by consumers in Ireland across most categories, including travel (of those who made a travel-related purchase over a six-month period, 81% purchased online versus 10% who purchased in-store or in-person); clothing and footwear (67% online vs. 30% in-person); banking (63% vs. 23%); electronics (57% vs. 39%); furniture (55% vs. 42%); and motor (48% vs. 46%).

In-store or in-person remains the preferred channel for purchasing household appliances (66% in-store vs. 31% online) and beauty and personal care products (62% vs. 37%).

Social media platforms are the most popular alternative purchase channel, with almost a quarter (24%) of respondents having made a purchase through a social media channel in the previous month – this rises to 39% among 18-25s and 32% among 26-45s.

Social media platforms are followed by streaming services (20% of all respondents made a purchase via a streaming service in the previous month); video games (15%); voice assistants (6%); and virtual reality headsets (4%).

Commenting on the report, David Conway, Partner Lead for Deloitte Digital said: “Following the rapid digitisation that has occurred over the last two years, consumers in Ireland are increasingly using alternative channels to interact with and purchase from brands.

“Marketing executives should embrace hybrid purchasing solutions, going to where their customers are instead of waiting for customers to come to them.”

Purchase decision & social responsibility

When choosing a brand to shop with, 68% of consumers in Ireland are more willing to shop with brands that take actions to support their communities, followed by brands that strongly align with their personal values (65%); brands that commit to addressing climate change (61%); brands that commit to addressing social inequities (58%); and brands that take a public stance on social issues (53%).

When making a purchase, price and quality are the two most important considerations for consumers across all categories. However, other factors emerge among individual categories:

When it comes to advertising, younger consumers are more likely to notice diverse or inclusive advertising at the time of purchase consideration, with recognition highest among the 18-25 age group in beauty and personal care (28%), travel (27%), furniture (21%), banking products and services (19%) and clothing and footwear (18%).

Overall, travel is the category in which all respondents are most aware of diverse advertising (23%) and accessibly-designed products or services (30%).

Conway commented: “Although price and quality are undoubtedly the most important determining factors in the purchase decision for consumers when we look deeper, we see other important factors coming to the forefront that are nuanced to demographics and categories.

“Investing in understanding what their target demographics want and need – and taking action to respond to those wants and needs – will allow brands to become more competitive.

“Establishing KPIs to support this can help to ensure that brands continuously keep their purpose front and centre, and can also help to prevent brands from leaning into areas for which they are not ready.”