Like most retailers, you are probably exploring how retail business intelligence can help you deliver the customer experiences that will build shopper loyalty. As you plan your strategy, don’t overlook how data analysis also can help you cater to the “treat yourself” shopper.

Think about the following scenario you’ve probably witnessed in your store: A customer intends to do some Christmas shopping for friends and family members and suddenly a great pair of must-have shoes pops into view. Or maybe they notice that the flat screen full HDR, wall-mounted TV they’ve had their eye on is 20 percent off. Now, in addition to the presents they originally came in for, you’ve sold an extra pair of shoes and a television.

What do shoppers really want? See what consumers said in our Great Omnichannel Expectations 2016-2017 Shopper Survey Report. 

Self-gifting is a bona fide trend. CNN Money reported self-gifters were expected to spend $130 million on items they purchased for themselves during the 2015 holiday shopping season. And it’s not just Christmastime that shoppers decide they deserve a little something for themselves. Self-gifting is on the rise as consumers shop for birthdays, anniversaries, even Valentine’s Day. In fact, the National Retail Federation estimates that up to 60 percent of shoppers purchase gifts for themselves while shopping for others. The age of your customers seems to matter when it comes to this trend — a Kelton survey found millennials are 40 percent more likely to self-gift than baby boomers or members of Generation X.

Using Retail Business Intelligence to Capitalize on the Self-Gifting Trend

In light of this information, it may be a good strategy to use retail business intelligence from analysis of your point of sale (POS) or retail management system data to see if this trend is impacting your business.

You can analyze behavior based on age group or other demographics and items that are purchased together, especially during traditional shopping seasons and around holidays. An integrated retail platform will allow you to pull retail business intelligence from all your channels together for a 360-degree view of your customers.

4 Ways to Sell to Self-Gifting Customers

Once you identify the shoppers to target and the merchandise they are most interested in, weave this intelligence into promotions and processes:

  1. According to the Kelton study more than half of self-gifters say they purchased an item for themselves because it was on sale.
  2. Suggestive Selling. Use retail business intelligence to cross sell and upsell based on shoppers’ past history. In-store, giving sales associates access to customer data and purchase history can help them make relevant — or better yet, tantalizing — offers.
  3. Milestone Celebrations. Offer birthday and holiday messages, even anniversaries of when customers began shopping with you. Blatantly invite shoppers to celebrate and buy themselves a treat.
  4. Exploit Holidays. During sales and promotions for major holidays such as Christmas and Valentine’s Day, add reminders for shoppers to indulge themselves a little. Don’t be afraid to encourage shoppers to buy for themselves, maybe to celebrate or instead to soothe tough days on occasions such as Tax Day or Singles’ Day.

More and more shoppers are embracing the self-gift wave; you should too. Retail business intelligence can help you see where, when and which customers are most likely to buy something for themselves. Armed with this data, you can make them fantastic offers they simply can’t refuse.

For insights into how to craft shopping experiences your customers crave, download our Great Omnichannel Expectations 2016-2017 Shopper Survey Report.

Are your customers buying for others – or for themselves? Use data analysis to find out, and then feed their self-gifting tendencies! @iVendRetail_NA

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