Overkill? Or the biggest missed opportunity for brick-and-click retailers

Last week I spent three days in Skopje. I was there for the Bankassurance Summit, but also grabbed coffee with the CEO of North Macedonia’s largest fashion retailer. He runs 30 physical stores plus an online shop. 

Then he tells me: “Online’s only 4%. And those are mostly bargain hunters. Everything else? That’s happening in-store.” 

Got me thinking: does a retailer like this even need digital personalization tools? I mean, platforms like Emarsys probably sound like total overkill to them. 

Not all shopping trips are created equal

That’s when I shared something personal. During the week, I hit the grocery store with the list my wife writes. Grab those five things, pay, get out. Someone tries to pitch me “try a new yogurt brand”—seriously, how much time do you think I’ve got? 

The best marketing then would be if the store simply prepared my usual shopping list and added a few related items on sale. That’s convenience shopping. 

But on a Saturday afternoon, when I take the family to the mall, it’s a completely different story. Then I’m open to the new collection, kids’ activities, tastings—the whole experience. That’s experience shopping. 

What the research tells us

And wouldn’t you know it—researchers have been measuring this exact distinction for years. 

The NACS study (2023) “Understanding Your Convenience Shoppers” shows: 

• nearly half of shoppers are “time optimizers,” 
• 22% come for the experience, 
• a third are “value seekers”—classic bargain hunters. 

Here’s the kicker: these aren’t three different types of people. They’re three different shopping situations. The same person can be all three in one week. 

Another angle: the article “Immersive retailing: The in-store experience” (Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 2023) finds that people seek out physical stores mainly for the hedonic experience—emotions, feelings, atmosphere. That’s something online can’t replicate. 

Where things fall apart – “we don’t have the data”

Let’s be real: most brick-and-click retailers still use digital for just one thing—pushing discounts. You know, newsletters that are basically digital flyers from the ‘90s. 

Then they say: “We just don’t have the data for personalization.” 

Really? If you’ve got a loyalty program, you’ve got purchase data—frequency, patterns, location. If that’s not enough, what more do you want—customers writing your marketing plans for you? 

Three scenarios, one platform 

If you actually use that data, then you know: 

• who’s shopping on the go, 
• who’s there for the vibe, 
• who’s hunting for deals. 

And you can talk to them differently: 

• convenience shoppers → “grab and go,” “closest store,” “skip the line” 
• experience shoppers → “come try it out,” “special event,” “full selection” 
• value seekers → “online outlet,” “today only deals” 

Same tool, three totally different approaches. 

The real question

So here’s what I keep coming back to: is having a personalization platform really overkill—or is it overkill to run a retail network with millions of customers and still talk to them like there’s only one type of shopper? 

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Let’s grab a coffee—it might just spark my next story. 

📧 igor.pauletic@frodx.com