Get Personal with eCommerce

Creating a personalized environment for online shoppers has become a crucial part of eCommerce. With 45% of online shoppers stating they are more likely to shop on a site that offers personalized recommendations (colderice.com), tapping into personalization is valuable to your business.  However, 51% of online marketers are struggling with how to implement personalization (colderice.com). This blog will offer suggestions and tips on how you can get personal with eCommerce and personalize your shoppers’ eCommerce experience as well as the benefits associated with personalization.

Personalizing eCommerce involves presenting information to shoppers that acknowledges who they are and what their intentions are so that interactions are more meaningful. One such way to foster meaningful interactions is to make product recommendations. When a prospective customer clicks on an item, a bar of recommendations pops up:

For this example, clicking on a touch-screen lap recommended a screen protector, protection plan and lap top. Not only does this increase your UPT, it also gives customers a sense that they are receiving assistance, similar to the personal service they get while shopping in a brick-and-mortar store. For clothing stores selling online, this can be especially useful as product recommendations can help them piece together an outfit. Not only does this increase your UPT, it also gives customers a sense that they are receiving assistance, similar to the personal service they get while shopping in a brick-and-mortar store.

Creating an app for your store is another way to infuse personalization into your shopper’s experience. In addition to increasing your m-commerce presence, you can collect customers’ identity, location, and preferences. 57% of online shoppers do not mind sharing personal information as long as it is for their benefit (colderice.com), so offering coupons when a customer is near you store is a wonderful way to dray them in. By knowing their preferences, you can offer coupons specifically for the items they are interested in.

Working in real time is a great approach for personalization. If a customer is researching a big-ticket item, like a television, offering them a coupon while they’re searching is more beneficial than sending a follow up coupon for their next purchase. Leveraging real-time clickstream data to deliver customer content and offers helps to implement the real-time offers.

For smaller purchases, offering a coupon for a customer’s next purchase is beneficial. For items that would need to be reordered after a short period of time (makeup, cologne, etc.), having a coupon to discount the next purchase is a good way to ensure that they will shop with you again. Similarly, if a customer orders clothing or accessories, you can send a follow up email thanking them for their purchase, recommend an item that would go along with the purchase, and offer a coupon to create an incentive to purchase the recommended item(s). For an example, if a customer buys a new bag, a matching wallet would be an excellent recommendation.

Implementing retargeting ads is another form of personalization. When a potential client leaves your site and opens another page, an ad to the side of their browser can pop up and feature a recently viewed item. Customers are more likely to pay attention to an ad that displays relevant content, and by showing an item they are interested in, chances are in won’t be long before they make that purchase.

Loyalty programs are a mutually beneficial way to personalize eCommerce. You can encourage returning customers to share more information by offering rewards and coupons. Asking your loyalty program members to share their interests and once a customer shares log in information, give them the ability to create wish lists and more. Wish lists allow shoppers to put aside the items they are interested in, and easily return to them later when they are ready to make the purchase.

Implementing personalization has numerous benefits for your customers, but also benefits you. Personalization has been linked to lower shopping cart abandonment. This may be because shoppers feel loyal to the store, as the store “gets them.” To customers, personalized eCommerce makes them feel special. Who doesn’t like to receive a free gift/coupon for their birthday? Colderice.com reports that 56% of online shoppers are more likely to return to a site that recommends products. The power of recognition has always influenced shoppers, and it is time to carry that trend online.