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The word "personalized" has been used everywhere today in the business world. You have probably heard that term several times in sentences like "create a personalized shopping experience", or "increase conversion by using retail personalization."
Ecommerce personalization was a challenge for eCommerce business owners at the beginning; you don't meet your customers in person, and your salespeople won't remember all your shoppers' names and preferences to make them feel special and unique.
However, this was until technology advanced enough to record everything about your online shoppers' interests and preferences. Not only this but nowadays, all actions taken on your online store can be tracked and used later in online shopping personalization.
Read on to understand what online shopping personalization stands for and why and how you should be using it to scale up your conversion rate.
Table of contents:
- What is personalized online shopping?
- Why is personalized online shopping important?
- Examples of online shopping personalization
What is personalized online shopping?
Personalized online shopping is re-shaping every step of the customer journey in your online store to match who your customer is, and what they like and need. It is more like paving the way for your customer to move smoothly through the funnel until conversion by showing them their way around your store as if you know them in person and you know exactly what they are looking for.
Personalized online shopping relies heavily on data collected from different touchpoints and channels and is powered by AI and product intelligence to predict future data based on historical actions taken. It is more of building a customized sequence for each customer to interact with your store inspired by specific behaviors and assimilated data. The end goal is to create a personalized and unique experience for every customer to help them purchase the right product and feel satisfied with the entire process.
Why is personalized online shopping important for e-commerce businesses?
1- To stand out in the vicious competition
With the massive increase in the number of eCommerce businesses, the supply is abundant, and the competition is becoming very rough. You need to utilize personalized online shopping to stand out and win customers. A study found that 71% of consumers surveyed expect to receive a degree of personalization.
An infographic stated that 53% of online shoppers believe that retailers who personalize the shopping experience provide a valuable service and that 45% of online shoppers are more likely to shop on a site that offers personalized recommendations.
2- Make data-driven future business decisions
As you have explained earlier, personalized online shopping relies heavily on data about the customers' interests, preferences, and past interactions. This data can help you make better business decisions and grow your business.
3- Reduce product returns
With online shopping personalization, customers find what best fits them and the products that match their needs. Some brands even offer a free quiz to take or a free consultation with a salesperson, so customers get to know exactly what will work for them before purchasing. It is less likely for customers to return items when you offer enough online shopping personalization options.
4- Increase customer loyalty
Don't we all love it when the store owner knows our name and says "welcome back, "name"!" or when they bring you your regular right away without having to order? We feel they are old friends and this store is our place. The same goes for eCommerce. Customers love to feel you know them and they will keep coming back.
56% of online shoppers are more likely to return to a site that recommends products, according to an infographic published by Invesp.
5- Conversion rate optimization
Ultimately, online shopping optimization leads to a better conversion rate and builds trust in your online store. Surveys show that industry leaders in customer personalized online shopping experience achieve approximately 17% revenue growth, whereas businesses that don't do it reach only 3%.
Discover Top 26 Ecommerce Conversion Rate Optimization Strategies
Examples of online shopping personalization
1- Product recommendations
Help your customers find what they are looking for faster. You don't want them to lose their way in large product collections or, worse, to end up buying a product that doesn't meet their needs and return it later. Cut it short, show them what will work best for them, and recommend them the right set of products. There are many types of product recommendations to use; Most popular, trending now, new products, products that are frequently viewed/bought together, visually similar products, top picks for you, last products they reviewed and re-order based on history purchases.
2- Online store format personalization
Personalize every step of the way on your online store; the Homepage, product categories, product pages, cart, and checkout. Work on the format of each page of the store to show what works best for the customer and what they can buy together, and so on. Play around with the layout and the placement of the product recommendations.
3- Show relevant reviews
Try to answer all the questions and reassure any concerns your customers might have, by showing relevant reviews for the products they are browsing. According to Shopify, these helpful reviews not only build trust with your brand and products but also inspire new customers to add a product to their shopping cart.
4- Post-checkout personalization
Use the purchase decision the customer takes in recommending other products that can work for them so they return to your store. You can also email them promotions on the product category they bought in the past, so they come and buy more of it.
Final Thoughts:
Personalized online shopping provides customers with an excellent experience that makes them feel special and understood. It increases brand trust and customer loyalty. Online shopping personalization increases purchasing confidence and conversion. It also leads to upsell and cross-sell which increases average order value. Moreover, it reduces returns and builds strong brand-customer relationships.
For successful personalized online shopping, you need to use strong AI eCommerce software to capture data from your shoppers and show the right recommendations later in the right placement. Converted.in helps you create personalized multi-channel marketing that boosts customer conversion and maximizes ROI. Request a demo now!
