by John Larkin
John runs the blog here at eCommerceLift and is a verified Shopify Expert. Interested in an initial growth consultation? Click here
7 years ago
Personalization Boosts Product Sales – Start Using It Today with These 5 Steps
Over the past two years there has been a lot of talk about how eCommerce stores should be offering their customers a personalized experience. It’s what they supposedly want. And marketers are talking notice as it’s been reported that 94% of companies say that personalization is critical to current and future success (eConsultancy).
Personalization however is not as straight-forward as you may think and that’s clear by the number of eCommerce stores that fail to implement personalization successfully. They seem to struggle with the process and just don’t utilize it to their best ability.
The truth is that some forms of personalization aren’t as complicated as you may think and even the smallest online store can incorporate it in some way. So let’s talk about personalization, why you need it for your brand and different types of personalization you can use in your store.
What is Personalization?
Let’s first gain an understanding of what personalization actually is. Personalization is the process of adapting and modifying your store so that it reflects individual customer’s preferences. It aims to tailor a more custom experience and therefore encourage customers to buy more.
Why personalize your web store?
Introducing personalization to your online store can not only please your customers but also pay off for your brand. Recent surveys prove how powerful personalization can be for customers as 56% of shoppers are more likely to return to a site that recommends products (Get Elastic) and 45% of shoppers admit to checking out with recommended products purely because they were on-screen at the right time (Red Hot Penny).
Customers love personalization and brands reap the rewards when they implement it. However it seems to be a struggle for eCommerce merchants to capture personalization perfectly on their site. In fact 60% of marketers struggle to personalize content in real-time (Abode).
The truth is there is no reason to struggle with personalization. It can be as simple or complex and automated or live as you want it to be. It just a case of finding what works for your store.
How to add personalization to your store
Go from Global to Local
One of the simplest methods of adding personalization to your online store is to focus in on where your customer is located. Allowing customers to pick a country and currency when they arrive to your site can be a real plus. This eliminates the need for annoying currency conversions and shipping calculations by the customer and also instils trust that your store can serve their needs even if you are far away.
So simply ask customers to pick a country or currency when they land on your store and this will be an easy yet effective way to personalize.
Personalization however is not as straight-forward as you may think and that’s clear by the number of eCommerce stores that fail to implement personalization successfully. They seem to struggle with the process and just don’t utilize it to their best ability.
The truth is that some forms of personalization aren’t as complicated as you may think and even the smallest online store can incorporate it in some way. So let’s talk about personalization, why you need it for your brand and different types of personalization you can use in your store.
What is Personalization?
Let’s first gain an understanding of what personalization actually is. Personalization is the process of adapting and modifying your store so that it reflects individual customer’s preferences. It aims to tailor a more custom experience and therefore encourage customers to buy more.
Why personalize your web store?
Introducing personalization to your online store can not only please your customers but also pay off for your brand. Recent surveys prove how powerful personalization can be for customers as 56% of shoppers are more likely to return to a site that recommends products (Get Elastic) and 45% of shoppers admit to checking out with recommended products purely because they were on-screen at the right time (Red Hot Penny).
Customers love personalization and brands reap the rewards when they implement it. However it seems to be a struggle for eCommerce merchants to capture personalization perfectly on their site. In fact 60% of marketers struggle to personalize content in real-time (Abode).
The truth is there is no reason to struggle with personalization. It can be as simple or complex and automated or live as you want it to be. It just a case of finding what works for your store.
How to add personalization to your store
Go from Global to Local
One of the simplest methods of adding personalization to your online store is to focus in on where your customer is located. Allowing customers to pick a country and currency when they arrive to your site can be a real plus. This eliminates the need for annoying currency conversions and shipping calculations by the customer and also instils trust that your store can serve their needs even if you are far away.
So simply ask customers to pick a country or currency when they land on your store and this will be an easy yet effective way to personalize.
Doing it Right: Roden Gray
Men’s fashion and lifestyle brand Roden Gray have incorporated this into their store with ease. They cater to every country imaginable on their site as customers can click the change currency tab at the top of their page. This makes it phenomenally easy for any customer anywhere in the world to make their global site a little more local and personalized to them.
Men’s fashion and lifestyle brand Roden Gray have incorporated this into their store with ease. They cater to every country imaginable on their site as customers can click the change currency tab at the top of their page. This makes it phenomenally easy for any customer anywhere in the world to make their global site a little more local and personalized to them.
Narrow down who they are
If you are a store that caters for multiple audiences applying personalization tactics when a customer arrives at your store can be an effective way to get them seeing the products they are likely to be interested in. To do this have a pop up or quick questionnaire asking questions about their gender, age or other relevant info and then you can show them products that cater towards them.
Doing it right – Office
Shoe store office have jumped on board with this method of personalization. When you get to their home page you are greeted with a pop up which asks the customers gender and for them to sign up to their email. This allows the brand to tailor their emails to customers allow them to correctly target and personalize products to customers based on their gender.
If you are a store that caters for multiple audiences applying personalization tactics when a customer arrives at your store can be an effective way to get them seeing the products they are likely to be interested in. To do this have a pop up or quick questionnaire asking questions about their gender, age or other relevant info and then you can show them products that cater towards them.
Doing it right – Office
Shoe store office have jumped on board with this method of personalization. When you get to their home page you are greeted with a pop up which asks the customers gender and for them to sign up to their email. This allows the brand to tailor their emails to customers allow them to correctly target and personalize products to customers based on their gender.
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One of the most prominent uses for personalization is using data from past shoppers to suggest products to people currently browsing your website. On product pages and checkout pages there are a list of products that other shoppers who bought this product also bought.
It makes the shopping experience much more tailored to the customer as their shopping behaviour is likely to match customers who have also visited this product in your store. It’s a clever way to up and cross sell and a more personalized way to get customers buying more.
Doing it right – Little Deer
A store that has incorporated this smart personalization technique is the jewellery and accessories store Little Deer. On their product pages they have section titled “Other products you may like”. It shows a selection of products that are likely to be bought and adds a simple level of personalization that will enable your customers to shop easier and buy more.
One of the most prominent uses for personalization is using data from past shoppers to suggest products to people currently browsing your website. On product pages and checkout pages there are a list of products that other shoppers who bought this product also bought.
It makes the shopping experience much more tailored to the customer as their shopping behaviour is likely to match customers who have also visited this product in your store. It’s a clever way to up and cross sell and a more personalized way to get customers buying more.
Doing it right – Little Deer
A store that has incorporated this smart personalization technique is the jewellery and accessories store Little Deer. On their product pages they have section titled “Other products you may like”. It shows a selection of products that are likely to be bought and adds a simple level of personalization that will enable your customers to shop easier and buy more.
The after sale touch points
Similarly to the last process of showing products on product pages before the sale, this can continue on after purchase. Sending emails and newsletters that contain suggestions based on data from previous purchases can be the perfect way to personalize your correspondence and get customers back to your store.
Doing it right – Amazon
Amazon are perhaps the most famous for their personalization by using data. They are relentless with their emails trying to entice customers to come back to their store and make another purchase. These emails are based on what other customers have bought. It’s a powerful way to use data and customer’s past history to personalize their shopping experience.
Similarly to the last process of showing products on product pages before the sale, this can continue on after purchase. Sending emails and newsletters that contain suggestions based on data from previous purchases can be the perfect way to personalize your correspondence and get customers back to your store.
Doing it right – Amazon
Amazon are perhaps the most famous for their personalization by using data. They are relentless with their emails trying to entice customers to come back to their store and make another purchase. These emails are based on what other customers have bought. It’s a powerful way to use data and customer’s past history to personalize their shopping experience.
One-on-one service
A further extension of personalization is to use in-store live chats to connect with customers and talk them through your products. Live chats can be used to ask customers what they are interested in and give immediate suggestions about what you think they would like to buy. It’s an online personal shopper that delivers an impressive level of personalization.
Some brands are even exploring this further by using video chat to talk to customers, show them products and give them a one on one shopping experience. Although it may not be scalable for every customer it could work well if customers schedule appointments and could give your brand an added edge in personalization.
A further extension of personalization is to use in-store live chats to connect with customers and talk them through your products. Live chats can be used to ask customers what they are interested in and give immediate suggestions about what you think they would like to buy. It’s an online personal shopper that delivers an impressive level of personalization.
Some brands are even exploring this further by using video chat to talk to customers, show them products and give them a one on one shopping experience. Although it may not be scalable for every customer it could work well if customers schedule appointments and could give your brand an added edge in personalization.
Help with personalization
Personalization doesn’t need to be done alone as there are numerous apps out there for merchants to use that can help you can easily add personalization to your site. Here are some of the best out there:
Choose whats right for your store
Personalization is going to get you more sales and customers love seeing in your store. We suggest implementing it a step by step and seeing how it works for your brand. This should hopefully get customers in and buying more from your eCommerce store.
Personalization doesn’t need to be done alone as there are numerous apps out there for merchants to use that can help you can easily add personalization to your site. Here are some of the best out there:
Choose whats right for your store
Personalization is going to get you more sales and customers love seeing in your store. We suggest implementing it a step by step and seeing how it works for your brand. This should hopefully get customers in and buying more from your eCommerce store.
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