Your online shop features enticing product descriptions and crystal-clear photos that shoppers can zoom in on for a better view, but now what? Personalization in e-commerce is one of the ways to convince on-the-fence shoppers to buy and increase your upsells. There are a variety of strategies to choose from to ensure you implement what works best for your demographic and overall inventory.
What Is Personalization?
Personalizing your online shop means adding plug-ins or code that will enhance the individual shopper’s customer journey. Although you may not be familiar with the concept yet, it’s certainly something you’ve experienced while shopping online for yourself. Utilizing the strategies below will change the layout of your pages a bit but won’t disrupt your branding. In fact, it can better brand your business by creating an engaging shopping experience. Customers will feel like you “get” them, which boosts consumer loyalty, streamlines shopping, and increases sales.
In a nutshell, here are the key things you can do with personalization:
- Target the right visitors
- Build lists and collect data
- A/B split testing
- Segment visitors and leads
- Track everything in real-time with detailed analytics
- Boost engagement with more personalized messaging
Bundling With Artificial Intelligence
Bundling is both a method of upselling and personalization. It’s a popular choice for clothing and accessories but can be implemented for a variety of product categories. For example, when a shopper clicks on a “black skirt”, AI will suggest the matching blazer and the blouse the model is featured in. Or if they are searching for a pair of shoes, it will feature the shoes in all available colors. You could also use AI to suggest a head-to-toe look with a top, bottom, jewelry, and shoes. For non-fashion items, it will suggest other items shoppers may be searching for next. For example, the matching throw blanket for throw pillows or a screen protector and screen cleaner to go with the smartphone case they are purchasing.
If you have Shopify Plus, this strategy is built-in if you want to implement it.
Shared User Photos
Shoppers like to imagine what using your products will look like in their everyday life, beyond the handful of photos you share. So, consider adding a few real-life photos to your product carousel. There are multiple benefits to this method as it can increase sales and builds brand loyalty by featuring everyday people using or wearing your products. The easiest place to access user photos is Instagram, where you could create a contest for your trending products—or share the photos of your influencers. This strategy is another way to integrate your social commerce (selling on Instagram or other social channels) with your website sales. Learn more about user-generated content in this previous blog post.
“Recently Viewed” Features
Many of us shop on the go, which means we may not make a purchase the first time we visit a website. By implementing a “Recently Viewed” or “Continue Shopping” feature, you empower shoppers to continue with their search instead of starting from scratch from one visit to the next.
Abandoned Cart Reminders
Shopping cart abandonment rates remain at 80 percent, surpassing 90 percent during the holiday season, so consider implementing an automated reminder email or SMS when customers leave products in their cart. Keep the message short, sweet, and to the point. Either a “Did you forget to check out?” or “Do you have any questions about the products in your cart?” Be sure to add an image of the products in their abandoned cart to visually engage as well.
Create Regional Best-Seller Lists
Many online shops highlight their best-selling products, but your best-sellers may vary by region. For example, cold weather gear will trend more in colder regions. Best-sellers in cities such as New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles may vary from smaller cities. If you sell to multiple countries, you may have vastly different best sellers from one country to the next. To make the most of your best-seller list, have custom code created so that shoppers can see what is trending in their area.
These are the most popular methods of personalizing your e-commerce shop. Pay attention to additional methods when shopping for yourself and test or combine methods to find what works for your e-commerce shop.