E-commerce is – generally speaking – a growth market. In 2020, retail eCommerce sales worldwide amounted to 4.28 trillion US dollars and e-retail revenues are projected to grow to 6.39 trillion US dollars in 2024. The ongoing pandemic is forcing many retailers to establish a second foothold online – increasing the fierce competition online.
Success comes to those who can rise above the competition. And this is exactly where personalization of online stores and websites has an impact. In today’s blog post, we present 8 reasons why you should invest in personalization.
1. Customers want personalization
Picture shopping at your favorite local store: You enter a shop and are greeted by the salesperson addressing you by name, you chat about how you’re doing and the latest gossip. Then the salesperson draws your attention to the latest collection of your favorite brand, immediately picks out the right sizes and even adds the matching shoes. Of course, the sales assistant knows that you prefer white sneakers. Or think of the waiter in your favorite bar mixing your favorite drink as soon as you take your seat. From our “real” lives, we know numerous situations in which we are happy to be addressed personally. So why should it be any different online? Surveys confirm this: 95% of consumers say retailers should know their interests and passions. 70% even say they shop exclusively with brands that have personalized content. Meeting your customers’ needs – shouldn’t that be your primary goal?
2. Personalized content increases relevance
Especially nowadays, users have less and less time and desire to undertake lengthy searches for the right products. Online shopping should be fast and convenient. This can be achieved with the AI-supported selection of individually suitable content. Right from the first click on the page, personalization can occur and can be refined further and further in the course of the customer journey. Initially, for example, the content can be adapted to the region in which the user is located – or even to the prevailing weather in the user’s location. Does he enter the shop via a price search engine? If so, the bargain hunter should also be shown current promotions and discounts at a glance. The more you know about the user’s interests, the more relevant the content will be. Are certain brands, cuts or departments preferred? Then the recommendations as well as current discounts should also be personalized to them. This way, the user only sees the content that is really of interest to him.
3. Personalization helps increase conversion rate and revenue
If relevance increases for a user, so does their satisfaction level. The user is more willing to buy something – unlike in an online shop where he feels misunderstood and badly advised. Personalizing content can therefore help the shop to improve the conversion rate and convert users into buyers. Perhaps personalized recommendations will even draw the user’s attention to additional products, which will then be added to the shopping cart? Thus, generating more sales. Furthermore: Satisfied customers return time and time again to purchase the products from their trusted online shop. Another advantage for shops is margin optimization, as general discounts are sometimes not effective and can even have a negative impact on revenues. However, if benefits and discounts are only given out in a targeted manner, the revenue will not be negatively affected.
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4. Individual content improves the customer experience
By using personalization you will provide users with a holistic customer experience. They are addressed individually across a wide range of touchpoints and thus experience a shopping experience that is tailored precisely to them. By working across channels, offers and content become much more relevant to customers, who will in turn feel better served. After all, nothing is more annoying than clicking on a special promotion in a newsletter or an advertisement and not finding exactly this content again on the website. Using personalization tools prevents that – user data is collected and can be used and connected intelligently. Newsletter subscribers no longer see subscription campaigns, but rather the offers that are currently being promoted in their newsletter. But personalization also works the other way around: if the user has previously taken a close look at an article, this product and other suitable content can be promoted once again in the newsletter. This allows the users to feel as if the shop is responding to their interests.
5. Personalization saves customers time and frustration
Apart from the experience in the online shop, usability also plays an important role. Cluttered shops with complicated navigation are a no-go. After all, users often don’t have the time. If you use personalization to guide them quickly through the extensive portfolio, adjust the navigation, hide or move irrelevant content, you can significantly simplify their shopping. Users don’t have to scroll through endless category pages to find a suitable product. They save time and get the impression that the shop always offers exactly what they need.
6. Personalization boosts customer loyalty
If you want to attract new customers and retain their loyalty, you have to score points by offering a convincing, individual customer journey. If you address their needs right from the start and offer a smooth shopping process, trust and satisfaction will increase. The probability that the user will order again increases. In addition, the user develops a bond with the company and returns frequently – in the best case even recommends the shop to others. Thus, shops benefit not only from increased sales, but also from positive word-of-mouth advertising and new customers.
7. Personalized content provides the competitive edge
Providing customers with a unique customer experience can clearly set you apart from the competition. Many companies already use recommendations and assume that this is as far as personalization goes. But personalization is so much more than individual product recommendations – it can ultimately extend to an individual shop page. Starting from the homepage, which shows the preferred category, the favorite brand, recently seen products or recent searches and current promotions from the favorite category. Continuing with matching product bundles, category pages where the most exciting products are listed at the top and customized filters. Personalization is the birthday greeting for existing customers and the discount note for bargain hunters. There are no limits to the imagination. If you try a lot – and especially important: test a lot – you can get ahead of the competition with a unique experience.
Are you looking for further personalization ideas? Then take a look at our whitepaper!
Whitepaper “Onsite personalization: 10 tips for online retailers”
8. Automated personalization saves a lot of time
Even if personal conversations and advice are of course the most pleasant and individual – in the online shop, you quickly reach the limits of what can be done manually with the large number of users. However, there are also advantages: Automated, AI-supported personalization takes a lot of work off the marketer’s hands. After all, they don’t have to decide which content is really useful for each user. A good personalization tool does that all by itself. The freed-up capacities can then be put into further optimization of the website: Which tests make sense, which further actions can be tested, how can we offer users the best onsite experience?
With artificial intelligence, these processes can be automated without losing their personal touch. Thus, you not only save time, but also a lot of expenses, while still being able to address a large number of users individually.
Personalization – an indispensable tool
As you can see, you don’t need a sophisticated strategy to keep up with the competition. The solution is much simpler, as personalization offers a lot of benefits from which your company can profit. And the best thing: It doesn’t just work in eCommerce!
Would you like to convince yourself of the advantages of personalization on your website personally? Contact us!