ECOMMERCEPERSONALIZATION

THE ULTIMATE GUIDE TO

What is eCommerce personalization?What is real-time eCommerce personalization?How to apply personalization in eCommerce?eCommerce personalization examplesBenefits of personalization in eCommerceFashion eCommerce personalizationeCommerce personalization trendsWhat is an eCommerce personalization software?Key takeaways

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

TABLE OF CONTENTS

What is eCommerce personalization? Consumers’ online shopping behaviors are mostly determined bytheir intentions. Thus, being able to predict these purchaseintentions provides a competitive advantage for the online storesthat manage to do so. The act of accurately predicting shopper’sintentions and showcasing frontend objects (i.e. productrecommendations, personalized content, personalized emails) onthe consumer touchpoints of a webshop is called eCommercepersonalization. Choice overloading is a problem commonly seen in today’seCommerce scene. Online shoppers are being bombarded withmarketing messages and come across millions of product typeseach time they visit online stores such as Amazon.com. When acustomer gets too much information, he/she is likely to feelconfused, get lost while browsing through the pages of a webshopand eventually leave the website before making a purchase.eCommerce personalization has become a solution to this choiceoverloading problem.

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

One can argue that eCommerce personalization is just a poorimitation of what great sales people already do however applyingpersonalization on webstores is way more difficult and complicatedthan that. Whereas great sales people are friendly, personable,knowledgeable, convincing and can talk a customer into buying aproduct, eCommerce does not carry those human aspects. Onlineretail has got its own challenges because it is limited topresentation rather than physical interaction with the product andcustomer. Therefore, eCommerce personalization is like a greatsales pitch, which is derived from data and represented in a visualform.

"eCommerce personalization is not apoor imitation of what great sales

people already do but rather a greatsales pitch, which is derived from data

and represented in a visual form."

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

What is real-time eCommerce personalization? Understanding the intentions of the shoppers is crucial in termsof predicting their likelihood of a purchase however intentionsare likely to change in subsequent online sessions. An onlineshopper is likely to look for ItemA on Day1 whereas she is likely tosearch for ItemB on Day5. In some cases, the purchase intentionsdo change inside an online session. The user is likely to add aproduct from a specific category in his cart and then start to lookfor an item from a totally different category inside the samepurchase session. This makes real-time analysis a must haverather than a nice to have feature in an eCommercepersonalization platform. Real-time analysis requires a state-of-the-art database structureand a high performing algorithm. Thus, not every eCommercepersonalization engine have the ability to work in real-time. We –at Perzonalization – have invested on creating a real-timeeCommerce personalization platform and we are proud to beinstantly handling millions of product recommendation requests.

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

How to apply personalization in eCommerce? Data lies at the root of all eCommerce personalization methods.A good eCommerce personalization tool should be able to gatherhigh quality consumer data, from different touchpoints and inreal-time. This data is usually in the form of clickstream andtransactional behaviour however in some particular instancessocial data can also be used. That being said, data analysis method determine theperformance of the eCommerce personalization efforts. Thereare several different technological approaches when it comes toapplying personalization however a combination of collaborativefiltering and content based filtering – like the one Netflix uses – ishighly appreciated nowadays.

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

In order to achieve scale in eCommerce personalization,automation should be applied. AI powered eCommercepersonalization platforms like the one we have here atPerzonalization is designed to perform complexpersonalization tasks in real time and with high precision.According to a survey by ForbesInsights, 1 out of 4 globalmarketing executives say that their companies are at theforefront of implementing AI and machine learning topersonalize customer interactions at scale.

"1 out of 4 global marketing executives saythat their companies are at the forefront of

implementing AI and machine learning topersonalize customer interactions at scale."

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

Product recommendationsPersonalized campaign banner listingsWeb push notificationsAI powered chatbotsPersonalized pop-up messages

Email personalizationPersonalized adsChatbot messenger marketingMobile app personalizationPersonalized SMSMobile push notifications

Personalization can be applied on websites or out of thewebsites. Either on-site or off-site, personalization requires adisciplined practice of data capturing, analysis, processing andvisualisation. Different types of consumer data – i.e. clickstream,transaction, location, social media, weather – is being captured,processed and finally showcased in the form of differentformats such as; On-site personalization formats

Off-site personalization formats

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

eCommerce personalization examples

On-site personalization use cases: Personalized Product Recommendations on Amazon.com We should be speaking about Amazon’s commitment topersonalizing the consumer journey if we talk abouteCommerce personalization. Amazon can also be regardedas the “inventor of eCommerce personalization”, as the firstpersonalization algorithm was developed by Amazon’sengineering team. The team at Amazon is doingpersonalization so right that 44% of customers are buyingfrom Amazon’s product recommendations.

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

Web Push Messages on Roman Originals From evening wear to day wear, casual to formal, RomanOriginals is providing affordable women’s clothing anddesigner ladies fashion. As the company’s motto is toserve the needs of their customers via affordable yettrendy collections, Roman Originals tend to apply manydiscounts. To be able to announce those campaigns,Roman is using the web push notifications as acommunication channel. The good thing about web pushis that, most messages are being triggered by thecustomer behaviour, thus those notifications arepersonalized in that sense.

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

Personalized Product Recommendations on Asos.com The fashion retail giant understood the need forpersonalizing the online consumer journey in 2014. NickRobertson of Asos said “browsing through thousands ofproducts is not what our customers want to be doing. Ourcustomer base needs and wants inspiration so we have to doan edit that is relevant to them personally”. This is howasos.com started featuring “as seen on me” feature as wellas the product recommendations and personalized productideas.

Exit Pop-Ups on Pixel Scrapper Pixel Scrapper is a scrapbooking community site. Thewebsite is providing downloadable templates to help digitalscrapbookers. To be able to increase their conversions, theteam at Pixel Scrapper decided to get help from exit pop-ups. These are the smart pop-ups that analyze the onlinevisitor’s clickstream behaviour and understands when thevisitor is likely to bounce, a behaviour which is called the“exit intent”. A pop-up is being triggered each time a visitorshows exit intent. These pop-ups can also be tied to severalother online behaviour types. The good thing about thesepop-ups is that; they are personalized in the sense that theyare rule based and individually triggered plus displayed.

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

Personalized Product Recommendations on Smythson ofBond Street Smythson sells handcrafted stationery by artisans. Theproducts in Smythson’s portfolio can be defined as “luxuryaccessories” as finest details are consired during the makingof those beautiful notebooks and diaries. The companyaimed to increase their onsite conversions and lift averageorder value. That’s how they started implementingeCommerce personalization in the form of productrecommendations and personalized pop-ups.

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

Similar Products on eBay.com Serving as the main sales channel for many international retailers,eBay has to be cautious in its personalization efforts. “Similarsponsored items” and “sponsored items from this seller” are thetwo creative methods that the company has come up with. As aseller, if you want your products to be included inside the productrecommendations, than you need to sponsor thoserecommendations blocks. By this, eBay maintains a delicatebalance between its customers’ personalization needs and thecommercial priorities of its sellers.

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

Chatbot Marketing via Domino’s Anyware One of the most interesting examples of chatbot marketingcomes from Domino’s Pizza. Domino’s is not just limiting thechatbot usage to its website but on the contrary it usesmultiple channels to apply “smart ordering”. Domino’s Anywhere gives pizza lovers the power to ordertheir favorite from a multitude of channels including Slack,Messenger, and even Alexa. This is not what we wouldtypically call a “personalized” or “smart” approach but theease of use for the customer is enough to make itscustomers happy �

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

Off-site personalization use cases: Email personalization on Mavi.com Mavi, a global lifestyle brand with strong denim roots, hadbeen successfully applying loyalty card practices for yearson their brick and mortar store when they came to us –Perzonalization. Increasing loyalty and sales viapersonalization activities on their online storefront was achallenge which we successfully tackled. The company usedPerzonalization’s AI powered and real-time eCommercepersonalization platform to apply eCommercepersonalization on desktop, mobile app and automatedemails.

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

Personalized ads by LA Girl and Interspot There are many studies showing that “relevant” ads increaseengagement and purchasing. Adlucent’s study is a good example.The study shows that seven in 10 consumers yearn for personalizedads. However, collecting data to be used in personalized ads andusing this data to come up with AI powered and personalized adsthat will be relevant for the online shoppers is still a challenge. In most cases the only “ad personalization” is the one that includesthe name or the picture of the individual shopper. In some cases,“targetted advertising” is showcased as the most “sophisticated”advertising personalization method but this is merely anunderestimation of artificial intelligence’s skills. AI is perfectly capable of serving truly unique ads to every individual– both in terms of the ad visuals and the products/services includedin the ads. However, in today’s advertising world, we still do not seemany AI powered and personalized ad examples. Although not being very “smart”, dynamic landing pages have been aquick-hack when it comes to personalization. Ads powered withdynamic LPs work like this; the online user sees a targetted ad,lands on a website where she is met with a semi-personalizedlanding page. The same landing page is showcased to visitors withdifferent and personalized content i.e. text, videos and visuals. So intheory, if x users are seeing the ad, x different landing pages can beserved.

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

"In some cases, “targetted advertising” isshowcased as the most “sophisticated”

advertising personalization method but thisis merely an underestimation of artificial

intelligence’s skills."

Two great examples of personalization in AI poweredadvertising come from online retailers LA Girl and IntersportFinland. These companies use Criteo’s avertising platform tostreamline their ad personalization processes. Criteo’sdynamic ads re-engaged customers who’d left the site,encouraging them to convert with product offerspersonalized to each individual.

Chatbot messenger marketing by Sephora Many online retailers started using chatbots on their webchannels, Facebook Messenger and via SMS marketing.Sephora used a chatbot called Kik to welcome the newcustomers and learn about their individual taste preferenceswith a mini-quiz.

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

Mobile app personalization by Hopi Hopi is a mobile platform that provides personalized shopperexperiences from various brands. As the consumer data isbeing captured towards both online and offline channelsacross several retail brands, it was a challenge to applypersonalization on the user interface of Hopi app. At thispoint we – Perzonalization – came on stage and executedeCommerce personalization activities on behalf of Hopi. Thepersonalized product recommendations on Hopi mobile appis attracting 20% of the consumer traffic.

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

Push notifications by Laredoute Laredoute one of the largest ecommerce apparel retailers inthe world. The company specializes in French-style fashionand carries a huge inventory, a feature which makes it aperfect playground for personalization in eCommerce. As for the other online retailers, Laredoute has got a bigproblem; the abandoned carts. The solution the companyfinds is to start sending push notifications to their mobileapp users each time a user left an item in the cart. The usersare receiving highly personalized push notifications alongwith links pointing to their carts where they can completethe purchase. With the help of this tactic, Laredoute is ableto realise 2-3 times higher CTR than the one on the classicmobile ads.

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

Increasing conversionsImproving customer engagementReduce the workload of marketing teamIncreasing average order size and value via upsellsReducing bounce ratesDriving repeat purchasesIncreasing retention and customer loyaltyCreating positive word of mouth around the brandBeing seen as an “innovative” brandBoosting revenues

Benefits of personalization in eCommerce Personalizing the consumer journey helps online retailers inmany ways, some of which can instantly be quantifiedreported via a customer panel/dashboard. Some of thebenefits can be listed here;

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

Fashion eCommerce personalization Most of the trends in fashion eCommerce points us towardsthe growing importance of personalization in eCommerce.Fashion brands have always been innovative towards theway they handle technology thus personalization is noexception. With the help of AI powered applications, fashion retailershave started using personalization as a service andbenefiting from the usage of both on-site and off-sitepersonalization. It’s not surprising to see many goodpersonalization executions to come from fashion brands.

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

eCommerce personalization trends Artificial intelligence and virtual reality can be said to beshaping up the trends in personalization for eCommerce. AIpowered chatbots that do not only communicate with theusers via fixed messages but can form personalizedresponses will be the need of the hour. VR powered virtualfitting rooms will also be helping the online shoppers. Data will still be the king in eCommerce! Providing newproduct offerings based on the customers’ preferences,budget and style will help online retailers gain competitiveadvantage and increase loyalty. eCommerce execs will spend more time trying to understandways to capture more data in a better way. They will tend towork with vendors that will increase their organization’s datacapturing and usage capabilities.

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

What is an eCommerce personalizationsoftware? An eCommerce personalization software is a tool, whichenables your eCommerce website to render personalizedcontent to cater to the preferences and requirements ofyour customers. This kind of a software can be developedinternally by an online retailer however this kind of a projectwill take months (or years in some cases) and will eat theorganization’s resources. Thus, an expert solution like the one we have here atPerzonalization can take the personalization burden out ofthe shoulders of eCommerce execs, can easily getintegrated, can work and deliver high ROI in real-time. So,rather than trying to create an internal personalizationplatform, eCommerce companies can choose to work withan expert eCommerce personalization software. This kind ofa tool will help eCommerce professionals sit back and relaxwhile revenues are being automatically boosted.

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

Key Takeaways If you are reading this post, then you should be curious aboutwhat eCommerce personalization is and how yourorganization can benefit from this approach. eCommercepersonalization has surely brought money on the table and ishere to stay. So for sure, it is never too late to start investingon personalization. As it is a high ROI solution, there is norisk of spending the money for a lost-cause. Ready to learn how we can help you? Schedule your call withan eCommerce personalization expert now!

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

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Final Thoughts Creating the best eCommerce customer experience, is a great wayto retain your customers and always keep people talking about yourbrand. The first step to offer the best eCommerce customer experience toyour customers in this digital world, is to gather the right data, andhave a strategy for your steps. We have summarized some of the tips regarding offering the besteCommerce customer experience. If you think that we have missed some points, please send us amessage and we will be more than happy to add them into our article.

The Ultimate Guide to eCommerce Personalization

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