Personalization on an eCommerce website is not unusual in today’s consumer-driven world. Customers want brands to know them; to offer products that fit in with their own needs and preferences. They want to have the same kind of experience as shopping at a store they’ve been going to for years.
According to Gartner, 64% of all customers around the world would say that they find the “experience is more important than price.” In fact, by the year 2020, customer experience will overtake price completely, as the key brand differentiator.
Offline shopping experiences, online
Picture this: you walk into your local grocery store. You’ve known the shopkeeper for years. He knows what particular brand of coffee you like. So, when the new stock comes in, he makes sure to let you know. And even keeps some aside so that you can pick it up later.
It’s little personal touches like these that makes shopping experiences for customers so much better.
Of course, this kind of customer experience in brick and mortar stores is difficult to replicate in online stores. Online, the only thing the visitor interacts with is the webpage. The good news is that interaction data alone is enough to recommend the relevant products to visitors on your eCommerce product page.
A study shows that about 43% of eCommerce traffic comes from organic Google searches. But most of those visitors leave without really buying anything.
Why? The difficulty lies in retaining these customers and getting them to zero-in on products. And actually, buy them.
Which is why, for online retailers, one of the most important pages on their website is the category page. Visitors to the website will spend most of their time on this page, browsing through the products displayed. So, it only makes sense to show visitors products you know they are going to buy. The product page on your website has ample opportunity to personalize according to your customers taste.
‘Picked just for you’ pages can go a long way
It’s important to make your visitors feel like your brand and products are truly for them. And with a little help, this is not exactly difficult to do. Provided you have access to enough customer-based behavioral data and machine learning algorithms.
However, while a BAU category page can be reordered to prioritize products that match the visitors behavioral data, it can still be difficult for visitors to discover new products they’d like. Having a dedicated page for only the most relevant and personalized product recommendations for each visitor allows them to discover these products.
Personal “boutique” pages also help visitors freely interact with the website. While at the same time allows them to provide instant feedback on each recommendation.With a machine learning model supporting the page, all of the new interaction data can be used to provide better product recommendations on the page. These recommendations can even be updated in real-time!
One such personalization engine for eCommerce websites is maya.ai. Created by Singapore-based AI and big data company, Crayon Data, the engine helps retailers recreate personal boutiques online.
However, while personalization is a powerful tool that helps increase conversions, it shouldn’t be your only fall back.
Don’t skimp on the little things
The design and layout of the product page itself is just as important as the products displayed on it. A website can have the best and most relevant products displayed on the page. But without a smooth user-friendly UI design, quick and easy checkout process as well as engaging and creative ad campaigns, visitors are more likely to abandon their shopping carts.
On average, conversion rates for an eCommerce website ranges from 3%-4%.
In order to increase this, it’s important to remember that simple details matter. Like high-quality product photos, which provide a 360° view of the product. In fact, eCommerce companies like Allbirds and Everlane actually have short video snippets to show their products from different perspectives.
Another important detail that can be used to attract visitors is clear and concise product descriptions and content. Website content that’s not only quirky and interesting but also fulfills SEO standards to make your website more visible.
Optimizing your website is a given. Especially for mobile browsers. The main aim should be to create an effortless and personalized shopping experience for your customers. People who come to your website should get a clear understanding of what you’re offering them, with as little time or effort possible.
