Personalization is the future of e-commerce

Retailers are investing heavily in data collection, but as e-commerce sales stagnate, brands are reconsidering their next evolution of digital growth. Just being able to order online isn’t enough anymore. Practically everyone is doing e-commerce, so going digital isn’t helping anyone stand out. It’s a standard expectation nowadays.

With expanding digital avenues seen as the future of retail, although people are still shopping brick-and-mortar, retailers are wondering how to drive the next phase of digital growth. One of the answers is personalization.

How can retailers use personalization to leverage conversion?

Oliver Bonas, a British retailer, launched customer data-driven personalized email campaigns that drove a staggering 762 percent increase in revenue. Yves Rocher, a worldwide cosmetics and beauty brand, launched personalized product recommendations for its customers, driving an 11x increase in the purchase rate.

Customer and product data can personalize the shopping journey, leading to measurable growth in revenue. Ecommerce customization is also proven to increase customer loyalty and retention. The issue is a one-size-fits-all model doesn’t work in the current retail landscape.

Companies, like Amazon, have set the bar so high that hyper-personalization is the next frontier. Customers are more inclined to shop if offers presented to them are relevant. A study by Epsilon showed that when brands provide customers with personalized experiences, they are 80 percent more likely to make a purchase. The opposite also proves to be true because when brands don’t deliver personalized experiences, customers are more likely to go shop at a competitor providing more personalized experiences.

When customers’ needs are anticipated before they have a chance to express them, it makes it easier for brands to drive customer loyalty. Product recommendations when customers are about to checkout are one of the best tactics to get them to buy more, increasing conversion rates.

Some ways to enhance the personalization process include storing payment information for quick access and updating customers on promotions they will be most interested in. Email campaigns just barely scratch the surface nowadays. Once upon a time, an email with a customer’s name was enough to make them feel like they were getting a personalized experience. These days, personalized emails are the bare minimum.

Localizing and targeting content is one simple way for sites to deliver a relevantly personalized experience for shoppers. Content should be relevant to customers' region, language, demographics, and interests.

Retailers should also note that some sources and segments of traffic are more relevant than others. Traffic or visitor segmentation is one of the initial steps in personalization because according to Big Commerce, the closer you can get to at least the broad expectation of visitors, the more engaging an experience you can drive.

Retailers shouldn’t just focus on their site specifics. Off-site personalization is just as important as on-site personalization. Social media is key to targeting shoppers nowadays, but users are constantly bombarded with tons of ads. It is possible for retailers to create on-site data points in the form of custom audiences on advertising platforms of social media channels.

Traffic can be targeted based on website visits, product page visits, and on-site searches. Even advertising is highly personalized.

Data collection is one of the most important tools of retail today. As retailers work on dominating the digital sphere, personalization is key to success.