Personalization: Yesterday’s trend, today’s necessity.

Businesses cannot shy away from investing in personalized digital experiences any longer. It’s not a temporary trend but a necessity for attracting customers in a post-pandemic world.

Personalization is generally associated with targeting, one-to-one marketing, merchandising, relationship marketing and more. The ability to collect, store and analyze data has given new weight to this buzzword that was once only used as marketing jargon. Personalization specialist Jeriad Zoghby observed that post-2013, personalization became pervasive — companies need to do it to compete.

Fun fact: The term most related to personalization — relationship marketing — was first used by Leonard Berry in the early 1980s. With the evolution of technology, such as big data and predictive analysis, personalization has expanded from the idea of predicting what customers need to anticipating when they need it, where it’s going, and what else they might like.

What’s so great about personalization?

Customers are inclined to engage with brands that listen and understand them. They feel satisfied and fulfilled when businesses pay attention to their specific needs. Hence the rise of personalization tech and methods.

Ecommerce personalization efforts allow you to showcase customized offers and individualize product recommendations as well as other related content based on your customers’ previous interactions, demographics and behavioural data. Successfully handling personalization can lead to a 15 percent boost in profit.

If you need further proof that personalization is no longer a trend, but a necessity, consider what’s at stake without it. In 2016, U.S. organizations lost $756 billion due to a lack of robust personalization strategies. Personalization has transformed marketing communications into digital conversations based on customer-centric data. And according to Accenture, in 2018, 91% of consumers were more likely to shop with brands that provide them relevant offers and recommendations.

The popular personalized marketing tactics to know

Customized homepages

Homepages are like glass doors used by visitors to peek into your online stores. They create the first impression, and it is crucial for you to design them with care. And unlike brick-and-mortar shops, online stores can get to know their visitors better by analyzing behavioural data. You can use this information to tailor and improve each shopper’s experience differently.

The possibilities are endless. For example, some clothing retailers customize promotions based on region and weather. Visitors have different offers on a sunny day than on a cold and cloudy one. Similarly, you can customize your homepage for holidays, events and festivals.

Personalized product pages based on location

Cookies can also help you know where your visitors are from and their preferred shipping location. You can use this information to provide more accurate shipping and price information based on their location. For example, brands like Allbirds display and change the information based on the region's shoe size and currency, which varies from country to country. It’s a no-brainer for improving the shopping experience for all customers, no matter where they are shopping.

Product categories based on browsing behaviour

Recommending other shopping categories based on browsing behaviour is something Amazon has mastered, and it has now become a necessity for other brands to compete. They showcase categories based on your previous onsite search and browsing habits. Curious what kind of tech this requires or want to learn how to make smarter recommendations? You can chat with an Acro Commerce ecommerce consultant during a complimentary session about possible development tools and solutions.

Personalized search results

Today's top ecommerce websites show the most relevant results based on what they know about their customers. They also sort products based on their interest and showcase a section of complementary products and products recently visited to enhance the chance of making a purchase decision. On the contrary, a recent Forrester study revealed that 80% of the visitors are likely to leave your online store if they don’t find relevant search results.

Personalized email campaigns

Follow-up emails and personalized newsletters based on past customer behaviour help decrease cart abandonment and improve upselling and cross-selling chances. According to Campaign Monitor, if executed well, every $1 spent on email marketing can get you an ROI of $38. Think about personalized subject lines and sending individual communications on birthdays and anniversaries with discount coupons. Again, if you’re curious about how to take this on, an expert ecommerce consultant can help guide you in the first steps.

Personalization in the post-pandemic world

The ecommerce world after COVID-19 is a new frontier. Brick-and-mortar stores have been forced to grow their online presence and, meanwhile, consumer sentiments are changing. Personalization strategies can be considerably helpful in retaining customers and boosting sales in an increasingly competitive and crowded ecommerce landscape. Any delays in adopting personalization could be costly.

Personalization is perhaps the most effective tool for an ecommerce marketer to make consumers feel their needs are being considered and recognized individually. For ecommerce businesses, driving actionable insights and using them to improve acquisitions and conversions is the way to flourish in the new post-pandemic world.

Need to pick an ecommerce consultant’s brain about personalization? We are always here to chat.

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_{Miles has written extensively on emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, blockchain, the internet of things, cloud, DevOps and microservices. He has a keen interest in ecommerce, including CMS, front-end and back-end technologies.}