5 Personalization Tools to Increase Conversions
On the heels of Cyber Monday, which set the record for the biggest day of eCommerce sales in history[1], two things are clear: the eCommerce market is growing and so is the competition. This increase in competition gives retailers all the more reason to invest in customer retention. Industry leaders are turning to personalization as a way to engage and entice their customers into not only spending more on purchases, but also into coming back as repeat customers.
Amazon is a great example of personalization in play for eCommerce. Amazon’s personalization structure is centered on their “Prime” membership program. By providing free shipping along with other membership benefits, Amazon dramatically increases their customer retention rates. Additionally, on average, an Amazon Prime member spends almost twice as much as a regular Amazon shopper.[2]
These high retention rates can also be attributed to Amazon’s product recommendation tool. The first header Amazon users see when they login is a “Buy It Again” section. While many eCommerce sites will include a recently viewed or customer favorites section at the bottom of their homepages, Amazon takes personalization to a new level and places the customer’s purchase habits as the top priority. The “Buy it Again” section makes for a faster and easier buying experience on the site—pleasing the modern customer.
Amazon’s “Buy it Again” section also has dropdowns under each product titled “Show More Like This.” This suggestion system encourages shoppers to purchase more objects than they previously wanted, leading to larger order values and higher conversion rates. With this step in personalization, shoppers no longer care about “Customer Favorites”; now they want “Their Favorites.”
Implementing similar personalization tools on your site will enable you to tailor a shopping experience towards customers that will fit their preferences and in turn increase sales. Here are some personalization tools that you can implement to increase conversions and have a positive impact on customer retention:
Baynote provides personalized customer experience solutions for multi-channel retailers. With Baynote, you understand what buyers are looking for and engage them in the most relevant way – in the moment. Whether a customer is interacting with your brand on an eCommerce website, a smartphone, a tablet, or through a digitally enabled in-store sales associate, Baynote delivers personalized shopping experiences across all channels.
MyBuys is the leading provider of personalized recommendations for multi-channel retailers. Its products MyAds, MyMail and MySite help you personalize your customer interactions at every step.
Barilliance helps eCommerce sites of any size to increase sales and conversion rates by providing visitors with a personalized shopping experience.
Certona uses 1:1 real-time personalization that combines real-time context with unmatched customer profiling and dynamic merchandising, enabling you to deliver individualized product recommendations, content and offers that deeply engage customers and enhance experiences to match your business goals, while delighting consumers as they engage with your brand.
Monetate is a real-time marketing platform that generates billions of dollars of new revenue for businesses, helping them grow 39% faster than the industry average.
As you can see from these tools, personalization is more than just surfacing product recommendations; it is your entire site experience. These tools will help you foster a positive customer relationship and improve your conversion rates.
The new paradigm for enterprise retailers with a crosschannel presence is to analyze data from all touchpoints to improve understanding of consumer behavior. Read the LYONSCG white paper, Mine Your Own Business: Analytics and the Path to Personalization, to discover how to predict and guide your customers’ shopping journey across a variety of channels to optimize conversion.
Looking to increase personalization but need help with anything from strategy to technical implementation? Please contact us to learn more!
Michael Parker is an eCommerce Analyst Intern in the Digital Consulting Services department at LYONSCG. He is studying Entrepreneurship and Data Analysis at DePaul University. In his spare time he enjoys the outdoors and playing on the DePaul Lacrosse team.
[1] Lella, A. (2014). Cyber Monday Exceeds $2 Billion in Desktop Sales for First Time Ever to Rank as Heaviest U.S. Online Spending Day in History. Retrieved from http://www.comscore.com/Insights/Press-Releases/2014/12/Cyber-Monday-Exceeds-2-Billion-in-Desktop-Sales-for-First-Time-Ever-to-Rank-as-Heaviest-US-Online-Spending-Day-in-History
[2] Frommer, D. (2014). Amazon Prime members spend almost twice as much as other Amazon shoppers. Retrieved from http://qz.com/221910/amazon-prime-members-spend-almost-twice-as-much-as-other-amazon-shoppers
