According to Forrester, more than one-third of U.S. online adults want retailers to do more to offer them personalized experiences. In the years after the turn of the millennium, simple algorithms implemented recommendations such as “customers who bought this product, also buy these products,” but over time personalization made its mark in new and innovative ways in online shops, newsletters or apps.
Intelligent systems now interact in real time with every single customer and show suitable products and content in seconds based on shopper click behavior. Through personalization, retailers can display the “right” products, tailored to the preferences of unique shoppers.
Let’s explore five methods for intelligent personalization that will inspire your customers and boost sales:
1. Recommend items based on image similarity
Take a shopper who puts an item in their basket, but does not purchase the product because it’s not exactly what they had in mind. Implementing product recommendations based on image similarities can help fill this gap by recommending the shopper’s ideal product. For example, AI algorithms can analyze all product images and recognize similar shapes and colors, showing all red long sleeve women’s tops.
Recommendations based on image similarities can also be filtered based on information in the product master data. For example, you can recommend only products from a certain category or certain brand.
2. Align recommendations with KPIs
Linking product recommendations and price can help you achieve key KPIs. If you want to increase shopping cart value, you can set the corresponding minimum price for product recommendations. For example, you can set product recommendations to be a maximum of 5% cheaper and a maximum of 40% more expensive than the displayed product.
Another way to link recommendations and KPIs might be by increasing sales with a daily deal. In order to encourage as many visitors as possible to use the daily deal, it is best to align it with the preferences of the shoppers. So, if you show the customer an item from their favorite category or a product that is visually similar to the promotion, the chance that they will be interested in purchasing the product is higher than with a more generic deal.
Aligning recommendations with KPIs can also reduce cart abandonment -- 69% of shoppers abandon their carts. After defining a certain time window, or other criteria, an intelligent personalization solution can display a discount or free shipping incentive to encourage a shopper to complete their purchase.
3. Promote cross-selling
Making customers aware of other items and product categories you sell is essential. Dynamic recommendation boxes allow customers to click on their favorite category to reveal personal items tailored to their preferences. What’s more, this increased interaction with the customer provides the personalization software with additional data for targeted personalization.
4. Use voluntary customer data
Online shoppers are often willing to share their interests and preferences if it helps them receive better recommendations or tailored deals. In fashion retail, customer profiles can include information on clothing style, preferred fit or favorite colors. Information about skin type or eye color can be noted in the beauty segment.
With this additional information applied to a product segment, retailers can further increase the quality of recommendations, increase the satisfaction of customers and ultimately generate more sales.
5. Couple categories
When online customers are looking for gifts, inspiration can be helpful. Consider a shopper looking for a child’s birthday present. If the shopper is searching for clothing in a certain size, why not provide receive recommendations for toys that correspond to the child's age?
This can be achieved by coupling the clothing size sub-category with the toys sub-category for a certain age group. Or you can use the shopper’s previous purchases to determine the age of the child. Based on the age, you can generate product suggestions in the regular newsletter that "grow" with the age of the child.
Implement intelligent personalization in your business
With these five strategies, retailers are better able to understand their shoppers on an individual level, providing a higher quality of service. It’s time for personalization to move away from a concept, and toward a proven, successful practice in your business. Are you ready? Reach out to us today.
