8 reasons why you too should personalize your website

Retail eCommerce sales have increased significantly during the last couple of years. As a matter of fact, in 2020, retail eCommerce sales worldwide amounted to 4.28 trillion US dollars, and e-retail revenues are projected to grow to 6.39 trillion US dollars in 2024! This, along with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, is forcing many retailers to establish a second foothold online – increasing the fierce digital competition.

Success comes to those who stay ahead of their competitors. And nowadays, personalization is the magic word for success. Here are 8 awesome reasons why you too should invest in personalization.

1. Customers demand personalized experiences

Imagine shopping at your favorite local boutique: You enter the store and are greeted by the shop assistant addressing you by name, you chat about how you are doing and the latest gossip. The shop assistant then draws your attention to the latest collection of your favorite brand, immediately picks out the right sizes and even adds the matching shoes. Of course, the assistant knows that you prefer white sneakers. Or imagine the waiter in your local bar who mixes your favorite drink as soon as you take your seat. From our "real" lives, we know numerous situations in which we are happy to be addressed personally. So why should it be any different online? This fact is confirmed by surveys: 95% of consumers say retailers should know their interests and passions. 70% even shop exclusively with brands that have personalized content. Meeting your customers' needs - shouldn't that be your primary goal?

2. Personalization increases your relevance

Especially nowadays, users have less and less time to undertake lengthy searches for the right products. Online shopping should be fast and convenient. This can be achieved with the AI-supported selection of individual content. Right from the first click on the page, personalization can occur and be refined further and further in the course of the customer journey. The content can for example be adapted to the region in which the user is located – or even to the prevailing weather conditions there. If the user enters the shop via a price search engine, the bargain hunter should also be shown current promotions and discounts at a glance. The more you know about your users’ interests, the more relevant the content will be. If certain brands, cuts or departments are preferred, the recommendations as well as current discounts should also be tailored to those? interests. This way, your users only see the content that is really relevant for them.?

3. Personalization can increase conversion rates and revenue

If relevance increases for a user, so does his satisfaction. The user is more willing to buy something – unlike in an online shop, where he feels misunderstood and badly advised. Personalizing content improves the conversion rate and converts users into buyers. Perhaps personalized recommendations will even draw the user's attention to additional products, which will then be added to the shopping cart, thus generating more sales. It even gets better: Satisfied customers return time and time again to purchase products from their trusted online shop!

Another advantage for shops is margin optimization, as marketing or general discounts are oftentimes not effective or even have a negative impact on revenues. However, if benefits and discounts are only given out in a targeted manner, the margin will not be negatively affected.

4. Create individual customer experiences with personalization

By using personalization, you provide users with a holistic customer experience. They are addressed individually across a wide range of touchpoints and thus experience a shopping experience that is tailored precisely to them. By working across channels, offers and content become much more relevant to customers, who will in turn feel better served. After all, is there anything more annoying than clicking on a special promotion in a newsletter or an advertisement and not finding exactly this content on the website?

Using personalization tools prevents that: User data is collected and can be used and connected intelligently. This way, newsletter subscribers no longer see subscription campaigns, but rather the offers that are currently being promoted in their newsletter. It also works the other way around: if the user has previously taken a close look at an article, this product and other suitable content can be promoted once again in the newsletter.??

5. Personalization saves customers time and frustration

The usability of a website also is very important. Great usability creates a good impression on potential customers. Cluttered shops with a complicated navigation are a no-go. If you use personalization to guide your users quickly through the extensive portfolio, adjust the navigation, hide or move irrelevant content, you can quickly enable visitors to find what they are looking for, significantly simplifying their shopping experience. This way, users do not have to scroll through endless category pages to find a suitable product. They save tons of time and get the impression that the shop always offers exactly what they need.

?6. Boost customer loyalty with a personalized customer journey

If you want to attract new customers and retain their loyalty, you’ll have to score points by offering a convincing and individual customer journey. If you address your users’ needs right from the start and offer them a smooth shopping process, trust and satisfaction will increase. So will the probability that users will order again. In addition, personalization strengthens the bond with the company and making customers return frequently – in the best case even recommending the shop to others. Thus, shops benefit not only from increased sales, but also from positive word-of-mouth advertising – and new customers.

7. Personalization helps you stay ahead of competitors

Providing customers with a unique customer experience can clearly set you apart from the competition. Many companies already use recommendations and assume that this is as far as personalization goes. But personalization is so much more than individual product recommendations – it can ultimately extend to an individual website or webshop. Starting from the homepage, which shows the preferred category, the favorite brand, recently seen products or recent searches and current promotions from the favorite category. Continuing with matching product bundles, category pages where the most exciting products are listed at the top and customized filters. With personalization, you are able to send your existing customers special birthday greetings and even a discount note to bargain hunters. There are no limits to the imagination. If you try a lot – and especially: test a lot – you can get ahead of the competition in no time.?

?8. Using automated personalization saves yourself a lot of time

With the large numbers of users online, companies quickly reach the limits of what can be done manually. With automated, AI-supported personalization, you do not have to decide which content is really useful for your users. A good personalization tool does that all by itself.??

The time you save can be put into further optimizing your website by testing different actions: Which colors do your users like best? Does the recommendation really work? Which further actions can be tested? How can we offer users the best onsite experience???

With artificial intelligence, processes can be automated without losing their personal touch. Thus, you not only save time, but also a lot of expenses, while still being able to address numerous users individually!

Personalization – Indispensable in online marketing

You don't need a sophisticated strategy to keep up with the competition. The solution is much simpler, as personalization offers a lot of benefits from which your company can profit. And the best thing: It does not only work in eCommerce! Just give it a try – I am here to help.