Defining E-Commerce Personalization And How Every Online Business Can Benefit From It

Even before the pandemic, online shopping has become a predominant trend that has shown a tendency to grow over the years. Now, in the midst of a health crisis that includes limited social interactions, even more people are more inclined to purchase online. Add to that, existing brick-and-mortar stores have had to move their existence online to compensate for losing business due to all the restrictions. All of those issues combined have increased the emergence of e-commerce stores everywhere. With their growing numbers comes increased competition.
 

Despite all of that, customers expect more personalization than ever – they don’t want to feel like just another order number. They want to purchase from brands that recognize their preferences and go out of their way to accommodate them. Based on so many different factors, personalization in e-commerce expands so far beyond the use of first names in emails. If you want to sell online, you need to integrate a personalization strategy into all others to maximize customer engagement, but also conversion rates. Here are a few ideas to help you use personalization in your e-commerce business.

Create exclusive offers

Based on your customer behavior analytics, you can completely transform what kind of offers you make to anyone visiting your site. Use their browsing preferences and previous purchase data to send reminders when there’s a sale of a product they love, but also send exclusive, personalized deals to previous customers to incentivize repeat business.

Go a step further and send out personalized emails on their birthdays or on the anniversary of their first purchase from your store with a special discount on something you know they like and need. Exclusive offers give your buyers a sense of relevance that will make them feel special. 

Local currency and language matter

E-commerce giants wanting to appeal to large parts of the world’s population often forget that there are local, smaller businesses that have what they don’t: the local charm and warmth that cannot be faked in any way. Being genuine and authentic in your local selling spot means that you need to recognize cultural traits, as well as functional details that make a purchase with you more or less convenient. 

While AI and machine learning will indeed help grow your business in many ways, it’s best to stick to human translations for your website that completely convey the idiosyncrasies of the target culture. When a user in the US visits your site, show prices in USD and product descriptions in vivid English. When a user from France comes along, offer EUR prices and make sure your site is well-translated into the target language. Crossing the language barrier means bridging a vital gap between you and a slice of your target audience and providing a more personalized, authentic experience.

Offer location-specific payment options

There are certain, globally recognized payment providers that most e-commerce companies partner with in order to attract a wider demographic to their stores. Plus, using trusted and reliable partners in this realm boosts your own reputation and improves customer experience. To further personalize your payment options, you should go local. 

For example, buyers will regularly rely on thehumm90 interest free credit card in Australiaprecisely because of the included financial perks. If you integrate such a local credit card provider, you can increase the likelihood of Australian buyers purchasing from your e-commerce store. Localization is a vital component of personalization, especially when it ensures greater convenience. 

Be mindful of seasons

Personalization comes in many shapes and forms, and it’s vital to remember that you cannot implement a portion of personalization efforts that seem advanced only to neglect the most fundamental options at your disposal. In order to elevate the user experience of an entire part of your target audience, you should be mindful of specific factors that determine their shopping behavior, such as, for example, seasons. Does it make sense to send sales alerts to your customers in Australia about skiing equipment if they are smackdab in the middle of summer?

Depending on the location of your target audiences, especially if you sell globally, you need to make sure your ads, landing pages, and dedicated social media pages speak to your local demographic. Once your online selling channels meet this fundamental criterion, you can move forward with other, more refined personalization tactics. 

Build loyalty programs

Repeat business is so much more than additional purchases from the same customer. These are people who genuinely appreciate your product, and they are the ones most likely to talk to their friends and family about your business. They are the ones who will take a moment to fill out a survey or leave a positive review on Google about your brand. If you don’t reward them appropriately and show that you value their loyalty, you’ll lose them to an e-commerce brand that does.

Leveraging segmentation and spotting the most frequent of your buyers will help you create a list of those who come back the most. Make valuable offers that only they will receive – this will, in turn, inspire even greater loyalty. When you recognize repeat buyers that are slowly slipping away, you can use that data to try to spark their interest again with similar incentives. Categorize, introduce levels, and of course, set up a clear reward system for inspiring loyalty.

Even though personalization requires ample effort on your part as the business, both you and your customers will benefit from the practice. The results of ongoing personalization can extend to increased conversion rates, better customer engagement, improved rating and reviews, long-term customer loyalty, and the like. 

That said, make sure to tailor-make your personalization efforts to your target demographic, so that you maximize the impact of your approach and each personalized campaign you launch. This year and in the future, personalization will be the core differentiator putting certain e-commerce brands above others – make sure your business is doing its best in this respect.