A personalised shopping experience, whether online or offline, is a surefire way to gain favour with shoppers. In bricks-and-mortar stores, shoppers enjoy the 1:1 attention and knowledge a sales assistant can provide, but how can this be replicated online? Meyar Sheik, CEO and Co-Founder of Certona, advises retailers on becoming experts in omnichannel personalisation, in order to increase site engagement and average order value.
Thanks to improved mobile connectivity, today’s consumers enjoy connected digital experiences like never before. Consumers can now research products and services, compare prices, read and write reviews and share their experiences on social media platforms at any time, from anywhere. Consequently, multichannel shopping has become the norm, and the expectation for a consistent and connected omnichannel experience is forcing retailers and brands to re-approach their shopper’s journey to deliver a seamless experience regardless of channel or touchpoint.
We have also seen that as consumers’ expectations increase alongside the growth in competition, customer experience has become everything. Retailers must satiate the demand for a personalised retail experience to help maximise their share of the projected 2017 £89.73billion online retail pie (figures according to Statista). Below are our three tips to help retailers develop their omnichannel personalisation strategy.
Go beyond simple segmentation with real-time 1:1 targeting
Subdividing shoppers into groups based on their common behaviours and interests allows retailers to implement specific strategies targeted to each group depending on their preferences and attributes. Types of shopper segmentation include demographics such as age, gender and occupation; geographic such as country, city and continent; psychographics such as likes and dislikes; and behavioural such as loyalty and time spent browsing retail webpages.
On its own, segmentation can be very targeted, but when combined with real-time predictive modelling, true personalisation is enabled taking the shopping experience to a whole new level. Combining factors such as contextual information (weather, time of day, etc.) and real-time activity, enables the delivery of highly relevant product recommendations, content and promotional offers to each individual shopper within a segment of one.
Predictive modelling: more than just good luck and guesswork
Predictive modelling enables retailers to drill down further into the contextual and behavioural data of individual shoppers and model it to predict the next best action in the shopper’s journey. This predictive course of action is particularly pertinent to first-time shoppers where the need to quickly deliver the most relevant, in-the-moment shopping experience is critical. For example, a first-time shopper is browsing t-shirts on sale. Within 3-4 clicks on a site, predictive modelling captures and analyses multiple data points on the individual. Leveraging data such as the shopper’s location, what device they are using and their real-time browsing behaviours can be used to present the most relevant t-shirts and related products, or applicable content and promotions that best guide the shopper down the path to conversion.
By applying predictive modelling techniques such as machine learning and AI, retailers can implement extremely targeted personalisation. This will not only boost shopper engagement and loyalty, but will also drive sale conversions across the different digital retail channels.
Data is key
Data is fuel for personalisation, and the more data you can incorporate about each shopper, the more individualised the experience will be. By garnering and integrating data from various sources, retailers can strengthen their insights to enable deeper targeting.
Data sources – both offline and online – can enhance personalisation through numerous ways. For example, leveraging in-store point of sale data, personal account preferences and the shopper’s demographic and location information, improve profiling and relevancy of the shopping experience. By connecting all these data points to create a consistent and seamless experience, regardless of channel, enables retailers to deliver an individualised omnichannel experience.
As technology continues to transform and connect digital retail, those adopting personalisation strategies will find themselves with a competitive advantage in a crowded market. Just remember, personalisation is about more than just product recommendations, it’s about creating a unique and relevant experience for each individual shopper focused on increasing engagement, average order value, conversions and customer lifetime value.
By Meyar Sheik
CEO and Co-Founder
Certona