The Power of eCommerce Personalization for Retail Success

 

Why Every Digital Retailer Needs eCommerce Personalization

eCommerce personalization is quickly becoming the single most important sales tactic for digital retailers. By providing customers with personalized experiences, retailers are building stronger relationships, increasing customer loyalty, and driving revenue growth.

What is eCommerce Personalization?

eCommerce personalization software is all about tailoring the online shopping experience to customers’ individual needs and preferences. This can include personalized product recommendations, targeted marketing messages, and customized website experiences based on a customer’s browsing and purchase history.

One key benefit of ecommerce personalization is that it helps businesses build stronger relationships with their customers. By providing shoppers with personalized experiences, retailers demonstrate that they understand consumers’ tastes and are committed to providing them with the best possible experience. This fosters trust and loyalty, which in turn translates to higher customer retention rates and increased customer lifetime value.

How eCommerce Personalization Drives Revenue Growth

There are several ways ecommerce personalization drives revenue growth for retailers:

• Increases engagement: By personalizing shopping experiences, retailers encourage customers to spend more time on their websites, browsing products they may not have discovered on their own. After all, the longer customers stay on a website, the likelier they’ll make a purchase.
• Enhanced conversion rate: Personalization software for ecommerce product recommendations and marketing messages help customers search for products faster and more efficiently. Using data analytics and machine learning algorithms, retailers can provide recommendations, targeted promotions, and relevant content, creating a more engaging and satisfying shopping experience that converts.

3 Retail Predictions for the 2022 Holiday Season

Retail’s busiest time of year is just around the corner. Are you ready for the 2022 holiday season?

While consumers once waited until after Thanksgiving to begin shopping in earnest, their purchasing habits have shifted in recent years. Peak holiday shopping season starts in October, meaning retailers must take action and begin preparing now to meet consumer demands.

Sophelle’s omnichannel retail strategy experts have compiled a list of the top trends we’re tracking to help retailers maximize sales during this critical time.

1. Seasonal Shopping Starts. . . Now!

Inflation in the US is at a 40-year high, and to stay ahead of rising costs, savvy consumers have been searching for holiday sales since the summer. We saw a bit of this “early shopping” trend in 2021 when 50% of consumers reported that they planned to get a head start on their shopping before Thanksgiving — starting as early as July.

Competitive retailers have encouraged this behavior with massive sales events, such as Sophelle Day in July and holiday campaigns that roll out mid-September.

Jeff Melton, Senior Consultant at Sophelle, says, “Black Friday will no longer be the ‘day for deals’ for November. I would think of it as ‘Cyber Month’ instead. Retail glossary must offer weekly and daily deals throughout the entire month to compete and capitalize on the best opportunity to capture the sale.”

Black Friday and Cyber Monday will likely continue to have the most significant promotions of the year, at least for now. Still, we predict that similarly to 2021, retailers will see a very slight decline in year-over-year Thanksgiving weekend sales due to shoppers hitting the stores earlier to snag deals as soon as possible.

Our advice? If your brand has been sitting on a special promotion or holiday campaign — launch it now. Many retail consultants have also successfully introduced their Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales events in mid-October. Brands that start promotions early will be on track to do well this holiday season.

Brands should also have follow-up campaigns prepared for newly acquired customers and be ready to ready to roll those campaigns out in December. Immediately after the holiday shopping season, the focus should turn to customer retention.

2. Shoppers Love BOPIS and BOPAC Options

Today’s consumers want convenience. Demand for buy online pick up in-store sophelle and buy online pick up at curb options continues to soar in the protracted COVID-19 era, enabling shoppers to maximize their time, avoid crowds, and save on shipping costs.

These “click and collect” strategies are so successful that Statista predicts sales generated from sophelle will increase at an annual rate higher than 15% until 2024. Retailers should leverage these strategies to help ensure their success during the holidays.

Part of that success comes from making sure to staff up appropriately. Tammy Mueller, Practice Leader, Store Operations at Sophelle, says, “It’s important for retailers to have a specific process for BOPIS and BOPAC options to improve employee productivity and exceed customer expectations.”

3. Alternative Payments Are on the Rise

Alternative payment options have been growing in popularity over the last few years, but this holiday season, they’ll be table stakes instead of “nice to haves” for retail technology strategy. Customers want more buy now, pay later (BNPL) options, which allow them to spread out their spending more evenly over time. In the 2022 back-to-school season, approximately 40% of customers took advantage of BNPL, and that trend is expected to increase for holiday shopping.

Conclusion:

eCommerce personalization is essential for retailers aiming to build strong customer relationships and drive revenue growth. As the holiday season approaches, leveraging personalized experiences, early shopping trends, convenient fulfillment options, and alternative payment methods will be crucial. Sophelle who implement these strategies now will not only boost immediate sales but also enhance long-term customer loyalty in an increasingly competitive landscape.