Why Use Personalized Product Recommendations in Ecommerce

Having real sales associates around to help customers make their choices isn’t possible in an online eCommerce store. Instead, online retailers or businesses need to leverage technology and data to understand their respective users. This allows them to recommend the best products based on customer interests and behavior from the very first time someone visits their homepage.

If done right, personalized product recommendations in eCommerce are extremely effective. At this time, the sector is already on the rise, and 90% of shoppers eagerly want to share their behavioral data if their shopping experience is made more convenient or cheap. This also proves to be the perfect time to implement more personalization into your online store for better reach.

Let’s explore why personalized product recommendations should be one of your priorities when running an eCommerce store.

An Overview of Personalized Product Recommendations

Personalized product recommendations are product recommendations made by a particular website that’s unique to an individual visitor. These recommendations are usually based on various customer behaviors and profiles. Almost all these strategies are based on the machine learning algorithm.

Please note that not all forms of product recommendation can be or are personalized. Now, the question is: how can you figure out whether they’re personalized or not? This often involves analyzing whether the things you’d be seeing are the same recommendations as the individual next to you. 

Importance of Personalized Product Recommendations in Ecommerce

Over 84% of consumers consider themselves to be valued as an individuals and not as a number. Providing such personalization product recommendations in eCommerce is important because of the convenience of both the business and the customers. 

Rather than searching for something else, someone might look around their original purchase. Hence, they automatically get signposted to something, saving them valuable time. Most eCommerce CMS systems also allow you to automate the entire process quickly.

In case you’re not convinced about the benefits associated with your business, here are some more reasons to leverage personalized product recommendations: 

1. Decreases the Shopping Cart Abandonment Rate

Cart abandonment rate is one of the most important metrics in the eCommerce sector. Showing personalized product recommendations on the cart page can instantly improve cart abandonment rates to a great extent. 

Consumers may abandon their shopping carts for several reasons. Sometimes these users get distracted, sometimes they may be just browsing. In other instances, a few people feel they haven’t found what they’re looking for. 

For example, a customer purchasing boots might have wanted to buy a winter bundle including an overcoat and gloves. Without product recommendations, the user may have to visit subsequent categories to find these products. This experience seems inconvenient, with every step presenting an extra risk that the customer will abandon the cart soon. 

This is where personalized product recommendations in eCommerce can save the day. 

Once the user has added their boots, showcasing an overcoat, gloves, and other relevant winter wear products could prevent the person from abandoning their purchase. 

2. Increases Average Order Value (AOV)

Personalized recommendations often drive revenue by impacting a customer’s total cart amount. They offer relevant up-sell and cross-sell opportunities that often pique a customer’s interest. This often results in the customer purchasing more than just the original item they came onto the website for.

Sessions that contain no engagement with various product recommendations have, on average, an AOV of around $44.41. However, this number multiplies greatly when prospects engage with just a single recommendation. 

3. Increases Session Time

Shoppers begin on one product, click through to view another, and get distracted by yet another product. Before they know, it's already two hours shopping! 

This particular pattern enables all customers to stay on your site longer by capturing their attention. This also involves engaging them with recommendations for various products they hadn’t considered earlier or expected to find.

4. Stand Out Among Competitors

To cater to the huge growth in online shopping, several new eCommerce retailers have come up who can easily launch their stores every day. However, with such a quickly growing market comes a price: individuality.

Now, all consumers have the luxury of choosing which stores to visit based on what they want from their shopping experience. This becomes possible with such a huge quantity of options available to them. Personalization is also high on the wish-list, with 80% of consumers stating that they are more likely to purchase from a particular company that presents them with more personalized experiences.

Bottom Line

Using personalized product recommendations in ecommerce is no longer a trend; it's a vital strategy. From improving engagement to boosting conversions, increasing order values, and building long-term loyalty, the benefits are numerous and impactful. More than just a tool, personalized product recommendations represent a shift in how eCommerce brands interact with their customers. They make the experience intuitive, relevant, and memorable.

In a digital world where attention is short and choices are endless, personalization is your biggest competitive edge. By understanding your customers and delivering tailored shopping experiences, you set your store up for long-term success in a highly dynamic market.