While shoppers’ demands for ecommerce have grown exponentially over the last 2 years, the boom in digital hasn’t necessarily translated into enhanced online customer experiences, with personalisation – or lack thereof – a key cause of friction in buying journeys. 

Original research from Wunderkind, formerly BounceX goes on to show that during the last 12 months, more than half (51 %) said they had experienced more frequent marketing communications which were either impersonal or irrelevant.

Additionally, seven in ten (70%) said the branded communications they receive from retailers felt ‘batch and blast’ or generic, despite almost half (49%) saying impersonal interactions would minimise their likelihood of conversion, potentially costing retailers lost sales opportunities and loyalty.

Meanwhile, original research of over 60 senior UK ecommerce and marketing retail professionals, also conducted by Wunderkind, showed that two-thirds (66 %) of retailers said personalisation was a critical initiative in their current operations, while seven in ten (71 %) felt that personalisation would become increasingly important over the next 5 years.

One of the key barriers inhibiting retailers’ and brands’ personalisation strategies is not being able to effectively identify shoppers on their sites. 40 % of retail, ecommerce and marketing professionals polled said they could currently only identify between 26-50 %, while a further 23 % could only recognise a quarter of their site traffic. 

And this challenge was exacerbated by channel and device ‘black holes’; 28 % had issues identifying shoppers when they come on site using different devices, and a further 26 % struggled to recognise customers moving across sales channels, such as from an app to a website.

Wulfric Light-Wilkinson, GM EMEA at performance marketing engine Wunderkind, comments: “Retailers have already delivered a masterclass in evolution throughout the pandemic, with innovations and new capabilities being launched at breakneck speed in a bid to stay ahead of the customer expectation curve. But as this data shows, as consumers have moved to a digital-first mindset during the pandemic, their expectations – particularly around hyper-personalisation – have in some cases outpaced retailers’ capabilities.

Retailers already recognise hyper-personalisation as a critical initiative, but many fall at the first hurdle by not being able to identify a massive proportion of their website traffic, leaving them with blind spots in recognising customers, understanding intent signals and the importance of relevancy of product selection offerings, and grasping how shoppers behave between different channels and devices.” Light-Wilkinson adds: “Closing this ’hyper-personalisation gap’ will become an increasingly important differentiator as online competition intensifies.

By delivering tailored, one-to-one customer experiences – not only on-site but in inboxes – retailers can see huge incremental gains in digital revenue, whilst driving long-term brand loyalty and advocacy.”

Fashion and Accessories Ecommerce Covets Hyper-personalisation

We all clamour for more business, or as a bigger retailer – for greater market share. But just pause for a second, and consider walking a mile in your customer’s shoes. Isn’t it true that always being treated as an individual is what matters? That’s how we all like to be thought of, and there is no difference in that between you and your customers, especially when communicating with each one.

You are just one, but all customers remember the retailer who goes the extra mile for us, gets us exactly what we want, and remembers us when something specific becomes available. So should your marketing. But with a myriad of other jobs to do every day, or the frightening prospect of the mountain of effort required, or indeed the cost of being able to do it, makes it appear prohibitive to do well, or even simply to do at all. We beg to differ.

Installing hyper-personalisation software on your platform enables your system to remember both all the purchases and every single impression every customer makes when coming to your site, from which it perpetually calculates which products are most likely to be bought next by each individual.

Without needing you to do anything – it is 100% autonomous – zero human ever, it sends emails offering products unique to each individual. Before you get bored believing your ESP does that, no it doesn’t. Many ESPs, appreciate the distinction and know it complements their activity. We all want you to succeed, and this is additional revenue being missed. 

It runs alongside existing email campaigns you have running, saving a fortune in time, delivering 20x better returns for your marketing budget through emailing alone, keeping you always in front of your customers, letting them know you’re still there, and perpetually keeping them satisfied. An average 1500% ROI, delivers a typical 10.5% additional online t/o.