Forbes 50 statistics of personalization is impressive to read. Did you know personalized shopping cart recommendations influenced 92% of shoppers buy online? The same Instapage statistics also suggest that the non-personalized website content frustrates 74% of the visitors. Thus, just as Shopify suggests, personalization improve sales and revenue - to a significant extent. Within the popularity of eCommerce, the consumers have become well aware of their needs and are demanding for the shopping experience. The shopping experience links to the entire customer journey, cloaking advertising, online store visits as well as post-purchase actions. These demands force the online retailer to implement tools for content personalization.
The benefits of the online store personalization
Personalization is useful as it enhances the customer experience. It often increases the average order value and the customer lifetime value also. As a result, more money can be used for acquiring new customers. Also, the customer-specific costs of advertising decline, as advertising become more efficient through personalization. Enhanced customer experience often leads to enhanced customer satisfaction. Luckily, creating personalized content in the Shopify environment is convenient. All you have to do is choose the right app for your store and integrate it into the Shopify ecosystem.
Let's look into the top five tools for personalization in the Shopify ecosystem.
A/B testing
A/B testing is a traditional tool that plays a key role in the development of advertising, content and e-commerce overall. It is a classic but might be the most important tool for the development of customized content and the personalization itself.
A/B testing means comparing two different options so that there is one variable between the options. In an e-commerce context, almost anything can be A/B tested. A variable can be, for example, a title, an image or a product card. A/B testing can also be applied in digital marketing actions. A/B testing is based on assumptions. The assumption made before the test is either confirmed or disproved after the test.
A/B testing is an easy way to enhance eCommerce content. At simplest, an online retailer can, for example, implement an A/B test with product reviews or test the effectiveness of personalized content by targeting audience A with generic content and audience B with personalized content.
However, to be able to effectively execute A/B tests, you'll need a certain amount of traffic. As a good rule of thumb, you need 1000 conversions per month to get an A/B test result in one month.
NOSTO
Nosto is an advanced tool that helps to personalize content related to marketing and e-commerce. The tool assists in personalizing the customer’s shopping experience, taking into account each touchpoint of the customer journey. It's a handy tool for segmentation. Nosto actively analyzes which products, categories and brands a customer likes, and thus is likely to buy. Based on these findings, Nosto provides personalized product recommendations through online-store, advertising and e-mail. It also can be utilized in personalizing the content and layout of the online store on a customer-specific basis. Nosto makes it extremely easy for an online retailer to offer customers the right content, in the right place and at the right time.
For example, Nosto can be harnessed in building personalized promotional coupons, creating upselling and cross-selling recommendations based on a customer's past behaviour and browsing history or customizing the order of products on a category page based on browsing location. The customer receives personalized customer service, which increases customer satisfaction. A satisfied customer is likely to buy more, which increments the customer lifetime value and fills up the merchant's wallet, a win-win situation. An online merchant can only wish for a more comprehensive tool than Nosto.
YOTPO
Studies show that product reviews play a significant role in making a purchase decision, as they act as social proof.
There is a solution for product reviews called Yotpo. Yotpo is a tool that focuses on collecting and presenting product reviews. It works seamlessly with the Shopify online store and it is easy to integrate into Google and Facebook marketing.
Social proof is an effective way to build trust. Therefore, collecting reviews and showing them in your online store can be a critical success factor. Product reviews can be harnessed to a key role at critical touchpoints in a customer’s purchasing journey. This way they are likely to support the customer’s purchasing decision.
Pro tip: Take product reviews and content personalization to the next level with the integration of Yotpo and Nosto. The integration enables interest- and behaviour-based product recommendations combined with the product reviews. This way merchant can target the right products, topped off with social proof.
MARKETING AUTOMATION TOOLS
When talking about personalized content, marketing automation tools cannot be ignored. Marketing automation tools include various features, but the usually spoken are related to email-marketing automations. Indeed, email automations are useful as once created, the flow can be left alone to take the actions assigned to it. Thus, the time spent once pays itself back in multiples.
There are several different tools available that can be integrated into the Shopify ecosystem. When selecting a suitable automation tool, it is worth considering the size of your business and the needs for the required features. Is a tool with basic features enough for your needs, or does your business require a more advanced system?
OMNISEND
Omnisend is a great basic tool for email marketing automations. Omnisend provides ready-made and simple campaign templates and some basic ready-made marketing automation flows. Flows include, for example, an abandoned shopping cart reminder and a welcome flow. Omnisend is a very clear and user-friendly tool that makes creating and editing email templates easy and hassle-free.
KLAVIYO
The more advanced tool for email marketing automations is Klaviyo. Klaviyo is a great choice for more sophisticated use. In addition to Omnisend features, Klaviyo offers more advanced features for segmentation, testing, and analytics. Within these features, personalization can be harnessed to a more sophisticated level.
If you want to hear more about Omnisend and Klaviyo, read our text about three marketing automation platforms for online stores.
How to get started?
Personalization can be done in many ways and tools can be found for many needs. The solutions are dependant on the needs and resources of an online retailer. A good starting point is by starting A/B-testing and adding product reviews to your online store. At the latest at this point, it is a good idea to implement an email automation tool and start producing newsletters and automation flows. The final touch would be the Nosto which integrates perfectly with the above-mentioned tools, creating a harmonious and personalized whole to your online store.
Roosa Hämäläinen, Growth hacker / Woolman
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