eCommerce businesses spend hundreds and thousands of dollars in driving traffic to their site. But when it comes to converting this traffic into customers, most see an average conversion rate of only 2.35%.
Source – 99Firms
Well, you want your investments to give you great results, right? So, how do you deal with this major problem in the eCommerce sphere? Can your ROI be boosted with minimal yet strategic efforts? Is there any solution at all?
This issue can actually be tackled with the help of product recommendations. Here are some numbers and statistics to give you a better picture –
- Over 31% of e-commerce revenues are due to the use of strategic product recommendations.
- Close to 54% of retailers say that product recommendations actually are the prime driver of the Average Order Value (AOV) in customer purchases.
- 49% of consumers claim that they have made a purchase that they did not initially intend on buying. But, were persuaded to complete the purchase after receiving a personalized recommendation.
In this article, we will show you how you can leverage these numbers and increase your conversions effortlessly at different stages of a user’s shopping journey.
How to use product recommendations across a customer’s buying journey
Most eCommerce merchants don’t realize how powerful product recommendations can be. This simple integration in your storefront is going to massively impact your conversions. However, how you strategize and execute this is going to make all the difference. Knowing when and where to display what kind of product recommendations is key. Remember shoppers see what you want them to see.
In this section, we will discuss some of the most important kinds of product recommendations you can use on your eCommerce website in 2022.
Create awareness among new website visitors (new visitors)
Understand that these are visitors who have come to your site for the very first time. These are people who could have nothing particular in mind and are simply exploring what you have to offer. Well, don’t let this incoming traffic go in vain.
Strategically use product recommendations right from your landing page so you can grab a potential buyer’s attention from the get-go. Now, how can you do this? It’s simple. Just try displaying new arrivals, featured products, or your best-selling collections/ products in separate dedicated sections on your homepage.
While personalization is a great tool to improve your chances at conversions through product recommendations, it’s difficult to offer customized recommendations to absolutely new store visitors who you know nothing about. So in these situations, displaying generic product recommendations that seem to work for most of your consumers is your safest and best bet.
This tiny yet impactful integration in your website is going to help guide your first-time store visitors based on what your other customers are doing and get them to explore it too. Thus, improving your chances of making a sale!
Aid in exploring your product catalog (bounced visitors)
Now, you’ve tactfully handled your online store newbies, but what about the ones who’ve already explored your product catalog and are back again?
These are visitors who have visited your site before but bounced off without exploring much of the products you offer. There could be a lot of reasons for not completing a purchase the first time – maybe they were distracted or maybe they don’t really know where to begin.
This is where displaying your hot selling or trending products as recommendations help guide their journey. And it helps you, as an eCommerce merchant, to direct their attention towards categories and products you want them to explore. Here’s a quick tip – this type of product recommendation can be enhanced 10x by making use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to add a hint of personalization.
Did you know that 91% of consumers claim that they are more likely to purchase from brands that provide personalized offers and recommendations? And so, over 89% of online businesses are actively investing in personalization to leverage all the perks and benefits.
Based on the user’s browsing journey, you can recommend related products on the homepage, and different product pages.
Persuade consumers to complete that purchase (returning visitors)
Continuing on the kind of product recommendations to display to a visitor who has already browsed through some products and shown some interest – but did not make a purchase – then comes back to your site; here’s another great method to try out.
Show them ‘Recently Viewed Products’ to help them get started where they left off. You can improve your persuasion to get them to make that purchase by adding a small label that reads something like ‘Only Few Left’ or ‘Selling Fast’. This helps create a sense of FOMO around that particular product that the user showed interest in.
Actively interested (engaged visitors)
In situations where you come across visitors who came back to the products they liked, saw the recently viewed items, and are now actively interested in the product, congratulations on successfully re-capturing their interest!
Now you need to get them to checkout and complete their purchase. How do you do that? Use ‘Similar Product Recommendations’ to explore what they’re missing out on. Remember, these are audiences who are already interested in your products. So, just a slight nudge is going to make a ton of difference. It helps keep them engaged, making them more likely to buy.
Purchase-ready (added to cart visitors)
This is when users have added the products they like to their carts and are in a ‘purchase-ready’ state of mind. You can display a section of ‘Frequently Bought Together’ items to them. This helps you upsell and cross-sell with very minimal effort.
Leverage your data on repeat sales to increase users’ total cart value (right after completing a purchase)
Personalized shopping cart recommendations are massively influential. In fact, 92% of online shoppers actually make a purchase based on their cart recommendations.
This is strategically used when a visitor has added product(s) to their cart, made a purchase, and is on the thank you page. Here, make a sales pitch again. Display a ‘Customers Also Bought’ section to get this visitor to stay and explore more of what your store has to offer.
Re-engage with your past buyers to boost sales (bringing back customers)
While conversions are extremely important, your eCommerce business should not just focus on conversion rates. Retention rates are in fact more important!
How you gauge and make the most of your customer’s already gathered attention is going to help your store grow tremendously. So, when a user leaves your site after making a purchase, don’t let it be the end of it. Instead, initiate communication and send them product recommendations through emails or WhatsApp based on what they bought earlier. You can bring them back by showing them products falling in the same category as their interest.
Over 52% of consumers actually expect brands to offer personalized product recommendations. And consumers consider this kind of recommendation twice as important as the generalized ones.
Additionally, did you know that this marketing strategy is believed to be a great step towards improving customer relationships by 98% of marketers?
Conclusion
While product recommendations may seem like a rather simple task at first glance. It’s much more complex than one realizes. And personalizing these recommendations to definitely improve your conversions at scale is tough.
With Wiser, you can do it! We provide you with the intelligence you need to understand how shoppers interact with your brand. Wiser is your tool for improved visibility into eCommerce retailers—covering pricing, availability, ratings, reviews, and promotions.
Book a free consultation today to discuss your business needs and how we can help you deliver the results you want!
