Personalisation on the Digital Shelf: How to Create Tailored E-shopping Experiences
Blog
Share:
When you walk into a traditional supermarket, the layout of the products on the shelves is identical for everyone. It doesn’t matter if you’re looking for vegan snacks or DIY tools, you walk past the same aisles and watch a similar promotion scheme. In e-commerce, this rule has long ceased to apply.
In a brick-and-mortar store, a digital shelf is a physical shelf next to which screens with dynamic branding and electronic labels that respond to the customer’s presence are installed, or it is equipped with special sensors that allow you to monitor ongoing assortment shortages.
In e-commerce, the term “digital shelf” refers to the virtual space of your store. While we can’t change the physical shelf in the blink of an eye, these limitations disappear on the Internet. The digital shelf, therefore, gives the opportunity to completely rebuild the displayed assortment in a fraction of a second for a specific buyer.
How to make virtual shelves in your store intuitively adapt to individual needs, and make shopping not only faster, but also much more enjoyable? See what you should know about it.
Personalisation in the digital shelf – the most important information
- Digital shelf personalisation is a dynamic change in page layout, search results, and recommendations in real time, designed to respond to a user’s unique purchase intent.
- The basis of individual experiences is first-hand information (purchase history, behaviour on the website, data from loyalty programs).
- Personalisation works best when it combines the online and offline worlds. A mobile application used in a brick-and-mortar store should “remember” what the customer viewed on the computer yesterday.
- Effective implementation of such mechanisms requires flawless integration of the sales platform, warehouse systems and analytical tools.
A digital shelf in e-commerce that is ahead of the customer’s needs
The concept of digital shelf encompasses everything that a customer sees on the screen of their smartphone or computer when looking for a product. These are the homepage, category cards, search results, and product descriptions themselves. In the standard model, this view is static. In the personalised model, it reacts to the user’s behaviour.
What does it look like in practice? For example, you have a customer who has been regularly buying dog food and pet accessories from your online store for several months. When they go to the homepage, they shouldn’t see a large banner promoting the latest baby clothing collection. Its digital shelf should immediately display your favourite brand of food, remind you of running out of stock and suggest novelties from the zoological category. Such a procedure shortens the purchase path and instils in the customer a sense that the store perfectly understands their needs.
How to build individual experiences step by step?
For a digital shelf to actually drive sales, you need to trust proven mechanisms. What should retail chains pay the most attention to?
- Smart search results
An in-store search engine is the most commonly used tool by determined customers. Personalisation in this area means that after typing “coffee”, an espresso lover will see beans from local roasters first, and a fan of quick solutions, capsule machines, and soluble classics. The algorithms learn from previous clicks and carts, arranging the results (sorting) in the most promising way for the person.
- Dynamic product recommendations
This is a mechanism known from streaming platforms, transferred to e-commerce. If a customer adds an expensive smartphone to their cart, the digital shelf should immediately offer dedicated accessories: a matching case or protective glass from a higher price range. Today, recommendation engines can select products not only based on what other users have bought but also on the unique profile of a particular user.
- Tailor-made promotions and price lists
Instead of sending the same discount to a million people, it is much better to offer a discount on a product that a given customer has been keeping on their virtual wish list for a long time. Individual discount codes or loyalty packages are solutions that can save a cart abandoned by the customer.
Omnichannel, or how not to lose sight of the customer
The biggest challenge for modern brands is no longer the launch of an e-shop itself, but effective integration with physical outlets. The customer does not divide your company into an online store and a store in a shopping mall, because for him it is still one and the same brand. Therefore, personalisation must permeate all channels seamlessly.
When a user enters a physical store and launches your app, they should get a notification that the product they viewed on the couch last night is right on the shelf in the aisle next to it. However, such an approach requires implementing an adequate system architecture and enabling rapid data exchange.
At Exorigo-Upos, we understand these challenges and help retail chains design omnichannel solutions that integrate multiple touchpoints. We implement and scale modern e-commerce platforms, while making sure to efficiently integrate key systems:
- loyalty;
- analytical engines;
- smart cash registers;
- mobile applications.
PIMBox is also irreplaceable – our Product Information Management system. It is a command centre for the digital shelf, allowing you to manage product information in one place and ensure that the data reaching the customer is always error-free, consistent, and ready for personalisation across any sales channel.
A well-thought-out system architecture translates into customer loyalty and higher shopping cart value. Offer your audience the standard of shopping they expect. Write to us to consult the possibilities of integrating omnichannel systems in your retail network.
