Take Advantage of the Dark, Cold Days with Ecommerce Personalization
Use the dark days to your advantage this winter.
Last weekend I had plans to go into town and do some shopping. I took one look outside the window and changed my plans. Instead of heading out into the dreary, miserable day, I got back into my pyjamas, made myself a hot cocoa, and snuggled up with a blanket and my laptop.
In this digital age, bad weather does not stop shopping. Instead, it just redirects it to the online world. Dark, gray, cold days mean shoppers turn to their laptops and, increasingly, their phones, to purchase those holiday gifts instead of venturing out into the bad weather.
Up to 63% of shoppers prefer online shopping to high street shopping, and when the days turn long and dark, that number only increases. How can you make the most of the darkest season?
1. Deliver a high street experience
Although your shoppers may have turned to online retail to avoid getting soggy feet, that doesn’t mean they lower their standards for quality service. Visitors to your online shop still want that personal touch. They still want to feel looked after.
Use AI to act as a digital assistant. For example, in a high street shop, a floor assistant will often greet visitors as they come in, asking about their needs and making personalized suggestions and recommendations. AI today is smart enough and powerful enough to mine through visitor behaviour to do the same thing, ensuring your visitors are being provided with recommended products that fit their immediate needs, which is demonstrated to increase conversion and average order value.
2. Use localized weather to segment your visitors
Weather has a profound effect on people’s moods, even when it comes to online shopping. Depending on the weather in your visitor’s precise location, they might respond differently to offers, tone of voice, and products.
What you can do to maximize on this is segment your customers by real-time weather. If your visitors are experiencing rain, snow, or sun, you can show them specific banners tailored to meet their needs and match their mood.
Promotional material that matches the outside weather is far more effective than when it doesn’t match up. But you can go beyond that. For example, ads which incentivize viewers by telling them not to miss out on special offers are more effective when it’s rainy, whereas more neutrally-toned ads do better when it’s sunny.
3. Use personalization to anticipate shoppers’ needs
When I turned to my laptop to do my online shopping, I wanted to be delighted, amazed and inspired. Online shoppers tend to have a much more browsing-oriented mindset compared to in-store shoppers as we’re comfortable and can shop at our leisure.
Capitalize on that by using it as an opportunity to inspire and raise awareness of brands, product lines, and categories. This is the perfect chance to bring some sunshine to your visitors’ days by surprising them with the perfect offer, tailored to their needs.
How can you do this? Create a campaign triggered by behaviour and real-time location data. For example, if your shoppers are experiencing rain and have just searched ‘umbrellas,’ now is the perfect time to show them your range of stylish and functional rainboots.
Have they just browsed your snow shovel products? You can show them your mittens, hats, gloves, or other snow-related products. They may come onto your site looking for one thing, but online shopping means they have the freedom to browse additional products as they choose — and personalized, tailored offers are most likely to convince them to click and buy.
Does all this sound amazing? Why not come on over to PureClarity to hear how we can make your site a delight for your visitors to shop in. Our advanced AI recommendations will anticipate your customer needs, and our real-time segmenting means you can target on a more granular level than ever before.
Make the most of the winter months this year with personalization. Schedule a demo to see the magic in person, or get started right away with a 14-day free trial.
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