Personalization is no longer just a buzzword in e-commerce. It’s increasingly becoming an expected feature. And no, you can’t just put the customer’s name in the account section and call it a day.

People expect more. They want to be recognized and treated like the VIPs they believe they are. They expect personalization in every step of the shopping process. 80% of customers are more likely to make a purchase if you recognize them. 66% say a lack of personalization might discourage them from making a purchase. Reduce the friction and tailor all your pages, PDP included, to each specific customer.

Personalize size, color, and mix selections

A simple way to personalize your shopping process is with stuff like size and color selections. If Mark buys tight black tees, why not make that easy for him and just preselect them instead of taking him through the hassle of picking size and color every time? You can do the same cosmetics or specialty food items like dry-aged steak. Anything that requires a little bit of selection is something you can personalize.

It’s those little things that count. A no-frills shopping experience is a happy experience. And happy customers are returning customers. Your personalization should also be synced across multiple devices.

Personalization triggers

With returning customers who have user accounts, it shouldn’t be too hard to personalize the pages for them. For new visitors, you are limited to personalizing things like language based on the IP address. You don’t want to show the English version of your site to a Frenchman, or may God help you, a Quebec sovereignist.

You can also use cookies to personalize the experience of returning shoppers who are yet to create user accounts. Only in the Americas, however. The GDPR puts a damper on this in Europe.