In 2022, 13% of retail sales came from ecommerce. While that number may seem relatively modest, when 13% translates to billions of dollars, online sales can make or break a retail business’ bottom line. Unlike direct-to-consumer (DTC) or entirely ecommerce-focused brands, retail companies have a unique challenge when it comes to creating high-converting websites. Why? Because retail companies need to build sites that create a cohesive experience with their brick-and-mortar stores.
That’s where retail website personalization comes in. Below we’ve compiled three website personalization tips that can enable retail brands to create seamless experiences between their physical and digital storefronts.
Personalize Based on Location
One of the more obvious ways to personalize a retail website is by using visitors’ location data to create unique experiences. If your company has a physical location located nearby a visitor, be sure to make that abundantly clear to the prospective buyer. In the example below bicycle retailer, Trek does just that directly on its homepage with a personalized headline. The idea of buying a big-ticket item like a bike online may be overwhelming to some site visitors. By using a personalized headline, Trek lets buyers know that they can check out the brand’s two-wheelers in person, a differentiator against bikes from DTC brands of similar quality.
On the other hand, if a visitor comes to your site and contextual data indicates that you do not have a brick-and-mortar location near them…don’t bring it up! Instead, create a website experience that ascribes less importance to your physical locations so visitors don’t have FOMO about visiting your stores.
Prominently Feature In-store Pick-up
Retailers have a leg-up on ecommerce-exclusive and DTC brands in that consumers can pick up items directly from a brick-and-mortar location. As in the previous section, if location data indicates that a site visitor is near your physical store, give them the option to pick up the item they’re interested in in-store. If the buyer is in a time crunch to get a particular item before a certain day and you have it in stock near them, let them know! Not only will this give them a great customer experience (CX) but will get them in the door of your physical store where they may be compelled to shop even more!
In the event that your company doesn’t have a particular item in stock at a location close to a visitor, let them know how long it will take to ship the item to their nearest location. As seen below, major retailer Nordstrom does a great job of this on its product description pages. With this website element, shoppers can easily see when the item they’re interested in will be available for in-store pick-up.
Help Customers Find the Perfect Fit with Innovative Technology
While there are many reasons a consumer might choose to patronize your brand’s physical stores over buying online, one of them is most definitely to try an item on or see it in person. To cater to this need and create a seamless experience with your physical locations, consider investing in innovative technology that enables customers to find their personalized perfect fit or see an item in their home.
Companies like Truefit and Style.me enable visitors to find the perfect clothing size for them from the comfort of their own couch. In the example below, clothing retailer, Madewell, leverages Truefit to help visitors identify the right size for them based on their height, body type, and other self-reported data points.
If your retail company sells something other than clothes, consider investing in augmented reality (AR) technology like Amazon’s so visitors can see what an item looks like in their home. Investing in these kinds of solutions will enable customers to pick out the right items without visiting your physical stores, which in addition to creating a cohesive shopping experience can also reduce online returns. Win-win!
We hope these three retail website personalization tips give you the inspiration you need to uplevel your digital storefront ASAP!
