Algorithms understand better and better the shopping habits of Internet users. Use it! Recommendation systems based on what your users buy, they will be a great support.
We have already written on the blog about how a complementary product increases the value of a shopping cart. We focused there on introducing the store to the offer sets, cross-selling and bestsellers. Reference systems are a tool in the same category, helpful in increasing the time spent on the site and the value of the basket.
What are recommendation systems?
Customers have less and less time, and at the same time value convenience and are willing to make larger purchases in one place. Social media revealed the truth that has been known for centuries - it is easier to make a decision to buy something that has already been chosen and positively assessed by others. Recommendation systems, thanks to modern type technologies mashine learningcan help by recommending things that the person will like based on:
- what people with similar preferences chose previously,
- the user's previous purchases,
- preferences regarding test products (e.g. Spotify recommends subsequent songs based on what the user thinks about those recommended at the beginning).
Recommendation systems did not have the best fame initially, but that is changing with the increasing advancement of the artificial intelligence behind the recommendation. The story of a customer of an American store who received offers for children's products before she even realized she was pregnant has already become legendary. And this is a history from a few years ago - recommendation systems become even more dry over time.
On- and off-line recommendation systems
Recommendation systems can even be used in the real world. It's more or less based on that creating ready-made sets of clothes on a shop dummy. The client learns how a given thing has been arranged by the stylist and what others are wearing. In the case of specialized or advanced products, such as cosmetics or electronics, on-site recommendations in the store can help the unaware customer save time and nerves. It can be both a seller's recommendation and a set proposal in the form of a display.
The popularity of e-consultations and even chatbots is growing on the web, which can suggest what will be useful along with a given thing. However, these are mainly recommendation systems in the form of tiles displayed under or next to the product.
Time to introduce a recommendation system in your business?
You can count on our support!
How to implement recommendation systems in your store in practice?
Mechanisms select products based on:
- choices of similar customers - e.g. other moms of 3-year-olds also bought ...
- basket content analysis - a person who buys vegan cosmetics for curly hair may also need a vegan brush and balm.
- analyzing the probability of purchasing additional products - e.g. other customers bought a sofa and immediately a footrest, table and laptop stand, and then it can be assumed that it will also be useful to the next user.
- on-the-fly analysis of client's choices - some recommendation systems display a few things to the user to choose from. When he chooses one of them, other, better-matched recommendations appear, until they are really accurate suggestions.
The easiest way to enter recommendations is to install a ready-made plugin. It analyzes the data collected using cookies, hence the consent to the collection is necessary cookies visible on the main shop screen. Even the simplest store engine offers the option to set a few basic recommendations. Additionally, you can also choose to Google Ads and other ads that will be shown to users based on them searches. Recommendation systems can also be used in social media.
Shopping options and promoting on Instagram are more and more advanced. You can now offer ads for your products to people who follow specific brands and use selected hashtags. In addition, recommendations are great for newsletters. Based on previous purchases, offer your customers a set with a discount or free shipping. Many will appreciate that they do not have to make purchases and select products from the very beginning. This is especially valuable in the case of cyclical purchases (e.g. the cat owner buys food and litter every month).
External recommendation systems - a threat or an opportunity?
Recommendation systems are one thing. You also need to look at those that exist on external portals. They include, among others:
- proposed products in Google Shopping and advertisements,
- products in comparison websites - Ceneo.pl, Skąpiec.pl,
- sets proposed by bloggers, portals and magazines.
Perhaps your products are not available in these places yet. You don't feel it positively or negatively. Although it can be painful, check if your competitors do not use recommendation systems in Google Shopping or Ceneo.pl. It may turn out that when a customer is looking for what is the cheapest or the best for you, his attention is redirected to the competition's offers, which are displayed as advertisements for such query results. You don't know how much sales you are losing because of this. It is known for sure that you could only benefit from such a campaign. Pay attention not only to your direct competition. Today, Chinese wholesalers, cheap stores and supermarkets are the leaders in this type of advertising, trading thousands of types of products and can also offer what you have on offer. Even if their offer is much worse, many customers will be convinced by convenience. The constant traffic from such ads also keeps them getting better positioning of pages.
This is relatively rare, but you may even find that other stores are following deposition of competitionby posting negative comments about you and deprecating your products. In this case, your own form of advertising on the web will be all the more useful. Perhaps the most optimistic scenario is that your competitors are not yet using recommendation systems. In this case, however, imagine how your sales will increase when you present your store against this background with the right strategy. Even if today you do not see too much activity of competitors in this field, start building a positive image of the store. Customers are getting used to such systems more and more and less and less often they find stores that do not come out with such offers.