Personalisation to drive e-commerce innovation

Monday, January 28, 2013 - 12:24 by Simon Crisp

At the moment, most people who visit an online shopping site will find that their user experience is pretty similar to that had by any other customer.

Writing for eConsultancy, Heather Taylor argues that 2013 will be a year in which personalisation and customisation finally matures in the e-commerce market, which means that consumers will be able to enjoy retail experiences that are individually tailored to their tastes and preferences.

Of course, this is already available to some degree and has been for a decent amount of time, with Amazon recommending similar products when you search for an item you desire and many retailers crafting targeted emails filled with offers, based on your past purchasing history.

However, Taylor believes that the emergence of tablet devices as a popular means of carrying out safe shopping online, will encourage retailers to take this to the next step.

She quotes various industry experts in order to support her position, identifying that those at the top of the e-commerce ladder are sensitive to the changing habits of consumers.

Rakuten's Mark Kirschner spoke last year about the fact that consumers should not be seen as shopping for singular items, but are, instead, looking to buy into a whole lifestyle. This means that online outlets need to allow them to achieve this with greater ease.

He points to the growth of social media sites and sharing networks as helping to indicate what shopping trends are emerging and how lifestyles forge buying patterns, paying particular attention to Pinterest.

Tablet devices certainly help to make for a more intuitive online shopping experience, with dedicated apps and optimised sites allowing customers to engage with multimedia content across a range of platforms. It is safe to assume that 2013 will be the year in which retailers take the tablet revolution to heart.