Product recommendations are the new standard in ecommerce with the market size projected to reach $12 billion by 2025. Consumers expect recommendations, and their ability to boost KPIs plays a huge factor in their growing popularity.
However, poorly executed recommendations can cause friction and worsen the customer experience, making it extremely important to get it right. Luckily, we’ve got the breakdown to solidify your recommendation strategies and set your brand up for success.
Benefits of Product Recommendations
Product recommendations provide a better overall experience for your customers. Suggesting relevant items not only increases conversions and average order value, but you’ll gain loyal customers because you’re going above and beyond to provide help and personalize the user experience.
Before we go further into the benefits, let’s break down the types of recommendations so your brand can align your efforts with the best strategy possible.
Bonus Material: Product Recommendation Case Study
Types of Product Recommendations
It’s important to learn the different types of recommendations to ensure you’re using them correctly. Take a look at theses six variations so your brand can strategize with confidence.
Static Recommendations
Static recommendations are generic and shown to every shopper no matter who is on your website. Although there isn’t an algorithm in play, they can be great for best sellers or new arrivals that your brand wants to spotlight to everyone.
With that in mind, static recommendations can still impact your website negatively because of their lack of personalization. Consumers are accustomed to tailored recommendations, so if you’re suggesting irrelevant items shoppers will likely get frustrated and potentially abandon your website.
Dynamic Recommendations
70% of shoppers who encounter high quality product recommendations are more likely to convert than those who don’t. Furthermore, 59% of customers believe that personalization based on previous interactions is critical to retaining their business.
Dynamic recommendations analyze visitor history and user behavior to display products unique to each journey. These AI-driven recommendations streamline the experience so you can feel confident you’re promoting the right products to the right customers.
In-Page Recommendations
When considering placement, in-page recommendations seamlessly blend with your website design to show relevant products without disrupting the shopping experience. This placement is best for items with higher price points or more complex upsells that aren’t a simple add on.
Mini Cart Recommendations
Mini cart recommendations are excellent for lower cost items that shoppers can easily add to their cart. This is a great opportunity to promote bundles, easy add ons, or sales that could incentivize additional purchases.
Recommendations On Abandonment
Product recommendations work as excellent abandonment strategies to show shoppers items they would have otherwise missed. Products relevant to a user’s journey can be displayed at the perfect moment to motivate shoppers to stay on site.
Pairing product recommendations with a new or existing discount is also a powerful strategy. For example, if shoppers are close to qualifying for free shipping, you can let them know by recommending additional relevant items to help them reach that threshold.
Out of Stock Alternatives
Stockouts don’t have to mean a loss in sales. Out of stock recommendations provide convenience and keep shoppers from going to your competitors. Instead of losing the sale all together, offer comparable products that can supplement the desired product. This strategy can be used in-page or on abandonment to recover otherwise lost revenue.
4 Reasons to Use Advanced Product Recommendations
Now that we’ve explored the types of recommendations, let’s take a look at the four main benefits of adding product recommendations into your marketing strategy.
1. Personalize the Buyer’s Journey
89% of marketers see a positive ROI when they use personalization in their campaigns, and consumers now expect personalization due to the recent changes in ecommerce.
Having a variety of recommendation types strategically placed across your buyer’s journey will enhance the funnel for a hyper-personalized experience. Recommendations fill the gaps and create a flow to connect each step in the funnel in a unique and seamless way.
2. Improve User Experience
Creating a personalized experience for your customers has a direct correlation to customer satisfaction. 74% of customers feel frustrated when website content is not personalized, so adding in one-to-one engagements allows for a heightened user experience and happier customers.
Dynamic, strategically placed recommendations act as a personal shopper to add value when users don’t have access to in-person advice. In your copy, speak to the consumer directly to create a personal connection. Here are a few examples:
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3. Boost Average Order Value
80% of customers are more likely to buy when businesses offer a personalized experience. By displaying products that shoppers would have otherwise missed, product recommendations boost average order value by presenting users with products relevant to their interests.
To further back up your recommendations, provide social proof with recent views and recent purchases to validate your suggestions. You can also use frequently bought together messaging to help consumers complete their look and bundle all the products they need.
4. Increase Customer Lifetime Value
56% of online shoppers are more likely to return to a website that recommends relevant products. Furthermore, 60% of consumers say they’ll become repeat customers after a personalized shopping experience. This solidifies the idea that personalized, dynamic recommendations increase customer loyalty and repeat purchases instead of scaring shoppers away with bad suggestions.
UpSellit’s Product Recommendation Engine
UpSellit’s AI-driven Product Recommendation Engine looks at visitor details to provide the best product suggestions possible at the perfect time. 63% of consumers will stop buying from brands that use poor personalization tactics, so there isn’t room for error in recommendation strategies.
Let UpSellit do the heavy lifting so you can feel confident you’re getting it right. Our algorithm looks at pages viewed, time on site, wish lists, and other user behavior to fine tune the best product selections possible.
Maximize Purchase Potential with UpSellit
Ready to turn personalization into profit? Download UpSellit’s Product Recommendation Case Study or email hello@upsellit.com to see how brands are using UpSellit’s real-time recommendations to increase conversions and customer lifetime value.
