After exploring in our previous episodes how hyper-personalization streamlines recurring grocery shopping, transforming the “chore of grocery shopping” into an efficient, error-free experience, we’re now shifting gears completely.
In this third episode, we dive into the world of impulse buying, using personal care products as an example. Here, the customer isn’t looking for a specific product, but for inspiration: “I want to buy something, but I don’t know what.” Discover how Artificial Intelligence can replicate the attentive ear of an in-store salesperson to interpret these desires in real time and transform a simple digital window-shopping session into a unique experience.
Impulse purchase: the example of personal accessories
An impulse purchase can be described as follows: “I want to buy something, but I don’t know what.” This type of purchase occurs, on average, once a month or every two months. In everyday language, it translates to “I’m going shopping.” Let’s take the example of the personal goods, fashion, and beauty sector.
After experiencing sustained growth driven by the COVID-19 pandemic, fashion e-commerce is now facing a slowdown due to the macroeconomic environment. Profitability now depends on building brand loyalty with each customer. A seamless online shopping experience tailored to the customer’s purchasing needs is therefore essential.
Hyper-personalization is one of the main drivers of customer loyalty: customers are 10 times more likely to become a “Top Customer” (a customer who makes more than 15 purchases in a year)* (Epsilon study).
The success of a hyper-personalized shopping experience in the apparel and accessories sector depends on the ability to ensure that products are easily discoverable. Hyper-personalization of the shopping journey must quickly display products that match each customer’s tastes in order to drive purchases. Achieving this result presents numerous challenges: the customer doesn’t necessarily know what they want or doesn’t express it in the same way. Shorts are Bermuda shorts to some, while a jacket is a coat or overcoat to others… It is therefore important to observe the customer’s behavior in real time, but also to listen to them and respond in order to identify their purchase intent.
It is necessary—always in real time—to present the customer with products that match their purchasing intent, which is itself inferred from their behavior. In fashion, the customer needs to see products to feel the urge to buy. Finally, the customer cannot see, touch, or try on the garment they are purchasing… How can hyper-personalization reassure each customer about how the product will look on them?
Real time interpretation of what each person wants
The key for every retailer lies here: understanding the desires and needs of each and every customer. This is an almost indispensable step in brick-and-mortar retail. The salesperson takes the time to listen to the customer and respond to them in order to provide better advice.
The sheer volume of traffic on e-commerce sites and technological limitations have, until now, hindered this approach. It seemed impossible to listen to every visitor to a website in order to suggest the products that best suit them.
To achieve hyper-personalization, it is important to listen to, respond to, observe, and understand each customer—starting right from the beginning of the shopping journey. To do this, it is important to suggest relevant themes, categories, or products to each customer.
These suggestions will allow the visitor to refine their search as they go. With the help of Artificial Intelligence technologies, it becomes possible to observe and analyze each customer’s behavior in real time. Every visit to your pages and every click provides information that helps you interpret their purchasing intent.
Understanding the intent behind every click is the first step toward sparking desire. But in the fashion industry, a major challenge remains: the inability to touch or try on a garment before purchasing it.
That’s what we’ll explore in our next episode: we’ll explain how tools like the Fit Assistant help reassure customers about how the product will look and feel, thereby drastically reducing returns. Then, we’ll continue our journey toward the thoughtful purchase, exploring how to support larger-scale projects in home furnishings and DIY. Stay tuned for the next installment of this series
[1] Source : The Business Research Company
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