Why Personalizing the Ecommerce Experience is More Critical Than Ever

The customer experience continues to be an important factor in garnering repeat business, higher lifetime value, and creating brand loyalty. Online experiences are even more important than ever with 76% of consumers say they view this experience as the true test of how much a company values them (Hubspot).

Here’s a look at some of the key trends and strategies E-commerce brands should be aware of when competing for more customers in a competitive landscape.

Turning New Visitors into Repeat Purchasers is Crucial

This may be stating the obvious, but on average, 23.2% of new visitors will return at some point according to a new study by Monetate. Most will come back within a week of their initial visit meaning of those 23.2% of new visitors who return at some point, approximately 69% (or 16% overall) will return within 7 days.

Online Shoppers

Also not surprising, the most loyal shoppers (those with a history of multiple purchases) are not only the most likely to return (95% will) but also the most likely to do so quickly. In fact, it only takes 1 day until 50% of this segment returns at least once.

This spells an opportunity to re-engage about 30% of returning shoppers through direct outreach campaigns.

Most Loyal Shoppers Are Worth 5X More Than First-Time Purchasers

On a revenue-per-session basis, customers with a history of multiple purchases spend more than 5 times as much as new shoppers ($10.67 vs. $1.73). Loyal customers also convert at rates more than 5 times higher than new shoppers (8.55% vs. 1.6%) and their add-to-cart rates are more than 4 times higher (23.15% vs. 5.29%).

Monetate’s analysis shows that add-to-cart rates, conversion rates, and revenue-per-session are all much higher when going from a new shopper’s initial to a return visit. Revenue per session increases from about $1.75 to more than $3. In large part, Monetate’s research that this is due to the behavioral data e-commerce brands gather from the initial visit and then use to personalize return visits.

eCommerce Shopper Loyalty

Personalized Emails Drive Repeat Visitors

Email drives the highest percentage of repeat visitors to a site. Almost 70% of shoppers who initially visit a site from an email return within a 60-day window, compared to 48% who initially visit from social media and 39% who initially visit from a search.

Almost half (48%) of shoppers who initially visit a site from an email return within 7 days, compared to 33% who are initially referred from social media and 27% from search.

Approximately 27% of consumers stated that it is “critical” that brands make their shopping experiences individualized, and 55% said that it is “important.” This means that for 8 in 10 shoppers, personalization is important.

eCommerce 2018

As far as the types of personalization eCommerce brands should implement include customized offers – the majority of consumers want to be rewarded with highly relevant offers (77%). Also important are being remembered (60%), feeling listened to / understood (59%), and feeling in control / opting in (57%).

eCommerce Customer Loyalty

Additional ways businesses are using data to create personalized experiences include incorporating lookalike advertising engines (87%), in-store or customer service clienteling tied to digital channel behavior (83%), and dynamic content creation/promotion generator (75%).


Learn how Porch Group Media can help you get to know your customers better and reach them across channels to boost your marketing success. Contact us to get started!

Get on the list!

Be the first to know when we share new content geared to help you attract your ideal customers!