Three Mobile App Personalisation Strategies Your Ecommerce Store Should Implement Pronto

It’s no secret mobile apps are the best performing platform in the eCommerce landscape. A 2016 report by Criteo stated apps convert 120% better than the mobile web. The statistic stands out, but it isn’t surprising given that consumers of today spent 90% of their time on apps.

Newsflash! Mobile has indeed become an integral part of our lives. However, the app landscape is not all hunky-dory for eCommerce businesses. The competition is fierce. Consumers are more finicky than usual, which means your mobile app is one of many apps swimming in the internet waters.

Surprisingly enough, 84% of consumers have experienced difficulty in making a transaction on mobile at some point. The number is alarmingly high, and it just highlights the fact that eCommerce stores have an excellent opportunity to create a user-friendly mobile experience, but they’re not doing enough.

Capitalise on consumer conversion through personalisation

Absolutely!

Personalisation has been making the rounds in the digital spectrum since 2015, and the majority of businesses and marketers have taken note of it. As of 2019, content is king yet personalisation rules the house.

• An Accenture study states 75% of consumers are more likely to buy from a retailer that recognizes them by name.

• 65% of eCommerce stores report an increase in the conversion rates when a sophisticated personalized strategy gets implemented.

• A Monetate infographic shows 94% of marketers believe online personalisation is critical to their business success.

Consumers love it when their shopping experience is personalised. Now with half of all internet traffic coming from a mobile device, it is essential for eCommerce stores to shift their complete focus on the mobile platform.

Have you ever heard of Google’s Micro-Moments project?

Or Think With Google? I am sure you have.

Micro-moments is when a user turns to a device reflexively to learn something, discover something, do something or buy something. In 2011, the tech giant decided to create a digital library of up and coming trends, statistics, infographics, market research reports, and more for businesses and marketers to use.

Google states 91% of smartphone users turn to their device to complete a task. That is why delivering more accurate, relevant, and personalized content on mobile has become the need of the hour for eCommerce stores. The fact that the majority of consumers are glued to the little screen has helped their case.

Personalisation is no longer a luxury for a consumer; it is an expectation. Adding to this thought, here are three app personalisation strategies that should be implemented by your eCommerce store pronto:

1) Mobile deep-linking

The methodology followed by deep links is similar to that of hyperlinks. A hyperlink takes the user to a specific page on the web page. Mobile deep-linking, on the other hand, directs the consumer to a specified location on the app instead of taking them to the app’s homepage, when clicked.

Deep links offer an incredible user experience as the consumer can access the product on their phone right away. There is a little possibility of getting distracted midway and hence, deep links boost the chances of consumers completing the purchase cycle.

Mallzee, the Tinder-style discovery app, does a fantastic job by using deep links. If a user gets a retargeted ad of Mallzee on their smartphone, they are taken straight to the product page within the app initially displayed in the ad.

The bounce rates are lesser, the navigation much smoother. The consumer can continue browsing in detail hassle-free. The arrangement boosts the app retention rate and revenue of the Edinburgh-based eCommerce brand as more and more customers want to keep buying from it owing to its smooth navigation process.

2) Geo-targeted ads

If a customer has booked a room in Paris via Airbnb, they are likely to get city-specific recommendations such as top city tourist guides, history of the Eiffel Tower, boutiques to purchase souvenirs from, cafes to dine at, and more. That’s geography-based targeting for you.

Geo-targeting is the process of determining the location of the website or mobile visitor and delivering the content to them based on their location. The eCommerce stores should follow and segment the users as per location, age, gender, interest, and intent.

Since smartphones, today, have an advanced geo-tracking system built-in, connecting with consumers based on their location has become a compelling mobile marketing tactic.

An eCommerce store can tailor its messaging according to advanced segments such as product affinities, geolocation, age, demographics, and the date of the first visit on the site. If a given user is an 18-year-old shopaholic who is looking to purchase a sweater from an iPhone in New York - you can make all the difference by making a compelling offer to them promptly.

If an eCommerce brand happens to have both - a brick-and-mortar store and an online shop - it can also personalize experiences for those using smartphones or physically hitting the store to look up products by merging the consumer data to determine what they like.

The brand can then broadcast special incentives to purchase items in-store. Either way, it is a win-win for both the eCommerce store and its customers.

3) Product recommendations

You can’t convert a customer who isn’t ready to buy from you. But what if you create a desire for a specific product by recommending it? Product recommendations are a proven method of increasing business monetisation, reducing app exit rates and boosting app retention rates. 

Ecommerce giant Amazon pioneered it by first introducing it in 2006 under the phrase “customers who bought this item also bought.” Pretty smart, right?

Personalised push notifications, deep-linked to the mobile app, are also equally helpful in increasing revenue per session (RPS) and average order value (AOV).

The push feature is quite a common element in the marketing strategy. It is a bit intrusive on both mobile and web, but it brings results. In eCommerce, it is being used by several domains such as travel, apparel, food, home decor, and more.

Conclusion

Now is an exciting time for eCommerce stores as we move to try different marketing techniques to boost customer retention rates, make more sales, and drive stronger revenues. So, which personalisation tactic has worked for your eCommerce store? Is there something you would like to recommend?