Winning Ecommerce Personalization Examples From Global Brands

If you’re an ecommerce professional, you likely know the importance of personalization. Basic elements of personalization, like related product suggestions or recommendations based on past purchases, are already common across online retailers. 

And there's a good reason for this trend. Epsilon notes that 80% of customers are more likely to make a purchase when offered personalized experiences, while Econsultancy says 80% of companies report seeing an uplift since implementing personalization strategies. 

As the ecommerce landscape matures, though, it’s becoming more difficult to make personalized product pages that stand out.

According to Forrester, 89% of digital businesses invested in some form of marketing personalization as of 2018, and it’s likely that that number has only grown. In this environment, organizations need to do more to create memorable shopping experiences. 

We’ve examined six organizations that bring innovative thinking to their personalization strategies, empowering them to stand out in today’s crowded ecommerce landscape.

Here’s a look at their ecommerce personalization examples — highlighting why they’re effective and how you can draw inspiration from them. 

Let the Consumer Be the Product Designer

There’s little that’s more satisfying to a customer than getting a one-of-a-kind product made especially for them. Several brands have harnessed this satisfaction by letting customers design their ideal products online. 

Franklin Sports

Franklin Sports, for example, encourages customers to design their own batting gloves. Starting with a blank white glove as a canvas, customers can mix and match colors, add a custom monogram, and more. 

Levi's 

Meanwhile, Levi’s has a page for its “Tailor Shop,” where users can essentially create their own clothing. Shoppers can, for example, order custom embroidery for a jean jacket, design a tote bag or t-shirt, or add their own finish to a pair of jeans. 

The webpage also advertises tailoring services, the opportunity to have old clothing repaired or upcycled into something new, and the option to get decorations added to existing clothing. And if that isn’t enough, users can go as far as designing their own made-to-order pair of jeans. 

Increase Customer Satisfaction

These ecommerce personalization examples take the concept of personalization as far as it can go by offering individually customized products. 

By introducing these options, brands help guarantee that the customer will receive exactly what they want — further increasing satisfaction by letting shoppers have a hand in creating the finished product. 

Many types of products have elements that can be customized, so consider what aspects of your products would be most satisfying for a customer to design themselves. 

You can start with some basic customization options, measure engagement, and grow from there. There are some technical considerations necessary for selling individualized products.

For instance, you’ll need to make sure your supply chain can support it. And, to streamline the process, you should consider consolidating your product data into a single source of truth. 

Having a more efficient approach to product data and production is a win unto itself, and addressing these considerations can pay off significantly in customer satisfaction. 

Become a Part of the Consumer’s Life

All brands want to create products that become a special part of the consumer’s life. Sometimes, personalization can help you do that. 

Coca-Cola

A simple but effective example is Coca-Cola's personalized bottles. Everyone is aware of Coke bottles with names on them, but the company takes that concept a step further by letting consumers choose what the label says and how it will be decorated. 

This is very similar to the personalization examples described above, with the added benefit that consumers can now use these bottles to commemorate special occasions or give unique gifts. 

This type of personalization doesn’t have to be just for special occasions, though. It can also be used to add a touch of flair to an everyday occurrence, such as a family dinner. 

McCormick

McCormick offers a personalized meal planner that customers can use to find recipes they’re excited about, plan when to make them, and receive tailored grocery lists. 

This clever form of personalization is equally as useful as it is enjoyable. Consumers can get excited about new recipes while also taking care of an essential household task. 

As an added bonus, the meal planner lets users choose whether they’re purchasing their groceries online or in a store, creating an omnichannel experience. 

Consider How Your Product Will Be Used

These ecommerce personalization examples operate on similar principles to those above, but don’t stop at providing a custom product.

The associated brands also envision how their products could most meaningfully be used by the consumer, whether that be commemorating a special occasion or keeping their family fed. 

These strategies help to personalize not only the product but also the experience of using the product. 

If you’re interested in testing this approach yourself, consider some of the more sentimental ways consumers may use your offerings — and how you can enable them to create this type of product experience. 

Sometimes, as is the case in the McCormick example, you don’t necessarily need to change what you make and where it’s sold.

You can simply help consumers see how those products can best be put to use, and then direct them to where they can find these items. 

Be a Product Concierge

For the most part, online shopping on a well-designed product page is a fun, consumer-friendly experience. But there is one key downside: consumers can’t get recommendations from knowledgeable sales associates. 

Peet’s Coffee

Some brands have eradicated that downside by creating recommendation services for their online product pages. Take, for example, Peet’s Coffee.

With its personalized coffee finder, Peet’s Coffee helps consumers find the brew that’s perfect for them, perhaps even introducing them to exciting new blends that they weren’t aware of.

In addition to helping customers find the perfect product, this coffee finder mimics the intimate experience of getting recommendations from a friendly barista.

While the coffee finder invites consumers to answer questions about their preferences, some personalization engines use artificial intelligence (AI) to make their recommendations. 

L’Oreal 

AI is one of the key trends in omnichannel commerce today and one that can quickly put organizations ahead of their competition. L’Oreal has accomplished just that with its Skin Genius feature. 

Skin Genius enables consumers to upload a picture of their face to receive a personalized skincare routine. The tool uses AI to compare consumers’ images against a database of thousands of others, analyzing factors like evenness of skin tone, wrinkles, and skin firmness. After having done that, the AI recommends the products most likely to improve consumers’ skin health. 

These concierge-like personalization engines are particularly attractive to consumers because they acknowledge each shopper’s uniqueness and promise to cater to that.

For the shopper, they merge the benefits of being pleasantly surprised by a product and of knowing they’ll get something they love. On top of that, these offerings recreate the satisfaction of receiving thoughtful recommendations from an in-store salesperson. 

Keep Shoppers Coming Back

Implementing similar programs in your organization will likely take care and creativity, but they can pay dividends. Consider how a sales associate would point a shopper toward your product. What questions would they ask, and what factors would they need to know about the shopper? 

You can use the answers to these questions to start testing questionnaires — or even AI engines — designed to direct consumers toward the products they’ll love. 

Advanced, effective personalization can require creativity, a deep understanding of your audience, and a robust suite of technologies. 

Investing in these resources, however, is worth it for creating unique customer experiences that will excite shoppers and keep them coming back.

To get started creating your innovatively personalized product page, download the insights and templates available in our Product Page Toolkit.