How to Pick Online Personalization Tools For Ecommerce Sites

[Kristijntje]

A recent study by Forrester Research analyst Sucharita Mulpuru explores the concept of e-tail "personalization," or the capability to provide customers with customized products and offers. The report, "Which Personalization Tools work for E-Commerce and Why," outlines this growing trend, citing relative newcomers in the field who now offer such services at more affordable prices, even for small businesses. (Some of these players, such as Aggregate Knowledge, CleverSet, Baynote and Mercado, have been covered here at ECommerce-Guide. See our "Related Stories.")

Since shoppers generally embrace personalized buying experiences, Mulpuru explains how Web shop owners can decide which tools will help them customize their transaction process. First, however, she provides a comprehensive overview of the trend, outlining exactly what personalization encompasses, why e-tailers should be aware of it, the factors boosting its popularity and what types of goals it accomplishes.

To start, she defines the term personalization. This can mean one-on-one interactions, such as greeting return customers by name or letting them save a shopping cart, or accomplished on a "one-to-many" basis, for instance, by creating different versions of your site for different demographics. For the purpose of the study, she says personalization is "creating experiences on Web sites or through interactive media that are unique to individuals or segments of customers."...

full article: http://www.ecommerce-guide.com/resources...hp/3721731