Optimizing your entire digital shelf — your virtual store where people find and buy your brand online — is essential for providing customers with a great shopping experience. It’s how your brand shows up online, stands out from competitors, and encourages shoppers to make purchases.

Chapters:

1. What is product page optimization?
2. 5-point product page optimization audit
3. Product page optimization examples
4. Take your product pages to the next level

What is product page optimization?

Product page optimization is the process of improving all aspects of your product pages so potential customers can find exactly what they’re looking for and make informed purchasing decisions. It goes way beyond just inserting keywords and some witty copy, it’s about displaying authentic imagery, writing compelling descriptions, and using the voice of the customer.

In essence, product page optimization is about enhancing the entire user experience to make the buying process as seamless as possible.

An optimized product page is a page that first and foremost meets customer needs and achieves company goals. Traditionally, this refers to a product page designed for higher conversions and/or search engine optimization (SEO).  You also need to factor in the technical side too. Page load speed for example — nearly 70% of consumers admit that page speed impacts their willingness to buy from an online retailer. 

Think about the last time you bought something online. What did you need to know from the product page in order to make it all the way through to check out? Just the specs? No. You probably needed a lot of different information to make a confident purchasing decision. Most customers want to know: 

• Is this product good quality or value?
• How does this product look in real life?
• What do other people think about this product?
• Is there anything else I need to buy to make this product work?
• How are other shoppers using this product?

And with only 2% of e-commerce website visits converting into a purchase, it’s clear that online merchants can do a better job of providing information and experiences that meet shopper needs. 

5-point product page optimization audit

During the recent iteration of the Bazaarvoice Summit, Brandon Klein, Senior Product Manager at Bazaarvoice (and expert on all things product page), outlined a 5-point audit for perfecting your product pages. Here’s what he recommends.

1. Product page SEO optimization

You’ve spent a lot of company time and resources optimizing your product pages for higher conversions. But that’s all for nothing if shoppers can’t actually find your product pages through search — that’s where product page SEO comes in. Brandon highlights this point in this short clip from his Summit presentation below:

Expanding on that, product page SEO is the optimization of your product pages so the content on the page is found by search engines like Google. Search engine algorithms prioritize pages that are most relevant to the search query based on criteria like keyword matches and quality content. 

Here’s some of our favorite ways to use keywords naturally: 

• Include keywords in your page’s title tag and meta description, and make sure the page’s actual copy matches what you promise
• Use headings to break up copy and organize your page. Try to include a keyword in at least one of the headings, but only if it makes sense
• Include keywords throughout the page, like in product names, descriptions, and reviews 
• Incorporate keywords into an image’s alt-text if it naturally flows with the rest of the alt-text copy 
• Add internal links to any other related content on your site

The easiest way to boost your SEO though is by featuring user-generated content (UGC) like customer reviews, which can increase page traffic by nearly a third.

Customers writing reviews typically use long-tail keywords. So when someone else searches for the same terms found in product reviews, product pages linked with them appear in search results. Petco for example utilized UGC to boost their SEO standings and guess what happened? They saw a:

• 67% increase in number of pages ranked organically
• 140% increase in impressions from organic search
• 80% increase in clicks from organic search

In total, this led to a 48% increase in revenue per visit.

Product page SEO optimization isn’t just about ranking higher on Google and getting more site visits. The main goal here is to create a better user experience and give customers the exact information and visuals they need to make a confident purchase.

2. Put UGC front and center 

We know UGC is great for product page SEO. But it’s also what shoppers want to see when they’re browsing your digital (and physical) touchpoints. According to our recent survey, 74% of shoppers say they trust UGC more than branded content on product pages, and 55% are unlikely to buy a product without shopper content to inform their purchasing decisions.

UGC works because it provides the social proof shoppers need to inform decisions. According to Sabine Kaufmann, Head of e-commerce Operations Dining & Lifestyle, Villeroy & Boch, “user-generated content is one of the most trustworthy types of content a brand could show to their customers.”

Best Buy does a great job of displaying star ratings and review counts at the top of its product pages to help customers make confident purchasing decisions. On this listing for an iPad, shoppers will see that more than 3,400 customers have reviewed the product, and it has an average rating of 4.8 stars. 

Seeing an overall positive customer sentiment right away takes some of the risks out of buying an expensive item.

When it comes to collecting this UGC, diversifying your efforts is key because you’ll need a lot. You should consider leveraging review request emails and text messages, social media sweepstakes, and community requests. The most effective method for collecting UGC is product sampling, where you provide product samples in exchange for honest reviews or images. We surveyed 6,000 sampling recipients, and of those:

• 63% purchased the product they sampled
• 97% purchased at least one additional product from the brand

But according to Brandon, your best bet is using a range of solutions. These different strategies can kick-start your collection efforts, ensuring a constant supply of UGC across various methods simultaneously.

3. Respond to negative reviews and proactively address product shortfalls

Customers don’t mind if you have a few negative reviews for a product. They actually prefer it. We’ve seen that products with one or more negative reviews are perceived as more authentic and have higher conversion rates than those with a perfect 5-star rating or zero negative reviews. 

People also like responses to their negative reviews too — 54% of shoppers expect a response from the company if they write a negative review. The most successful e-commerce retailers use negative reviews as an opportunity to engage with customers, and identify potential product page improvements. The latter part is something Brandon called out specially in his presentation.

Negative reviews provide insights for improving products, which you can then update your product pages with. For example, several shoppers may leave a review saying that a pair of pants they ordered in their normal size ended up being too big. This negative feedback would allow your brand to update that product’s description to include helpful language like, “for a perfect fit, many customers prefer to size down.”

Children’s toy manufacturer KidKraft are pros at this. Watch Heather Stables, KidKraft’s Director of Consumer Engagement, explain how they use customer feedback to improve products and market messaging:

After recognising insights, the brand works on product page optimization to ensure copy matches the new product updates. They’ve since seen product improvement leading to an increase in sales.

Not only does utilizing customer feedback help consumers feel empowered to make better purchase decisions, but it can also prevent future negative reviews related to product description accuracy.

4. Distribute your content everywhere

Shoppers want a seamless transition as they engage with your brand through multiple channels, whether online, mobile, or in-store. 75% of shoppers expect a consistent brand experience regardless of channel, according to our Shopper Experience Index. Taking an omnichannel approach integrates your various channels to provide a consistent brand experience, letting you interact in the most convenient way.

Not having a robust omnichannel strategy is now a key barrier to success

Ainslie Fincham, Marketing Director, Urban Barn

An omnichannel strategy allows for quick adaptation to changing consumer preferences. It lets customers switch between channels without friction or loss of service, improving customer satisfaction and fosters loyalty.

Once you have this valuable content, it’s crucial to showcase it in all the right places — on social, in ads, on your product pages, and even in-store. You can do this by working with the right content syndication partner. By syndicating your content across all digital touchpoints, you ensure that customers can see it wherever they shop, maximizing your content ROI.

5. Make social content shoppable

Lastly, but certainly not least. Making your social content shoppable is by far one of the most important ways to increase your product page optimization. Social media is often the first place most shoppers will discover your brand, with 54% of consumers saying they often discover a product or service through social media. (That number rises to 73% for 18-24 year olds!)

They aren’t just scrolling past your products either, they’re making purchases. While the younger generations are leading this charge, even a quarter of shoppers aged 65+ purchased through social last year.

50% of all shoppers have purchased products through social media in the past year. So make sure that you’re turning social content into shoppable experiences that drive sales wherever your shoppers are. 

Shoppable content tools such as Like2buy turn your Instagram and TikTok Feeds into sales channels and Bazaarvoice Galleries brings authentic visual content from social into your website for you. For example Dreams, the UK’s leading bed specialist, uses Bazaarvoice Galleries to bring social UGC into its product pages and beyond, and has since seen a 200% lift in conversion rate.

Social is a great way to curate fresh, original, and authentic content that already exists, and has been created for you. But a recurring point Brandon makes around product page optimization is that channels shouldn’t be siloed. Put your social content across all channels and encourage purchase decisions everywhere your shoppers are.

4 product page optimization examples 

Let’s take a look at some of our favorite examples of product pages that convert. Note: Your product descriptions need to be easy to digest, especially because most customers are shopping from their mobile devices. By 2025, mobile e-commerce sales will account for 44% of retail e-commerce sales in the U.S. 

Iconic London

When it comes to makeup, authenticity reigns supreme. Shoppers want to see how different shades look on people who look like them, not in heavily curated brand imagery. Iconic London knows this and so brings in carousels of visual UGC from their community right onto their product pages.

Why it works: 

• The average star rating and number of reviews at the top of the page provides proof that this is a well-loved product
• Large imagery puts more social proof front and center
• Authentic visual UGC from real customers using the product(s) at home helps shoppers understand what the product is and how it fits into their existing skincare routine

Neutrogena

Cosmetics is a product category that really requires detailed product pages because customers can’t see or swatch the item in person. On this product page for Neutrogena’s MoistureSmooth Color Stick, the company takes a UGC-first, product-second approach.

Why it works: 

• A prominent design element halfway down the page includes a star rating and a quote from a customer about how the product feels in real life and how it works for their skin texture
• The gallery of social media images from real customers provides more information about how the product works in action
• The gallery encourages customers to “Share Your Glow” by tagging Neutrogena on Instagram or Twitter to be featured on the website
• The “Most Helpful Reviews” callout highlights one positive and one negative review that other shoppers have found useful

Nourison

Buying an area rug online can be a challenge because it’s difficult for shoppers to understand how it will look and feel when it arrives. Rug brand Nourison helps ease customers’ minds by incorporating a lot of great UGC on its pages. 

Why it works: 

• A gallery of social photos shows how customers have used this rug in their actual homes 
• The brand encourages future customers to share how they styled their rug at home by posting a picture on social media with the hashtag #Nourison
• The page displays the average rating for the product and number of reviews at the very top to signal that hundreds of others have bought and loved this rug
• The company uses short but detailed product descriptions and includes specs that tell customers where this rug would be best in their homes (a heavy-traffic area vs. a less-trafficked area)

Under Armour 

Our last example is a product page for an Under Amour shoe. The brand uses several tactics to help shoppers choose from the hundreds of shoes on its site. 

Why it works: 

• Shoppers get a complete, 360-degree view of the shoe, so they know there won’t be any surprises when they receive the product 
• Shoppers can filter reviews by rating, athlete type (casual or avid), size, and locale to see reviews that are more personalized to how they may be using the shoe 
• When a shopper starts to scroll on the page, the “Add to Bag” CTA becomes a sticky banner so customers can quickly put the item in their cart once they’ve made a decision 

Take your product pages to the next level

Product page optimization may seem like a tedious task, but in the end, it will be well worth it. If shoppers have all the information they need to make a successful purchase, you’ll set yourself apart from your competitors and see much higher conversion rates across your digital shelf.

With the rise of digital, product page optimization has become critical for consumer attention and conversion. Watch our full on-demand masterclass outlining the 5-point audit for optimizing your product pages, covering key topics like organic search, social commerce, user-generated content, and insights.

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Perfecting your product detail page: A 5-point audit

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You’ve been served retargeting ads before, some more effectively than others. Some sites (not naming names, Amazon) love to retarget you with ads for items you’ve already bought. These ads are useless when the item they’re showing is one you (hopefully) won’t need to repurchase soon, like a toaster or a pair of headphones.

But sometimes, you see that cute top you were waffling over, or those pants you love now come in another color…and they’re on sale. 

This is the kind of retargeting you want your company to do: the kind that reaches high-potential buyers with info that will convince them to convert. Campaigns that can do this are a great option for online retailers, especially small and mid-sized outfits. They have a fantastic ROI and can help you increase sales among newcomers as well as returning customers.  

Okay, but what if you’ve never done retargeting marketing before? It may seem like a big world to jump into, especially given the looming changes to third-party cookies. But you don’t need to feel overwhelmed. Here’s how to sell your boss (or your boss’s boss) on green-lighting a campaign — and how to launch and administer it so their investment proves itself worthwhile. 

Chapters:

1. What is retargeting in marketing?
2. Three benefits of retargeting marketing
3. Elements of a good retargeting ad campaign
4. How to get started with retargeting marketing
5. Win at retargeting marketing with contextualization

What is retargeting in marketing?

Retargeting marketing campaigns exist to reach out to prospects who have already shown interest in your company or products in the hopes of convincing them to buy. The clue’s in the name.

As a marketer, you probably know the rule of seven. This guideline tells us that most customers need to encounter a brand at least seven times before making a purchase. It’s a concept that was born pre-internet but has been reaffirmed multiple times in the digital age.

Retargeting helps your brand reach that magic number by tracking your online visitors across the web to serve them branded ads. You can use retargeting for display ads on any website or to reach your prospects on social media. 

And now that the modern e-commerce funnel has changed (read: collapsed) and purchases can happen anywhere at any time, retargeting marketing increases your chances of driving purchases even further.

Preferably, these ads call back to a shopper’s interactions with your brand and products. Even if your target doesn’t click an ad, seeing it will increase their familiarity with your brand while keeping their shopping (sorry, browsing) experience top-of-mind.

The idea is to build enough trust and remind your would-be buyers about your products enough times to finally earn that sale. 

Three benefits of retargeting marketing

Anyone can launch and benefit from a retargeting marketing campaign. However, the upsides are especially big for small and mid-sized retailers. National and multinational brands have more to spend on marketing and, therefore, have a much easier time staying top-of-mind with audiences.

Retargeting marketing allows your small brand to do more with less and reach niche audiences much more easily.

1. Generate (targeted) awareness for less

Because people typically need familiarity with a brand before they choose to buy, merchants have to do a lot of work upfront to woo potential customers. Large brands can plaster the web (and the physical world) with ads and other buzzy marketing campaigns. Smaller brands simply don’t have that luxury.

Retargeting allows you to build awareness on a budget by focusing on a narrower (and high-potential) audience. When you spend money to retarget people who have heard of your brand and products at least once, you’re speaking to an audience that’s already somewhat engaged.

You’re not spending money on thousands of views that won’t result in any interest, you’re being smart with your ad spend to find those who already are. 

2. Easily promote new items or collections

A successful product launch requires significant investment in marketing. As with your awareness campaigns, using retargeting allows you to make a smaller investment without losing your chance to make a splash. 

Done well, retargeting allows you to segment your audience by behavior and/or interest. You can use your existing retargeting lists to pinpoint would-be buyers who are most likely to care about a new product.

For instance, shoppers who have previously looked at women’s activewear might want to know about those new yoga pants in stock. Those who have been browsing your phone cases might be a good target for ads sharing your stylish new power banks.

3. Increase customer lifetime value (CLV)

You don’t have to limit your retargeting efforts to prospective customers — why not reach out to those who have already bought from you to see if you can entice them to return? You can share a new product as mentioned above or maybe to let them know your company’s having a sale. If you sell items that need to be replenished regularly, maybe showing a new series of ads every other month will remind them and bring them back to your store.

Retargeting gives you a way to do personalized marketing on a small scale and effectively reach audiences who are likely to make a purchase. 

Elements of a good retargeting ad campaign

A retargeting marketing campaign isn’t guaranteed to work just because you’re reaching out to customers who have recently expressed interest in your brand. Your ads still need to speak to your audience’s needs and desires and reach them in the right place and at the right time.

Keep your campaigns effective by following these criteria.

Highly specific ads

Retargeting campaigns aren’t just about reminding people your brand exists. It’s about reminding people why they were interested in your brand to begin with. That’s why these ads typically feature products rather than generic brand imagery or content.

The more your ad speaks to a target’s reason for visiting your site in the first place, the better chance it has of achieving its desired goal — to bring them back so they’ll complete the purchase. Display the exact item(s) your target viewed, products within the same category or that share a use case, or items you know are popular among the demographic your target is part of. 

Specific ads give viewers a concrete reason to check out your site again, and when they come to your store with that reason in mind, they’re more likely to make a purchase.  

Coordinated landing pages

This is a must-have for any ad campaign, and it’s no different in the world of retargeting marketing. Your ads are specific, so your landing pages must be, too. 

Ads that tout the product someone was looking at but then bounce them to your homepage will leave a bad taste in your audience’s mouth by wasting their time. They know what they are after — so take them straight to it, explain the benefits, and make the purchase easy to complete! 

Adequate longevity

Retargeting campaigns aren’t one-and-done. You’re looking to slowly build up familiarity with and trust in your brand. That means you should expect and want your audience members to view your retargeting ads more than once. You’ve caught them during a decision period, and you want to keep reaching them as they weigh your brand and product against other options.

The length of the decision period varies from product to product — someone who’s looking for a new TV is likely to spend more time browsing reviews than someone who just wants a fun new accessory for their summertime socializing. 

One thing to keep in mind is how often during the decision period a person sees your ads. Especially if they’re likely to spend a lot of time considering different options, constantly bombarding them with ads is more likely to annoy them than to win them over.

Most brands set frequency caps on retargeting ads for this exact reason, so no one feels like you’re following them around incessantly. 

Smart targeting

Retargeting ads are meant to go after potential buyers, but not everyone who visits your site is one of those. Don’t let these campaigns exceed their usefulness by casting too wide a net. 

For example, targeting everyone who hits your homepage will mean a lot of money spent on people who looked around and decided your brand didn’t match their needs. The same goes for targeting someone who spent ten seconds on a product page before bouncing. 

Make sure your retargeting marketing is aimed at individuals who have engaged with your brand. What that means may vary based on your industry and typical customer behaviors, but typically, it involves interacting with a product page by looking at product details or reading reviews, visiting multiple pages on your site, or signing up for an account. 

How to get started with retargeting marketing

Sold yet? If not, we’ll wait while you refresh yourself on the small percentage of buyers who actually make a purchase on any given visit to your e-commerce store. If yes, we hope you’re ready to get started — because jumping in doesn’t have to be a big deal. 

Don’t be afraid to start small with retargeting. Your initial campaigns can help you gather data and prove the effectiveness of the method. Here’s how to launch your very first one. 

Add a retargeting pixel to your website (and start gathering customer data)

The very first step in launching a retargeting campaign is finding ways to identify your audience so you can find them elsewhere online. You’ll want to add the Google Remarketing Tag and Facebook’s Conversions API to your site. 

Note that Google’s retargeting tag may not be helpful for long. In response to customer demands for more privacy (and governmental pushes for the same), third-party cookies like the tracking pixel are being phased out. Google is already blocking them for a small percentage of browser users and testing new advertising tools and techniques on that population. The company is still refining its new ad offerings, but it seems traditional cookie-based retargeting won’t have an analog in this new system. 

Therefore, you need to get something a bit more stable than a browser cookie. Facebook’s Conversions API is one example of a tool that will outlast this change — other sites may or may not release their own. You can take matters into your own hands by convincing visitors to sign up for your email list or share their phone number for text message marketing purposes.

Once third-party cookies are gone for good, customers’ contact information will be the best, if not the only, way to retarget them.

Link your pixel (and upload customer data) to retargeting ad providers

You can retarget ads through multiple platforms: Google Display Network, the Google SERP, and social media sites, including Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok. (Note that the latter two also have their own retargeting pixels for you to install if you choose to use these platforms.)

The setup for each site is a little different, so we’ll let them explain best practices to you. 

For now, you may simply need to follow the steps on each site to set up your third-party cookies. However, if the option is available, we recommend you get used to uploading your email lists. You’ll have to start doing it someday, so why not build the foundations for your next-gen retargeting efforts now? 

As a plus, you can start learning how to best segment these audiences when cookies aren’t doing all the work for you.

Segment your audience by behavior and preferences

Personalized ads tend to work better, and the best way to personalize retargeting ads is by looking at what your customers do on your site. Of course, this type of retargeting marketing may become more time-intensive once third-party cookies are fully out of the picture. Still, let’s talk a little bit about what this kind of retargeting can do.

Even if your store has a very narrow niche, your shoppers likely came to the site looking for a specific item or type of product. The more you know about what they were after, the better; you can reach them with retargeting ads that promote the product or product category they were browsing. Ads that understand your audience’s needs will, of course, do a better job of bringing them back to your site.  

However, this type of retargeting requires the ability to track each user closely and then transmit their browsing data to an ad server, which will become much harder when third-party cookies are no longer allowed. It may be easier to build retargeting ad campaigns around your most popular products — the ones that your visitors are more likely to have looked at or at least know about.

You can then break out these ads by demographic, so you have a campaign aimed at millennial women, one for Gen Z women, one for millennial men, and so on.

Finally, sometimes audience behavior isn’t just about what they view on your site, it’s about how far they get in the customer journey. A person who browses your site for ten minutes has a different relationship to your brand than one who makes an account, and that person needs a different approach than one who put some items in their cart but then decided not to buy. 

To recap, here’s the ways you can segment your audience (and tailor ads accordingly):

• By product viewed: Serve ads that show the exact product(s) a visitor viewed on your site. This reminds viewers of the item they liked while building brand awareness and trust. 
• By product category: Serve ads that display the same type of products (for example, women’s going-out tops or healthy snacks) a visitor viewed on your site. This keeps your brand top-of-mind for any shopping your audience wishes to do in the same area.
• By audience demographic: Serve ads that speak to the various market segments you serve, whether that’s different generations or just “people who like running” vs. “people who like swimming.” These ads promote the demographic’s most-bought items to invite audiences to get in on a trend with your brand.
• By onsite behavior: Serve ads that target the most engaged customers — those who abandoned their carts (or, if your site has the capability, those who favorited items or added them to a wishlist). Use this campaign to remind shoppers of the items they almost bought and invite them to come back and finish the purchase.

Of course, there’s multiple ways to dice up audiences within each of these options. Choose one to get started with, and try different methods of targeting (or different types of ads) to see what works best. Or save time and work with a contextualization partner who can segment for you based on AI-powered insights.

Convince on-the-fence shoppers with UGC-based ads

Now, it’s time to create the actual ads! You’ve likely seen retargeting ads that follow you around the web with product pictures. They’re noticeable because of the familiarity, but this format doesn’t bring a lot to the table in terms of convincing audiences to give you a second look.

Ads that feature user-generated content (UGC) stand out and have a better chance of connecting with your audience. Imagine if, instead of seeing that set of dinnerware displayed against a white background, you saw an ad that showed the dinnerware in use at a fantastic party. Or, if the ad used reviews to tell you previous buyers thought it was “sturdy enough that you don’t have to worry about putting it in the dishwasher, despite the decorations.” 

These authentic product experiences can only be found in UGC, and they do a lot more to build trust because they show that other people trust you, too. 

Choose or create landing pages for your retargeting campaign

Whether you’re using existing pages as the target of your ads or creating new ones, make sure the content of the page matches what people saw in the ad. If your retargeting campaigns feature one item, you can probably just link audiences to that product page. Just make sure it’s easy for them to buy the item once they get there.

However, if you’re featuring more than one item in your retargeting ads, consider linking to a collection or product category.

The other option is to create a unique landing page with the item(s) you featured and a streamlined checkout — in other words, to save shoppers the hassle of doing the add to cart > visit cart > check out dance. You may see more conversions from this type of page, especially if you target it toward people who spent a long time on an item’s product page or denoted their interest in some other way. 

Either way, think about including UGC on your landing page as well. We’ll assume you already have reviews turned on, but do you share product videos or images, including the one(s) you used in your ad campaign? Showing that media again will make the interaction feel more cohesive and remind users why they clicked on your ad in the first place. 

Set your budget for your retargeting campaigns

You don’t have to spend a lot on retargeting campaigns to be successful. It’s possible to start off with just a few dollars a day when you’re only looking to reach a very small number of people. If you’ve never done retargeting marketing before, we recommend starting small. Retargeting tool AdRoll suggests smaller retailers can launch a campaign with around $50 per day. 

If even that’s a difficult sell to make, it might help to remind stakeholders that your budget will determine the quality of the results and data you gather. You shouldn’t build a campaign off “insights” you gathered from ten or twenty people. Likewise, hitting a larger number of people for a very limited amount of time (say, a week or two) is unlikely to show results because retargeting is about repeated exposure to your brand and products. 

Marketers who face budget constraints may consider limiting ads to one platform — try starting with your best-performing social site if you’re in this situation. You can also set frequency caps to make sure you don’t pop up in any one person’s feed too often. This allows you to keep the scope small without hampering your ability to retarget a good number of visitors. 

Track important retargeting metrics

The most important metrics in a retargeting campaign are your click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and cost per conversion. You may track other data points as well to help you understand how many touches it takes to convince a target to return to your site and how many people come back even if they still aren’t ready to buy. But these are the big three.

• Click-through rate tells you how effective your ads are. You can compare your CTR across platforms to see which method is the best for reaching consumers, and across campaigns to see which ads are enticing the most customers to return to your site
• Conversion rate tells you how many of those clicks result in a sale. This is where you get the ROI from your retargeting marketing efforts, so you want to make sure you have these numbers on hand to prove your experiment is working!
• Cost per conversion helps you understand how efficient your ad campaign is. It helps you understand how retargeting ads perform compared to your other (non-retargeting) campaigns. This is another number that can work as justification to support continued retargeting efforts

Of course, not all retargeting campaigns result in someone clicking the ad and making a purchase — they may return to your site on their own accord after viewing a certain number of ads. While this behavior can’t be directly attributed to your ads (at least right now), keep track of when this happens. 

You may find your ad campaigns correlate with changes like a smaller gap between first visit and eventual purchase, visitors needing fewer site visits before they make a purchase, or other behavioral indicators that your ads are making a difference. 

Win at retargeting marketing with contextualization

The magic of retargeting marketing is that these ads directly respond to consumer actions, making personalization easy. You’re addressing a warm lead instead of trying to nurture a new one. Of course, this means you have to retarget your audience soon after their visit to your site.

Retargeting campaigns can’t be set up as a response to consumer behaviors, they have to be prepped and ready to deploy as soon as an individual shows sufficient interest.

You don’t have time to waste when setting up your retargeting marketing. Even if the first ads aren’t perfect (and when are they ever?), it’s more important to reach people while your brand and products are still top-of-mind. So, don’t let hesitation hold you back. Get started with a limited-scope retargeting campaign that uses UGC you’ve already gathered. Then, watch those customers who are “just browsing” come back and engage further with your brand. 

Retargeting is all about serving personalized ads based on user behaviors. Watch our new on-demand masterclass How contextualization is transforming online shopping to learn more tips that will boost your retargeting (and other marketing) campaigns. 

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How modern marketing strategies miss the mark for shoppers

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Marketing personalization gets the second date — or in this case, clicks and conversions.

Why’s that? Because personalized marketing is all about tailoring your campaigns to provide a customized experience for your e-commerce site visitors. And in the modern market, the majority of customers expect it, which means brands that design the same messaging for all their customers are so last season.

This is why Bazaarvoice partnered with Klaviyo — to help brands elevate their personalization strategies. It all starts with gaining knowledge about your customers and using it to provide them with an exceptional, tailored shopping experience.

Chapters:

1. What is personalized marketing?
2. Why is personalized marketing so important?
3. How to build a personalized marketing strategy
4. Personalized marketing examples
5. How to get started with personalized marketing

What is personalized marketing?

Personalized marketing uses information about your customers to create individualized, relevant messages and offers. For e-commerce businesses, this data-driven approach matches consumer demographics and behaviors with tailored website and marketing content.

There’s many applications of personalized marketing, from geo-sensitive push notifications that send discounts when you’re near a coffee shop, to abandoned cart emails that remind you of products you looked at but didn’t buy, to product recommendations based on order history. Just to name a few.

And personalized marketing is growing at a rapid pace. Nearly 40% of marketing decision-makers ranked personalization as the most important consumer experience. And a recent survey revealed that 33% of marketers in the US and UK devote over half of their online marketing budgets to personalization projects and initiatives.

The report predicts this trend will continue, driven by advancements in technology, data, and analytics that make personalization more widely available, as well as the rapid rise of generative AI tech.

Why is personalized marketing so important?

Personalized marketing allows you to gain extensive knowledge about your products and customers. You can learn what products, services, features, and messaging attracts customers and leads, then adapt your marketing and product strategy accordingly.

Customers receive marketing materials they actually want and make them feel connected to your brand. This leads to purchases in the short term and brand loyalty and customer retention in the long term.

Valuable information like this lets you focus on what works and scrap what doesn’t. If you only have blanket messaging and offers on your website and in campaigns, you’re missing out on opportunities to target visitors with effective content. According to McKinsey, personalization can

• Increase revenues by 5 – 15%
• Lower customer acquisition costs by up to 50%
• Increase the efficiency of marketing spend by 10 – 30%

Increasing online privacy regulations makes user activity more secure and protected, but targeted marketing — like personalization — more challenging. The restrictions prohibit third-party data tracking that has historically helped marketers target campaigns to their website visitors.

This is why it’s extra important to know how to implement personalized marketing in the wake of new obstacles and a changing marketplace. Without the third-party tracking data that gives a broad view of users’ search behavior on various websites, marketers will need to rely on their own data and create campaigns based on that to reach their customers.

How to build your personalized marketing strategy

The basis of personalized marketing is having comprehensive and organized data about the people you’re trying to target.

Once you’ve assembled all your relevant data, you can use it to segment customers based on preferences, demographics, or order history. Then, you can identify the primary channels where customers engage in order to focus your distribution. Either your website, email, social media, live chat, or a combination.

1. Gather customer data and insights

Collect all the pertinent information on your customers that will be useful in serving them personalized content. This includes demographic data, like gender, age group, location, and income level.

Another big piece of the puzzle is shopping behavior, like purchase history and spending habits. With the advent of third-party tracking restrictions, this means relying heavily on collecting first-party data.

There’s different routes you can take to collect these insights, which require varying levels of oversight. Customer data platforms (CDP) are a primary resource for aggregating data from across multiple customer touchpoints. CDPs record when a customer visits your e-commerce website, is shown an ad, or opens a promotional email. And then how the customer interacts with each. CDPs then combine all this information into a single, data-rich customer profile.

A good example is our Bazaarvoice homepage. It appears slightly differently depending on whether you’re a social media manager or e-commerce manager. Each page is tailored to suit the relevant persona.

A personalization engine is similar to a CDP but with AI and machine learning that can assist in designing data-based, targeted campaigns.

Individual data sources also offer insights into your customers. These include social media and SEO management software, e-commerce and retail point of sale (POS) systems, and Google Analytics. These platforms will give you insights on customers who visit your website, engage with your brand on social media, and purchase your products or services.

2. Create customer segments

Next, you can create customer segments based on your data. Look for demographic and behavioral patterns in the data to determine how to segment your audience. Personalization engines and CDPs can combine and organize this data for you, or it can be done manually.

Some examples of customer segments to use for marketing personalization include age groups, occupations, spending amount tiers, product interest categories, and date of the most recent purchase. Once you have your different customer segments set up, tailor your messaging and offers according to the qualities and characteristics of each segment.

Segmentation is a planning tool for personalized marketing. To personalize content, you need to take it a step further. Personalized marketing takes customer segments and then individualizes content for the members of that segment.

For example, a segment could be a group of customers who regularly purchase higher-priced items. To create personalized content for a customer in that segment, you could send an email with product recommendations for luxury items in their size.

One brand who knows segmentation well is Little Sleepies. Wanting to boost their Black Friday sales, the apparel brand leveraged Klaviyo’s segmentation capabilities. Little Sleepies sent two campaigns in a day: the first to their full nurture list and the second to the segment that engaged with the first email but didn’t make a purchase.

They also targeted specific segments with personalized features like a countdown timer. Using Klaviyo’s segmentation paid off with a 138.2% year on year growth in revenue from email during Black Friday.

3. Personalize experiences based on UGC interactions

Leveraging the insights you find from consumer interactions with user-generated content (UGC) — like reviews and frequently asked questions — can be a powerful way to identify and segment audiences for win-back campaigns for unhappy customers. Or for surprise and delight campaigns for your biggest fans. 

Some example use cases include:

• Send review requests: Integrate flows to send post-purchase review request messages to your customers from Klaviyo. This ensures that any email communication is configured and managed within the Klaviyo platform, giving your teams a singular view of the communication with your customer
• Powerful segmentation and flows: Create flows within Klaviyo to thank your customers for writing a review, or segment based on review submissions to contact customers after they leave a positive or negative review
• Personalize your messages: Leverage past review data to notify satisfied customers of an upcoming promotion on a product they love or trigger a refer-a-friend invitation following a positive review submission 

Businesses can now incorporate Bazaarvoice data into their Klaviyo platform to drive additional intelligence to their marketing strategies and personalization triggers. Through the Bazaarvoice and Klaviyo integration, customers can leverage real-time UGC interaction data within email and SMS to create relevant shopping experiences for each customer and influence more purchases.

This integration enables brands to unlock the full potential of UGC while leveraging Klaviyo’s robust marketing automation capabilities to deliver personalized and impactful messages at scale.

Personalized marketing examples

Collecting and organizing customer data is only half the battle. The next step is putting that data to use with different types of personalized marketing tactics and campaigns.

Personalized email marketing

Only 8% of brands think email is important, which is surprising. Because not only do nearly a third of shoppers think personalized emails are important, but email is the top digital channel used for personalized marketing because it’s fairly easy to create customized email content for individual recipients.

After all, consumers have been getting promotional emails with their name in the subject line for years.

There’s multiple different types of email marketing campaigns that brands can personalize. Review request emails are the perfect opportunity to personalize content. They’re a direct response to a customer’s action, whether that’s a website visit, a cart abandonment, or a purchase.

Other types of emails, including product feature announcements, out of stock emails, newsletters, and special offers, can all be personalized. The most basic method is to simply include the customer’s name in the subject line or body of the email. Emails with personalized subject lines improve open rates by 26%, but this can also come off as heavy-handed. Product recommendations based on the customer’s preferences and order history are a more advanced way to appeal to the customer’s personal interests.

Enhance these emails with customer reviews and visual UGC of recommended products. UGC provides consumers with the social proof they need to learn more about products, and ultimately the confidence to make a purchase. You can go the extra mile and personalize the UGC itself. Example: If an email is going to someone in an older age bracket, include reviews or a photo created by someone close to their age that corresponds with the brand or product.

The way in which you collect UGC also plays an important role in personalization. One of the top recommended personalization campaigns is to send emails asking customers to review a recently purchased product. You can then use that UGC to display on your website, giving shoppers more details and insights from verified customers who have first-hand experience with products.

In this email example from Hulu, the streaming platform does a great job of using customer data to create a personalized campaign. It uses the customer’s demographic information (their date of birth) and purchase history. In this case, the customer was a previous subscriber who hadn’t renewed their subscription.

So, Hulu offers them a birthday gift in the form of a one-month free trial with the goal of winning back the customer.

SMS marketing

Often considered an extension of email, SMS marketing is an often overlooked but equally powerful tool — the average text open rate is 98%.

Much like with email, SMS works wonders for personalization because it’s easy enough to create custom content for specific segments. All you need to write is your customer’s name at the start and include messaging like “Exclusively for our text subscribers” to get going. 

There’s multiple types of personalization opportunities in SMS marketing:

• Promotional SMS include special offers like holiday sales and customer acknowledgement like a birthday message
• Post-interaction texts are usually sent post-purchase and post-delivery or even for abandoned cart notifications
• Customer service messaging can consist of shipping updates and delivery notifications

The key is to segment before you send. Types of SMS segment include loyalty program customers, engaged subscribers, or subscribers who’ve yet to make a purchase from you. And it works.

One brand, Fast Growing Trees, discovered this firsthand after they implemented a more personalized SMS strategy, using Klaviyo’s segment level campaign reporting. The brand started sending SMS messages to a more specific segment of subscribers — 60-day engaged as opposed to 180-day engaged — with the aim of increasing engagement and growing their SMS channel.

Since June 2023, their revenue per SMS message has already grown 35% quarter over quarter.

Website or app optimization

For e-commerce companies, your website or app is the ideal space for personalization. This is where you can deliver relevant calls to action (CTAs) for further browsing and exploration. Things like product recommendations of products similar to what’s in the shopper’s cart, or based on order history.

Some examples are “people also bought,” “you might also like,” “finish the look,” and “don’t forget to accessorize.”

Enabling your website search feature to produce relevant results and recommendations is another important aspect of website personalization. For example, if a website visitor searches for a black dress, everything that fits “black” + “dress” should populate.

And if you don’t carry a black dress, provide them with alternatives that closely match. That could be a navy dress or a grey dress, for example. If a search term is misspelled — like “black dress”— your technology should be able to understand that and produce results instead of no results.

Special offers tailored to different types of customers is an enticing website personalization tactic. Offer promo codes to first-time customers to use on their first order. Increase basket sizes by offering discounts on products or free samples that align with customers’ repeat purchases or interests.

Customized content is another way to provide a personalized experience for each website visitor. Create dedicated landing pages to include in emails that highlight personalized product updates and recommendations. Another way is to include the customer’s name and order history when they visit your website.

Netflix is an expert in the art of personalized marketing, particularly with its in-app recommendations. The company uses its subscribers’ viewing behaviors to create TV and movie categories based on their unique tastes. Examples of this in action are its “Because You Watched” and “Gems for You” lists.

Spotify does the work for you and curates recommendations into instantly consumable playlists. Some of its personalized playlists based on listener data include daily mixes, genre mixes, top artists mixes, Discover Weekly, and Release Radar.

The company’s highly anticipated annual Spotify Wrapped is a shining example of personalization in action. With this feature, they literally create a neatly packaged overview of each individual listener’s data and use it to make fun, shareable content and custom playlists.

Augmented reality

The use of augmented reality (AR) is a growing marketing trend that enables real-time personalization. The number of mobile AR users is expected to reach 1.73 billion this year. Some customers using the AR platform Adloid reported seeing up to a 200% increase in sales conversions.

AR is an example of advanced personalized marketing, where customers can see products superimposed on their own bodies, in their living spaces, or in other real-life settings. Some top retail and e-commerce industries that have quickly adopted AR include automotive, beauty, home goods and decor, and apparel.

On its website, L’Oreal’s Live Try On gives shoppers the opportunity to virtually apply its products from wherever they are using their mobile or desktop device.

And Target’s See It in Your Space feature is a great way to see how furniture and other products look in your home or office. Customers can accurately visualize these products and if they fit where they live and work.

Saying sorry

Elton John famously sang, “Sorry seems to be the hardest word.” (Or Blue famously sang it, depending on the era you grew up in. Both are bangers). Either way, apologies can be tough. Not just for people, for brands too. But it really doesn’t have to be!

They’re the perfect opportunity to use personalization to turn a negative shopper experience into a positive one. 45% of consumers actually consider a brand apology to be the “coolest” personalization tactic they’ve seen.

Whether apologizing for an item being out-of-stock or following up on an abandoned shopping cart, there’s often a reason a brand needs to apologize. So if you have to do it, do it properly.

Take this tailored example from ZocDoc above. Not only does it provide a form of compensation to entice the customer to stay with the brand, it also uses the opportunity to gain customer feedback. This feedback can then be used to improve the service going forward, making sure it doesn’t happen again.

Product sampling

Launching a targeted sampling campaign creates a personalized experience for customers because you are sending products directly to them to try out for themselves. To maximize the personalization of each campaign, tailor the samples according to the individual customer.

For example, you can reward customers you consider high value because of their repeat business with pre-release samples of new products. You can target customers who have interests in specific product types with samples of new or similar products. You can include samples of relevant products along with order shipments.

With product sampling, not only do customers get a free gift based on their interests or customer history, but samples often create impactful UGC for brands.

In exchange for product samples, brands can ask recipients for feedback in the form of an online survey or a review, making sampling another valuable data-gathering tactic.

Conversational commerce

We’ve left the best til last. Knowing how to win at conversational commerce is a business necessity. Conversational commerce uses messaging apps and voice-activated technology to sell products and services, with help from artificial intelligence. Think of it as an online version of talking to a sales assistant in a store.

Whether shopping bots that aid a customer through the buyer journey, or customizable chatbots for customer inquiries, there’s a multitude of conversational commerce delivery methods. And each one provides a different personalization in its own right.

Take this example from our own Bazaarvoice website. You’ll have seen an iteration of it pop up in the bottom corner. Through some simple tweaking, our own lovely chatbot (Bazaarbot!) differs in messaging depending on who visits the site.

Let’s say a user has tried out our marketing ROI calculator tool. On their next site visit, our bot will encourage those with an ROI calculation to get in touch. As demonstrated below.

Using this example almost feels like spilling state secrets or insider trading. But you know what, it’s one of the multiple, successful customizations on our website. And you have to lead by example.

How to get started with personalized marketing

Personalized marketing is a proven way to win over customers, and it’s surprisingly simple to implement. But there’s a disparity between brands and shoppers when it comes to personalization — while retailers believe they’re excelling at personalized marketing, consumers disagree.

There’s multiple ways to solve this though — you already have most of the resources to do it. As it is, you can start personalizing with the data you already have and refine your strategy through more sophisticated collection and segmentation. But key areas of opportunity for brands include:

1. Focus on delivering the right content through the right channel at the right time
2. Use tailored offerings and purchasing incentives, like discounts, in exchange for personal information
3. Utilize the Bazaarvoice + Klaviyo integration to leverage real-time UGC within email and SMS in an automated way to create relevant shopping experiences for each user and influence more purchases

Over time, you’ll increasingly notice the impact it has. And your bottom line will thank you for it. Learn more on our dedicated Klaviyo + Bazaarvoice integration page or get started right away below.

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Picture this: You’re walking through the store, your stomach is growling, and you’re looking for the perfect thing to eat. Then, out of nowhere, a person shouts, “Free samples!” and hands you a hot bite of pizza just oozing with melted mozzarella cheese. And hey, it’s dinner time…you want more! *Add to cart.*

Now, replace that pizza with anything else — wine, ice cream, a handheld vacuum. Once customers try it, they’re more likely to talk about it, buy it, and share it. That’s why, despite the costs, product sampling marketing is one of the most effective ways of collecting authentic content and increasing conversions on your e-commerce site, social pages, and beyond.

Chapters:

1. What is product sampling?
2. When should you launch a product sampling campaign?
3. Why you should launch a product sampling campaign
4. Product sampling strategies
5. Get started with product sampling

What is product sampling?

It’s the practice of offering goods or services to your audience in exchange for increased brand awareness, brand loyalty, reviews, feedback, and other revenue-boosting user-generated content (UGC). This is a form of experiential marketing because consumers are able to completely absorb and engage with the product prior to buying it.

Quick history lesson: Product sampling is a tried-and-true marketing strategy dating back to the 1850s. Benjamin T. Babbitt, a soap manufacturer, was one of the first people to hand out samples to his fan base. As time passed, the power of this marketing strategy was realized by others and has since become popular in a variety of industries.

Today, there’s several different product sampling methods:

• Traditional sampling means giving away free product samples to customers, so they will feel more confident buying the product
• Digital product sampling is a sustainable sampling method, where customers buy a product in a store or online with a provided coupon, or receive money back after uploading the receipt — no samples need to be shipped meaning no unnecessary packaging waste
• Sampler packs include small or trial-size products. If the customer likes the sample, they are more likely to buy the product at full size
• Mail drops are when you mail free samples directly to customers’ homes
• Limited time samples are free only for a specific amount of time, such as three days, a week, etc. This adds excitement and plays to the psychological fear of missing out (FOMO!)
• Virtual sampling is when consumers are able to try out a product online without visiting a store or receiving something in the mail. This type of product sampling campaign relies on technology like an app or artificial intelligence

When should you launch a product sampling campaign?

You should launch a product sampling campaign when you need to boost word of mouth or get feedback on a new product.

• You have a high-quality, effective product ready for people to test. It’s important to make sure you’re delivering something genuinely good before people’s opinions start flying. A bad product will be all the more maligned by product sampling
• Your budget can handle sampling costs. This includes the cost of the samples as well as shipping, handling, staffing, and marketing. Note: Digital product sampling alleviates a lot of fulfillment costs!
• You need increased brand awareness for an existing product. If your brand isn’t well-known but you have a great product, you need positive word of mouth to increase brand awareness and fill your sales funnel. Just make sure expansion is feasible for you based on your current business model
• You have a new product to launch. Product sampling will help with product development, as well as create some additional buzz. People who sample your product and love it are more likely to buy it, tell their friends, and even create shareable content about it

Why you should launch a product sampling campaign

Product sampling marketing helps brands boost feedback, conversion rates, positive reviews, and social content for both small and enterprise brands alike.

Get valuable product feedback

Product sampling is a way to connect with and get feedback from your audience.

According to Ryan Stewart, a marketing expert and the managing partner of WEBRIS, “We normally ask them questions about their experiences with our services, show how they use them, or even invite them to take part in an online contest that involves using our services.”

You can also use surveys to collect quantitative and qualitative data. This feedback can help you further develop the product into something your audience will love.

Boost sales and conversion rates

Sampling a product makes customers want to buy it. It’s wired into our psychology. Dan Ariely, a behavioral economist at Duke University, knows samples create desire. “If I gave you a tiny bit of chocolate,” he says, “all of a sudden it would remind you about the exact taste of chocolate and would increase your craving.”

Take Costco, for example. An oft-cited study about Costco revealed the grocery store saw a significant boost in revenue thanks to its free food samples. And Stewart confirms sampling is a solid way to increase sales. He asserts, “People who feel like we value their opinions are more likely to buy from us when they need something similar in the future.”

Gathering UGC and reviews from shoppers also gives brands a significant boost in sales. Absolution Cosmetics wanted to support product launches, build brand awareness around their healthy skin care messaging, and boost customer loyalty and engagement to ultimately increase sales. The brand implemented a dual review collection strategy, combining an evergreen sweepstakes on their website, ensuring a constant influx of fresh UGC and reviews, and targeted product sampling campaigns to support new product launches.

As a result, in just a six-month period, Absolution increased its revenue per visitor from 14% to 123%, customer engagement from 28% to 61%, and earned $107K directly attributed to ratings and reviews.

Encourage positive reviews due to a sense of reciprocity

Free samples encourage potential customers to play into the idea of reciprocity. In other words, people who receive the sample want to do something for your brand in return — like posting a positive review on social media.

This by no means every review is going to be positive of course. Neither should that be expected. Product sampling isn’t “we’ll send you a product sample in return for a positive review.” By contrast, reviews should be honest regardless of the sentiment. And even negative reviews provide added authenticity for your brand.

But one of the reasons sampling does yield such positive results is because the right provider (like Bazaarvoice ) can create campaigns for a hyper-targeted audience across demographics, behaviors, preferences, and more. When the recipient is the exact target audience the product is for, the review is much more likely to be positive. Just make sure your sampling provider can accommodate this.

“Product sampling allows us to get our audience involved in the creation of our content, which gives them a sense of ownership over what we’re sharing,” says Stewart.

For instance, after TTI Floor Care North America allowed top brand loyalists to sample Dirt Devil vacuum cleaners for free, they saw an 86% response rate and more than 700 reviews full of positive, authentic UGC. As a result, Dirt Devil product reviews went from 2.8 to 4.5 stars. These reviews not only filled TTI’s own webpage but were also syndicated on major retailers’ sites.

Supercharging brand awareness with social content

You probably already know that social content is an important way to reach consumers. Combining the reach of social media with the effectiveness of sampling gives you a unique marketing campaign powerhouse.

Most Bazaarvoice Sampling customers are brand managers who use sampling to generate and feature content on social media.

“Linking sampling to social is a core tenant of any e-commerce plan,” says Kerry Bridge, Global Director of Advocacy at Bazaarvoice. “You need to be able to collect that great content from social in order to populate your product pages. Plus build your community.”

We’ve pinpointed a few different reasons why social content and sampling go hand-in-hand:

1. New product launches benefit greatly from large amounts of recent UGC. 89% of shoppers check reviews before making a purchase, and 60% of shoppers feel more comfortable making a purchase if they can see product images or videos first. A great way to collect this valuable UGC is to employ sampling
2. Entering new markets helps you expand your reach. Each demographic is different, and over 70% of shoppers are looking for perspectives that reflect their own. Product sampling can help you get your foot in the door and provide UGC that speaks to these new markets in a relatable way
3. Supporting your core SKUs with product sampling allows you to collect quality content at scale. Your core products are hot sellers for a reason — get them in your fans’ hands through a sampling campaign and encourage them to create content. Data from our Bazaarvoice Network of over 12,500 brands and retailers found a 135% increase in conversion rate and a 164% increase in revenue per visitor when shoppers engaged with social content from their peers
4. Working with the right content creators can help you skyrocket your brand awareness and success. Creator collaborations add to your content volume, and by sharing with their own engaged audiences, they also extend your reach

Relaunch your products

There may be times when you want to shift your brand strategy and reformulate or reinvent your product. With the introduction of the FTC’s 2023 review hijacking legislation, reformulating your product isn’t just about tweaking its features — it’s about ushering it into the market as if it’s an entirely new line. It’s a unique challenge, with the daunting task of resetting your review count and content collection to zero. But sampling can help you rapidly rebuild from this new starting line.

• Relaunch your product with fresh advocacy: Successfully relaunch your reformulated product by targeting the right audience, providing an experience, driving UGC from day one, and gaining actionable insights from product samplers
• Combat misleading reviews with authentic content: If the reformulation means the product is “substantially different” in “one or more material attributes” from the prior version (as per the FTC), it would be deceptive to continue using existing reviews. A sampling campaign can generate fresh reviews and customer photos quickly and effectively so you have an arsenal of new social proof you can show off to shoppers

Product sampling strategies

Ultimately, all sampling campaigns help your potential customers get a preview of what you’re selling while helping you get more visibility for your product and brand overall. The individual strategies can take several different forms, from in-store food samples (Costco) or mailed glasses to try on (Warby Parker). The details depend on your business model and campaign goals.

Here’s seven examples from the masters that you can imitate when you craft your own campaign, including the relevant sampling program they used.

Costco nails the traditional sampling strategy

Costco is famous for the traditional, in-store, free sample method. People have gone so far as to tour the sample tables at various Costco stores. The more samples people try, the closer they get to a free lunch. Personal finance and food bloggers have picked up on this idea as well and have even written articles encouraging the practice.

Costco’s store sampling draws people to its stores, thanks to one key message: Going to Costco is fun (and yummy!)

While you might be nervous about handing out “freebies,” the benefits far outweigh the costs. In fact, according to the College Marketing Group, “Interactions — the company that handles Costco’s sampling — found that their efforts led to a 71% increase in sales of beer and a 600% increase in frozen pizza.”

Traditional sampling works especially well for supermarkets like Costco, as well as other brick-and-mortar stores like makeup counters. Just remember that the goal for this type of sampling is to increase sales and positive word of mouth. You probably won’t get a lot of usable content out of it.

L’Oréal gets personal with virtual sampling

Since its target market is focused primarily on beauty, personalization and creativity are everything for L’Oréal. That’s why L’Oréal’s special offers and promotions are tailored to this demographic’s specific preferences and needs in the form of virtual sampling.

Customers simply select a product like hair dye or blush. Once they grant L’Oréal access to their camera, a small window shows them what they would look like wearing that product. It’s kind of like Zoom + the Sherwin-Williams ColorSnap Visualizer. But instead of paint, it’s a beauty product.

Virtual sampling is attractive because it’s incredibly scalable, not to mention germ-free. Brands aren’t limited by physical space in stores or the cost of making or shipping the product. Instead, consumers are able to instantly get a good idea of what the product would be like for them without the hassle of applying the sample color to their wrist (eww), applying to a program, handing over their personal info, or potentially wasting a product if they don’t like it.

This technique is also sometimes more helpful and realistic than physical store samples because the tool takes into account different product combinations and how they affect each other. For example, if I dyed my hair bright red, would that red lipstick look good? Hmm… maybe a more subtle shade would be better.

Brands can use virtual try-ons to fill their social media calendars. If you have a tool like this, inspire your customers to post a photo of themselves on social media “trying on” your product. Then collect, store, and track that content using Bazaarvoice’s AI-powered Media Library.

Warby Parker masters the mail drop

Warby Parker prides itself on its choice selection when it comes to new, stylish, and comfortable eyeglass frames. It provides a quiz to help customers determine exactly what type of frames will best suit them and then a personalized selection based on their responses.

After completing the quiz, customers can choose up to five frames that are delivered right to their homes, where they can test them for five days. After finding that perfect pair, customers can buy what they want and ship the rest back. The return shipping is free with Warby Parker’s return label.

For something you have to wear all the time (like glasses), comfort and style are paramount. Warby Parker helps customers feel assured that both needs will be met because customers can literally see the results for themselves at home before buying.

For brands that want a turnkey sampler program, Bazaarvoice offers a white-labeled sampling program to help retailers get their product samples directly into the hands of their community and start generating UGC.

Neuro optimizes product development

Sampling isn’t just to market and sell existing products. Kent Yoshimura and Ryan Chen, co-founders of wellness company Neuro, explain in this podcast one of the key ways they achieved their success: making sure Neuro Gum was as perfect as possible before they jumped into product activation. They gave out free samples of the gum to family, friends, and co-workers to test a variety of key details such as:

• Different ingredients (20 milligrams of caffeine to 80 milligrams of caffeine)
• New flavors
• Different sweeteners
• Hard chews vs. soft chews

After perfecting the product, Yoshimura and Chen surpassed their crowdfunding goal in just three days and ended up selling over 12 million pieces of Neuro Gum. And those people who sample the product became loyal customers.

“Once we introduce that product to somebody, the repeat purchase rate can be up to about 40, 45%,” said Chen. “Our challenge is getting people to try the product. Sampling is a really big opportunity for us.”

Neuro ensured it had a good, high-quality product and an active community of fans, thanks to product sampling. According to Chen, “We’ve grown such a loyal group of customers that they give us feedback all the time. It’s built a community which has been inspiring for us and has given us the motivation to keep going.”

After their initial success, they continued sampling with specific cohorts like the CrossFit community. They’ve also shipped product samples to new distributors to explore a potential new market in Africa.

Using samples and collecting customer responses is the most effective way to get meaningful feedback about your product, so you can improve it and launch with confidence.

Bazaarvoice’s sampling programs can help you learn from sampler feedback and expand into new markets via our robust, global Influenster community.

Home Depot doubles conversion rates with Managed Sampling

Home Depot Canada wanted to increase the volume of UGC, particularly reviews, its brands get on its product pages. So they partnered with bazaarvoice to create the Home Depot Seeds Sampling program.

“UGC is becoming increasingly important. It’s no longer a ‘nice to have.’ It’s a necessity. We see our site as a research tool, so even if people come into the store, they still use their phones to see ratings and reviews and make a final decision.”

Gabriela da Silva, Senior Brand Advocate Analyst, Home Depot Canada

Seeds Sampling is a review-seeding program that puts a brand’s highest priority products into the hands of its shoppers, in exchange for honest reviews on HomeDepot.ca. Since the program’s inception, it’s already led to some brands doubling their conversion rates on HomeDepot.ca.

It’s not just legacy products either. WiZ, a brand featured on HomeDepot.ca, used Seeds Sampling to generate buzz for new products and earn that UGC before they’d even launched. 

It worked, too. The conversion rate for the products used in Seeds Sampling was 68% higher than products not part of the program. Not bad at all.

Home Depot isn’t the first retailer to turn to Bazaarvoice for a Managed Sampling program. We’ve built sampling programs for Walmart, Target, and Sam’sClub, to name a few. And you could be next.

Get started with product sampling

Ready to experience the power of product sampling marketing in your own business? Bazaarvoice makes it easier than ever to get your products into the hands of the perfect customers, leading to a surge in reviews, social media buzz, authentic word-of-mouth, and sales.

You can learn more about Bazaarvoice Sampling here, or get started directly below.

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Buyer’s guide: Find the perfect product sampling partner

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According to our recent survey of 1,000 U.S shoppers, asking their opinion(s) on private label brands, 43% of respondents say private label quality has significantly improved, offering comparable or even better quality than national brands in many categories. 

Some of the biggest names in retail like Target, Sephora, and Walmart all invest in the development and marketing of their private label products — and see massive success. 

The retailers that push the limits of their private label branding will be the ones that continue to elevate their status and change the generic stereotype. To do that, you’ll need to focus on branding, value, quality, and insights. Discover what your retail business stands to gain from offering store brands and how to develop a winning strategy.

Chapters:

1. What are private label brands?
2. The private label branding opportunity
3. How to create a thriving private label brand in 6 steps
4. Private label brand strategy examples
5. Improve your private label branding with customer insights

What are private label brands?

Private label brands, also known as store brands, are products owned by retailers and sold along with other brands in their product catalog. The retailer is often the sole developer of the brand and its products, or it may come from a third-party wholesale partner.

Some of the most successful private label brands include 365 by Whole Foods Market, Amazon Basics, and a ton of Target brands. 

The private label branding opportunity

The newfound interest in private label brands directly correlates with a struggling economy, an influx of higher-quality store-owned products and options, and an increase in private label-based rewards programs.

Consider these stats from our private label research:

• 40% of respondents say their perception of private labels is positive, they offer good value and they trust the store branding — another 42% haven’t noticed any significant differences in quality between private labels and national brands
• 36% of respondents plan to purchase more private label products next year compared to previous years
• Over half of respondents (56%) have switched their preferred brand for a private label product based on a loyalty program or reward

That’s to say, when it comes to the private label branding opportunity, it’s no longer a “nice to have.” The overall increase in positive sentiment, value, and quality, have made them difference makers for any retailers bottom line.

In terms of specific industries, the most popular categories for private label products are:

Besides a thriving private label branding market, there’s other business benefits for retailers who offer store brands. Some top advantages include:

• Product ownership: In addition to literally owning private label products, retailers also have control over the product design, materials or ingredients, and other manufacturing details
• Higher profit margins: Because retailers own their private label brands, they don’t have extra supply chain fees or higher cost of products from a national brand. This makes their product costs lower, allowing a bigger profit margin — not to mention the added benefit of keeping customers happy with lower prices
• Branding: Just as it owns the product design, the retailer also has creative control over the private label branding, from the aesthetics to the voice and promotion

Leading retailers are leaning into the private label apparel category specifically and partnering with luxury designers, like Walmart’s collaboration with Brandon Maxwell.

How to create a thriving private label brand in 6 steps

Now that you know the potential of private labels, find out how you can breathe new life into your owned brands, or successfully launch new ones, with the following tactics.

1. Build a strong retail brand identity

To have a thriving private label brand, first, you need to have a strong overall retail brand. 

When you earn brand loyalty and the positive public perception that comes with it, consumers will naturally trust and gravitate to your owned brands. 67% of the respondents to our private label research strongly or somewhat agree that the quality and range of a retailer’s private label products positively affect their overall perception of the retailer’s brand and reputation.

So, how do you build brand trust and loyalty to attract customers to your private label products? Some essential methods include:

• Appealing to your target audience’s values and interests
• Providing great customer service
• Offering deals and discounts

But, of course, these community-building efforts will only work if your products are unique, valuable, and serve customers’ needs. Our own research validates this approach, given that the top two reasons shoppers gave for selecting private label products are that they love them and they are well-priced. 

With the right practices in place, your customers will come for your retail experience and stay for your private label brands, creating a sustainable cycle that propels your business forward.

2. Devise a smart product strategy 

Once you have a solid foundation for your retail brand, you can begin to develop your own private label products. Your products need to meet the essential criteria to hook shoppers from the beginning and keep them coming back for more. To make your store brand the preferred alternative to the national name brands, make sure its value proposition is unique.

a) Develop your concept(s)

The formula for creating your store brand concepts is simple. Find the gaps in your inventory selection — what missing products could fulfill a customer need, price point, or variety? That white space will determine what and how many private label products to develop. This will guide your entire product strategy. The process could look something like the following steps:

1. Start by sorting your target customers into different segments and define the needs of each one
2. Research the price points and product features that make sense for each industry category
3. Research your competitors’ products in each category
4. With those insights, analyze your current product catalog to find what’s missing
5. Determine what alternative products your retail business can produce at a lower cost but that are equal to or better quality than the name-brand options

If your business is new to private label branding, you might want to start small with one to a few options within your bigger product categories to test the performance. Once you’ve decided which products to pursue, define the guidelines for your supplier and company stakeholders to follow.

This will ensure that your costs are accurate to fit your price point and profit margin — and that the materials used, functionality, and quality all meet expectations. 

b) Pricing and variety

Since value is the top consumer driver of store brand sales — lower price compared to national brands is the main purchasing influence for 72% of shoppers, according to our private label research — the key is to offer a price that is lower than your competition, while maintaining your target profit margin.

Identify the leading competitors in your store-brand product categories to base your pricing and quality criteria. 

In addition to pricing, variety is a key component of your product strategy. What flavors, pack sizes, format sizes, and other differentiators can you offer in each category? Use an internal system to keep track of your pricing and variety architecture so you can gradually fill in gaps with your store brand offerings.

c) Packaging

Early private label branding strived to mimic the presentation of its national brand rivals. But now, the industry leaders are aiming to stand out rather than blend in. Packaging plays a huge role in purchase decisions, so this is an important area to focus on. The design should ideally be distinct and include the unique and attractive features of the product, whether that’s easy functionality, sustainable ingredients, or something else. 

For example, the packaging for retailer ShopRite’s store brand, Bowl & Basket, stands on its own with a prominent font, clean design, striking product photography, and a pleasant and soft color palette. It has a simple and clear product description that draws the consumer in. 

d) Innovation

The best way to generate interest in your private label brands and be a progressive outlier in the space is to consistently innovate. To pull this off, you need to leverage your store brand as the solution to your customer’s wants and needs.

If you look at leading private label brand retailers, many of their owned products are “value-added lifestyle items.” This is a niche to focus on that will lead to innovation, like Trader Joe’s iconic Everything But the Bagel seasoning.

Sourcing is another point of leverage for innovation. For example, locally sourced ingredients that benefit underserved communities can help your products stand out and satisfy consumer preferences.

3. Collect authentic reviews of private label products 

Product reviews are one of the most effective ways to win consumers’ trust. According to the 2022 Bazaarvoice Summit, 94% of shoppers report needing at least 10 reviews to “consider the product credible.

The recency of reviews is also a top decision-making factor for most (85%) of shoppers. So, you need to actively source reviews to grow your volume and keep them up to date. Luckily, there’s a variety of different ways you can generate authentic reviews. Just ask your customers!

• Request a review with a review request email
• Send an SMS message after a customer’s order is delivered
• Direct customers to leave reviews via your social media channels
• Offer customers a discount on a future purchase in exchange for a review
• Utilize a sampling campaign and exchange free product samples in exchange for honest reviews 

Ratings and reviews don’t just have a huge impact on e-commerce but on in-store sales, too, based on the 40% of shoppers who claim to read online reviews before buying offline. Helpful, descriptive, and substantial reviews are essential, but those featuring media can go even further. Customers’ photos and videos of product purchases make 62% of shoppers more likely to buy.

Reviews also have great search engine optimization (SEO) value because they contain a lot of the same descriptive keywords that shoppers are searching for. So, not only will reviews increase conversions when shoppers land on your e-commerce site, but they can also be the vehicle that gets them there. 

Reviews communicate the value that customers find in your products and the features that are important to them. They give your customers a platform to express their own opinions about your brand, which resonates with other shoppers.

4. Grow awareness and interest with targeted product sampling

Whether you’re launching a new private label brand or product or rebranding an old one, product sampling can help it take flight. We’re not just talking about a taste of kombucha in a paper cup or a cheese cube on a toothpick, but a custom product sampling package delivered to your target audience.

Renowned brand Petco recently rolled out a sampling campaign specifically to bolster review volume for its private label brands and increase SEO impact.

To date, the campaign has led to a 48% increase in revenue per visit (driven by a 28% increase in conversion rate and 15% increase in average order value) for sampled products and an 80% increase in clicks from organic search. Not to mention, that data that sampling provides.

We’ve really seen a positive impact on visits, conversions, and improving the discoverability of new products. From a results standpoint, it’s been a positive experience to see that we can get 10-15 reviews for new products quickly

Hannah Kredich, Category Specialist at Petco

First-party customer data also provides tons of useful information you can use to plan a product sampling campaign. Let’s say you notice customers buying a lot of the same national-brand products in one category, you could send them a sample of your store-brand alternative or a complementary product from your store brand. 

And if you’re starting from scratch with a brand-new product launch, sampling is a great upfront investment. In a survey of over 6,000 Influenster members who have been recipients of a product sampling campaign, 63% purchased the product they sampled. Many also reported buying additional products from the brand and recommending the product to family and friends.

Lastly, another huge benefit of product sampling is the user-generated content (UGC) it can produce in the form of product reviews, images, and videos. This is especially important for new product releases so you can be equipped with the customer reviews necessary to give other shoppers confidence right from the launch. 

5. Optimize your product pages for conversions

One common concern for retailers is the lack of rich content, including product reviews, across all of their product pages on their e-commerce websites. This can be particularly challenging for retailers with an extensive product catalog. This is why it’s crucial to encourage customers to write reviews so you can enhance your product pages with UGC. 

You can set up those reviews to post directly on the product pages they correspond to, which will make a huge difference in sales — nearly 40% of shoppers won’t make a purchase if UGC is absent from the product page. And that includes visual UGC too. As part of our recent Shopper Experience Index, we asked 7,000 shoppers:

Additionally, almost half of shoppers specifically look for customer photos on product pages when considering purchases. Encourage customers to upload their own photos and videos of their purchases to your product pages with a hashtag campaign.

To optimize your private label product pages to their full extent, include: 

• Star ratings 
• Review categories based on product features, positive reviews, and negative reviews
• Detailed product descriptions that highlight your product’s best attributes
• Professional product photos
• Customer-submitted product photos and videos 

6. Attract more customers on social media

Whether it’s Gen Z on TikTok, millennials on Instagram, or older demographics on Facebook, social media is a critical marketing tool for your private label growth. 

Social media content supports a more modern, cutting-edge, approachable, and innovative perception of your store-brand products. Consumers come to social media to discover brands and be entertained, and there’s a ton of features and content types you can leverage to appeal to them. That includes short-form video like TikTok and Instagram Reels, quick and temporary content like Instagram Stories and Snapchat, and even livestream shopping on a number of different channels. 

Influencers have proven extremely successful for brand marketing, and social media is the perfect platform for an influencer partnership. Collaborating with influencers to promote your store brand is another way to drive demand through a public figure whom consumers trust. 

You can also use social media as a tool to generate more visual UGC that you can feed to your product pages. Encourage your followers to share their purchases on social media and tag your brand profile. This will supply you with more content and introduce your products to a wider audience.

Not only can you market your private label products on social media, but you can also sell them, too. With social commerce features such as Like2Buy and social media shops, you can upload your products and sell them directly on your social media channels. 

Private label brand strategy examples

As private label brands have evolved over the years, there’s plenty of retailer examples to draw inspiration from. Take notes from some of these trailblazers who are shaking up the store-brand category. 

Target’s Future Collective

Target might just be the pinnacle of store-brand potential, neck and neck with Amazon. Target has multiple private label brands, but as the retailer says, their Future Collective brand is the “first of its kind.” This fashion-forward apparel brand is “co-designed with a rotating roster of style and cultural influencers with diverse points of view in fashion.”

This innovative approach enables Target to leverage different guest designers and influencers to bring in different perspectives on fashion, while offering a continuous stream of fresh variety for customers. The brand is dedicated to inclusivity, offering something for everyone.

Thrive Market

Thrive Market is a successful e-commerce retailer that specializes in health-conscious products, including name brands and its own store brand. 

Not only is Thrive an excellent private label brands example, but also a great example of how to develop products that meet the needs of target customers. For example, one of its best-selling private label products is its coconut milk. What makes its particular coconut milk unique is that it leaves out a commonly used ingredient, guar gum, which isn’t Paleo diet friendly.

This solved a problem for its Paleo customers, who make up a big chunk of its clientele. 

Foxtrot

Foxtrot, a fast-growing specialty convenience store chain, is another example of a retailer going above and beyond with its owned products. Foxtrot’s goal for its store brands is to beat the well-known national brands in all categories, not just price. 

Just as Target partners with influencers for Future Collective, Foxtrot partners with industry leaders for its food and beverage products. As an example of this, the company has a hot chocolate mix developed by an acclaimed pastry chef and a bourbon made in collaboration with a beloved local Chicago cocktail bar. According to the Washington Post, Foxtrot’s profit margins for its private label products are 10 – 15% higher than those of its external brands.

Improve your private label branding with customer insights

One of the most important steps you can take as a retailer to grow your private label brands and business as a whole is to listen to your customers. Pay attention to the insights revealed in your product reviews, customer satisfaction surveys, customer support conversations, social media interactions, and anywhere else you can find them. 

What do your customers like and not like about your products? What are they saying they need that you don’t currently offer? This invaluable information can help you make store-brand product modifications and improvements that will provide more value for your customers. 

Once you’ve established your private label branding, it’s time to take it to the next level. Learn how to position your private label for continued market success with our new on-demand masterclass: How to leverage new customer insights for private label success.

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4 strategies to achieve private label success

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Why does the checkout page wield so much power? Well, it’s the ultimate test of your online store’s charm, efficiency, and trustworthiness. Get it right, and your bottom line will thank you. Get it wrong and you hit a sour note in an otherwise perfect performance.

Chapters:

1. What is the checkout process in e-commerce?
2. How to improve your e-commerce checkout process
3. A step-by-step guide to implementing checkout process optimization
4. Don’t stop at the checkout process

What is the checkout process in e-commerce?

The checkout process in e-commerce is the journey a shopper follows when buying items from an online store. The flow begins when the shopper adds one or more items to their shopping cart and ends when they receive confirmation their purchase has been completed.

The checkout is the point where the customer adds their payment details and purchases the product(s). Your whole checkout process needs to be as clear and frictionless is possible to provide the best shopping experience possible that encourages shoppers to complete their purchases.

How to improve your e-commerce checkout process

You have questions, we have the answers. These are our top tips to give your customers a checkout experience they’ll love so much, they’ll soon be back for more.

1. Optimize for mobile

In the US alone, 76% of consumers shop using mobile devices. The percentage is even higher (91%) for the 18 to 49 demographic. Ignoring this fact (and failing to optimize your checkout process accordingly) is like showing up to a marathon in flip-flops — you’re just not prepared for the race. And you’ll probably get a scraped knee. Or two.

First off, size matters. Make all clickable elements thumb-friendly, because nothing tests patience like trying to hit a tiny button on a touch screen. 

Speed is also of the essence. A slow-loading checkout is a no-go, so optimize images and leverage mobile-specific features like digital wallets to keep things moving at a brisk pace. 

Another neat trick is including the option to scan a credit card using the phone’s camera. This feature not only adds a layer of modern convenience but also significantly speeds up the payment process.

2. Implement trust signals and social proof

In e-commerce, trust is the currency, and your checkout process is where shoppers invest it. If you want to reassure them that it’s safe to take that final step, you need to signal trust — whether it’s through user-generated content (UGC), badges, or both.

Displaying UGC is literally having your customers vouch for you at the checkout line. According to our Shopper Experience Index, 78% of shoppers rely on this content to feel more confident in their purchases. Whether it’s a photo of a happy customer or a glowing review, incorporating these elements around your checkout can significantly boost buyer confidence.

Badges instantly signal to your customers that your site is secure and their information is protected. Examples of these trust signals include SSL certificates, which encrypt data, and payment badges like Visa, Mastercard, and PayPal.

Familiar logos offer a sense of security and familiarity amidst the vastness (and general insanity) of the internet.

Pro tip: Bazaarvoice helps you collect, syndicate, and display user reviews and other UGC across your online store and your retail partners’ websites.

3. Don’t make account creation a deal-breaker

Not everyone is ready to commit to a full-on relationship with your site on the first date (sorry to be the bearers of bad news, but they probably have other dates lined up). Creating an account might be a minor inconvenience for some people, but for others, it can be a deal-breaker.

Aim for convenience by offering paths that cater to all types of visitors. Options like signing in with social media or continuing as a guest can transform the checkout experience from a high-pressure sales pitch to a casual “come as you are” moment. 

Social media sign-ins leverage existing profiles, so the process feels less like a commitment and more like seeing a familiar face in a crowd of strangers. On the other hand, allowing customers to continue as guests is the e-commerce version of “no strings attached, let’s just enjoy the moment.” It’s an invitation to explore without the need for pesky formal introductions. 

Pro tip: You can use third-party services like Auth0 to provide social sign-in options. If you’re using WordPress, Shopify, or any of the popular CMS, CCMS, or e-commerce systems, you can browse their app stores or directories for integrations.

4. Clearly communicate fees and shipping

Finding the perfect product is exhilarating, but you know what’s not so great? Getting hit with unexpected fees and shipping costs at checkout. Turns out, this is the number one reason for abandoned shopping carts. Surprise!, said no one.

Lay all of your cards on the table from the get-go. Whether it’s a detailed breakdown of costs or a shipping calculator that adjusts in real-time, giving your customers a clear view of what they’re paying for (and why) builds trust and sets expectations right away.

But why stop at just being transparent? Go the extra mile by offering shipping options that cater to different needs and budgets. From standard to express shipping, providing choices allows customers to weigh their options based on how quickly they need their items and how much they’re willing to pay for speed.

5. Offer multiple payment options

How often have you been slightly annoyed by those places that only take cash? It’s a pain to make your way to the closest ATM. That’s how customers feel when their preferred payment method isn’t available. In this case, there’s no magic money box to go to. They’ll likely just leave. 

No matter where your customers come from or how they prefer to spend their digital dollars, accommodate them. Each payment method comes with its own security assurances, appealing to the varying levels of trust and familiarity within your customer base. 

From credit cards and PayPal to Apple Pay, Google Wallet, cryptocurrency, and buy now, pay later solutions, the more options you provide, the wider the door you open to potential sales.

6. Display a progress indicator

A progress bar is a simple addition, but one that turns the checkout process into a clearly marked journey, complete with milestones and an end in sight. More than reducing anxiety and/or impatience, it taps into the sweet feeling of completing tasks. Each step forward is a small victory that encourages people to keep going until they reach the finish line.

Implementing a progress bar is also an opportunity to refine and streamline your checkout process. By breaking down the journey into distinct steps, you can identify and eliminate any unnecessary complications. 

Each segment of the progress bar should represent a clear, concise, and necessary action. This speeds up the transaction and minimizes the chances of customers getting lost or overwhelmed along the way.

Pro tip: Providers like FastSrping and FunnelKit make it easy to build a progress bar, and the Shopify app store offers integrations with apps like CheckIt for the same purpose.

7. Allow one-click purchases

We love fast-forwarding through ads, so why not fast-forward through shopping? For customers who’ve already bought from you and built a steady, trusting relationship, one-click purchases are a boon. No need to re-enter information — they can just slide on by and see ya next time.

When customers know that making a repeat purchase is as easy as a single click, they’re more likely to come back. It’s a simple equation: less hassle = more sales. This feature also positions your brand as tech-savvy and customer-centric, attributes that can strengthen customer loyalty and set you apart in a crowded marketplace. 

Pro tip: You can find third-party providers like Stripe to help you set up one-click purchases seamlessly.

8. Make support options available

Stuff happens. Maybe it’s a promo code that won’t apply or a shipping question that’s got shoppers stumped. Either way, making sure they have someone or somewhere to turn to with their issues can be the difference between a sale and an abandoned cart.

Support can come in many forms, from live chat to an on-page FAQ or a Customer Success Manager’s contact details. What matters is that you show that you’re there to help, not just sell. It’s an extra level of care and attention that can turn a one-time buyer into your #1 fan. 

9. Reduce the number of mandatory form fields

Less truly is more. Do you honestly know anyone who’s ever said “oh goody, can’t wait to fill out this 25-page form”? No? That’s because they don’t exist (yes, we checked. Trust us). Keep this in mind when you’re designing your checkout flow.

Focus on the essential information — the customer’s name, billing address, shipping address, and contact information. That’s enough, you don’t need their whole life story. More than that, and you risk them giving up on the whole process.

Remember that optimizing e-commerce checkout is about removing obstacles and making the buying process as inviting as a freshly baked pie on a windowsill. 

10. Simplify discount application

Making customers jump through hoops to apply coupon codes will quickly sour an otherwise sweet deal. You likely gave them away to begin with, so make the option to apply them clear and accessible, without cluttering the checkout process experience. 

When customers easily see how much they’re saving, it reinforces the value of their purchase, making them more likely to hit that final “buy” button. Plus, a straightforward process can enhance the overall shopping experience. It shows that you’ve thought about every detail of the customer journey — even the part where they save some bucks.

11. Offer last-minute deals

Speaking of discounts, why not offer them during the checkout process? It’s a sneaky way to increase average order value while giving customers something in return (like sales items or free shipping). 

You’re basically capitalizing on the momentum of the buying decision. At this point, shoppers are already committed to making a purchase and a last-minute offer can be the nudge that makes them feel like they’re getting even more bang for their buck.

Not to mention, last-minute deals are an excellent opportunity to clear out inventory or promote specific products. By strategically choosing which deals to offer, you can boost sales while managing your stock more effectively. Win-win.

12. Confirm the purchase

Congratulations, you’ve got yourself a purchase! Quick tip here: don’t leave customers hanging. The moment after a purchase is your chance to leave a lasting impression. With a thoughtfully designed thank you page, you can transform a transactional moment into the beginning of an ongoing, beautiful, profitable relationship.

Brief your customers on what comes next with clear instructions about shipping timelines, customer service contact information, and how to track their orders. Your thank you page can also be a platform for deepening customer engagement.

Here, you can provide suggestions for related products, invitations to join your loyalty program, or even a simple request for feedback. 

A step-by-step guide to implementing checkout process optimization

You have the latest and greatest tips. Now, it’s time to actually optimize the checkout flow. And as with most things in life and business, it’s somewhat of a process — but not a complex one.

Step 1: Evaluate your current checkout process

Start by walking a mile in your customers’ shoes and run through the checkout process yourself. Take note of any friction points, such as unnecessary form fields, confusing navigation, or lack of payment options. These are your first clues on what needs optimizing. Or have someone in a different department try it out for you.

Next, dive into the data. Analytics can reveal where potential customers drop off and which steps might be causing hesitation. Look for patterns and trends that point to specific areas for improvement. 

Don’t forget to gather feedback directly from the source — your customers. Surveys, feedback forms, or direct conversations can provide invaluable insights into their experiences and perceptions. 

Step 2: Set clear objectives

Turn your insights into actionable goals. First, prioritize the issues you’ve identified based on their impact on the customer experience and your conversion rates. Is it the insane number of form fields that are slowing customers down? Or perhaps the lack of a guest checkout option causing them to abandon ship? 

Each issue should correspond to a specific objective, such as “reduce checkout time by 30%” or “decrease cart abandonment rate by 15%.”  

Your objectives should align with both customer needs and your broader business goals. Whether it’s increasing average order value or boosting repeat purchases, each goal should contribute to the overarching vision of your e-commerce success.

Step 3: Implement the changes

This is where strategy meets action. Begin by tackling the low-hanging fruit — those changes that are relatively easy to implement but can have an immediate impact on the customer experience. It might include simplifying form fields, ensuring your site is mobile-responsive, or adding visible trust signals and security badges. 

Next, address more complex issues that may require a bit more time and resources (e.g. integrating new payment options, developing a one-click purchase feature, or redesigning the entire e-commerce checkout page for better usability).

While these changes might take longer to roll out, their potential to significantly boost conversions and customer satisfaction over time makes them well worth the effort. 

Step 4: Monitor and refine

The checkout optimization journey doesn’t end, it simply evolves. You want to fix what’s broken, but more than that, you want to continuously improve the checkout process.

Monitor the impact of the changes you’ve implemented. Use analytics tools to track key metrics such as cart abandonment rates, conversion rates, and average order value. Keep gathering customer feedback through surveys, user testing, and direct communication for qualitative insights that complement your quantitative data. 

Some changes may yield immediate positive results, while others might need further tweaking to achieve their full potential. Keep adjusting until you hit the sweet spot. Flexibility and willingness to learn from successes and setbacks are key to long-term improvement. 

Don’t stop at the checkout process

Your checkout page is super important, but so is the rest of your e-commerce site. After all, a smooth checkout process on a website that’s otherwise difficult to navigate or slow to load doesn’t quite make sense. You want to provide a user-friendly experience from the moment customers land in your store to the moment they complete their purchase.

For more insights and practical tips on how to enhance your performance across the board, check out these 15 ways to improve your e-commerce website performance.

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The e-commerce manager’s guide to user-generated content

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As with everything else in the rapidly evolving digital marketplace, you need to continuously innovate if you want to compete. Leaders in the shoppable content space utilize the latest platforms, technologies, and formats available to them.

And in a smarter way than your competition. Whether you’re just getting started with shoppable content or you’ve been doing it from the start, there’s plenty to learn about at the intersection of social content and commerce.

What is shoppable content?

Shoppable content is a digital image, video, article, catalog, or social media post that consumers can purchase from directly, or click through to purchase on the product page.

If you’re behind the shoppable content curve, first of all: it’s never too late to catch up. And even if your brand’s already producing shoppable content, you should still learn how the technology is evolving.

Let’s start by explaining the concept.

Shoppable content is the foundation of social commerce — the selling of products and services on social media platforms and everywhere social reaches. Increasingly, brands are extending their e-commerce business past their websites to their social media channels. Accenture reports that social commerce sales will more than double by 2025, growing, three times as fast as traditional e-commerce.

They predict that millennials and Gen Z will contribute the majority of that growth. Especially the latter, given that 97% of Gen Zers use social media as their top source of shopping inspiration.

Social media is literally built for content, discovery, and exploration. So it’s a perfect fit for consumers to find products that appeal to them, represented by images, videos, testimonials, and descriptions.

But social media isn’t the only space for shoppable content. That’s the beauty of this conversion magnet. With the right tools (shameless plug), you can place that content on your website, partner sites, and even email. 74% of shoppers even expect to see social content on your website nowdays.

And in this stage of the game, there’s more types of content you can enable for shopping than when it first broke onto the scene. Now, shoppable content has expanded beyond static images in social media feeds and blog posts linked to product pages. We already know that works and produces significant results. Just look at Oak Furnitureland, who featured shoppable content across their website and marketing campaigns and saw a 248% increase in conversion rate.

So instead here’s a look at the latest advancements that brands and retailers can explore and use to innovate.

Best platforms for shoppable content

Some major social media platforms have begun to enable social commerce, even though they’ve been around for a while. If your brand already has a presence on these platforms, you’re well-positioned to start testing shoppable content on them. If you’re not already on these channels, now’s your chance to arrive prepared.

TikTok

Shoppable video content is all the rage. TikTok is one of the fastest-growing social platforms, and it reached 1 billion users in almost half the time that it took Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube. As it continues to roll out more shopping features, this is a channel that e-commerce brands will want to pay attention to.

Millions of active users around the world burn through hours of their day scrolling TikTok. Videos of people dancing, cooking, goofing off, doing voiceovers, putting on makeup, and basically just living their lives.

This makes it the perfect environment for customers to discover brands and products they’re drawn to in a casual, organic way. There’s even a hashtag dedicated to this very activity: #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt, which has literally billions of views.

TikTok Shopping, a suite of in-app shopping solutions for retail and e-commerce brands, is in its early stages. Similar to Pinterest and Instagram, brands with a TikTok for Business account can link their Shopify product catalog, which will appear in a Shopping tab on their TikTok profile. 

Additional partnerships with other e-commerce providers like Square, Wix, Ecwid, and OpenCart are in progress.

Many early TikTok Shopping adopters reflect the most popular content categories, such as beauty and skincare. For example, after Glow Beauty experienced a 600% spike in sales from a viral TikTok post and received a ton of first-time customer traffic from TikTok, they were eager to join the TikTok Shopping beta program.

Twitter/X

Twitter, or X, has joined the social commerce trend and is currently testing and piloting several different shopping features. They include:

• A Shop Module where users can purchase from business profiles
• Shop button linked with product-based tweets that adds items to an in-app cart
• Live Shopping and a Twitter Shopping Manager for merchants

Twitter’s commerce tools are only available to a limited number of brands, as of early 2022. But keep an eye on them as the next big platform to offer shoppable content.

Be prepared for when Twitter expands access to shopping features to more brands by optimizing your Twitter marketing strategy now. Take the advice of successful brands on Twitter by coming up with a brand voice that works for the platform and refining your audience targeting.

Snapchat

Snapchat is another social platform to launch in-app shopping in the past year. With Snapchat’s Public Profiles for Businesses, brands can enable a Shop section of their profile where they can upload products for sale.

With Snapchat’s Verishop collaboration, users can search for items according to their mood — a fun and inventive way for shoppers to explore outfits, makeup, and more. The category themes include mid-century modern, high glam, and free-spirited. This approach is Snapchat’s way of translating the in-person shopping experience for the digital audience.

The key to leveraging Snapchat for shoppable content is to embrace all the features that differentiate the app from its towering competitors. This means creating Snapchat-friendly content using interactive Lenses, artistic Filters, and creative Stories that show tutorials and provide an inside look into your brand. Then, you can complement that content by adding all the products that inspired it in your Snapchat Shop.

Leverage new social commerce features on established platforms

As social commerce continues to grow, so do the opportunities for more shoppable content on the first platforms to offer it. Your audience is already on these platforms to discover products and shop. 70% of the 8.5 million-member Influenster community say they search for products on legacy social platforms like Instagram and Facebook.

Make sure your brand meets them where they are with the shoppable content they’re looking for.

Shoppable Instagram Reels

Instagram was already a social commerce giant. Recently, Instagram added shopping functionality to Reels too, making it an ideal shoppable video content platform. This move came soon after TikTok’s Shopify partnership announcement as a way to compete with their short-form video rival.

Brands and creators that have Instagram Shopping set up can add product tags to their Reels. Then, anyone viewing a Reel with tagged products can tap to learn more. By enabling Instagram Checkout, they can even add-to-cart or buy from within the app.

Reels are a valuable feature for brands that want to level up their social commerce game, and their overall Instagram presence. In addition to displaying Reels within your feed/profile, Instagram may also feature Reels in the Reels tab of the Explore page. And creator partners can also tag your products in their Reels. This last perk presents brands with another way to make the most out of their influencer partnerships.

Brands can use Reels to demo products and show their fun and creative side. Use the music in Reels to your advantage: bust out your best dancing, acting, and performance skills; tell a story and use props and anything else your imagination can concoct.

Facebook Shops

In 2020, Facebook launched Facebook Shops, a way for businesses to have an online storefront on Facebook and Instagram by uploading their product catalog. In 2021, Facebook expanded Shops’ promotion to Facebook Marketing and WhatsApp. More recently, Meta (Facebook’s parent company) announced they would further extend Shops content to other corners of their platform, including Facebook Groups and News Feeds.

Within Groups, Facebook will recommend relevant products based on the topics and discussions within those communities. On WhatsApp, businesses on Facebook can showcase their entire Shops catalog, and users can interact directly with merchants to ask questions and get more information about products.

Pinterest Shopping

Pinterest has supported and encouraged shoppable content for a while now, making Pins shoppable and allowing brands to upload their product catalogs to sell on Pinterest. Those products can link to their corresponding pages on e-commerce sites or, for U.S.-based businesses, are available to purchase directly in iOS and Android Pinterest apps.

Their newest social commerce feature is Shopping Lists, where all the Product Pins saved by users are stored in one place. Pinners who have Shopping Lists will be notified any time there’s an update or price drop on their saved items. According to Pinterest data, Pinners are 7x more likely to buy products they’ve saved.

Make sure you’re primed for shoppable content on Pinterest. Apply to be a verified merchant to increase your brand trust and credibility, post a variety of media types, and create content that appeals to the latest trending interests in beauty, food, fashion, home decor, travel, and other categories.

Livestream shopping

If there’s one way to go and make your video content shoppable it’s livestream shopping. Livestreams are the new infomercials. Except younger, cooler, and better connected. Livestream shopping first exploded in Asia, and the trend is traveling quickly to other parts of the world. Since other major markets like the U.S. are still figuring it out, this is a great time to get in on it early.

Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok currently dominate the livestreaming sector of social media. YouTube, which seems like a natural fit, is also getting on board with livestream shopping.

One brand to experience the power of live shopping on Instagram is Clinique. For a livestream event, the makeup brand offered Instagram-exclusive makeup kits, including a very limited, in-demand product. This repurposed product launch accounted for 85% of orders placed through Instagram and Facebook during, and right after, the livestream. This was a 7x faster product launch than what’s usual for Clinique.

Social media livestreams offer brands the opportunity to leverage partnerships with influencers who have large followings. For example, after seeing more success than anticipated with their first TikTok shopping livestream, Walmart partnered with TikTok creator Gabby Morrison, who has millions of followers, to host another livestream.

Livestream beyond social

Social platforms aren’t the only way to host livestreams. The Canadian footwear brand Aldo debuted livestream shopping on their website that achieved great success, including 17,000 pageviews, a 12-minute average time on site, and a 308% engagement rate. Aldo recruited two exciting co-hosts — a celebrity stylist and an L.A. entertainer — for the live shopping event. Attendees could shop the 2021 spring collection right within the livestream.

Adweek reports that more retailers will be following Aldo’s example and hosting livestreams on their own websites, with the help of new tech and startups “that have cropped up to provide the infrastructure for these efforts.”

To do livestreaming right, first you need a likable, knowledgeable, and relatable host. They need to be able to speak authoritatively about products and quickly and thoroughly answer questions submitted by viewers during the livestream. Cross-promoting livestreams on other channels is also key, as are exclusive incentives for livestream attendees, like discounts and bonus offers.

Distinguish your shoppable content with augmented reality

Using a digital camera, AR technology can “yes-and” reality by adding images, sounds, and animation to what appears in real time. This is one of the most innovative and cutting-edge ways brands can set their shoppable content apart.

AR marketing is particularly effective for beauty and apparel brands, and many have seen success in offering virtual try-ons. L’Oreal and Meta have combined forces with AR tech providers to bring virtual try-ons to Instagram.

Snapchat is going all-in on AR. The app is leveraging their trademark filters — dubbed Lenses — that can give you animal ears or turn you into an anime character to carve their niche in shoppable content. Elevating their social commerce capabilities with AR features is how they’ll continue to compete with TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook, which have much bigger audiences.

Brands can also invest in proprietary AR, like Home Depot’s Project Color app to test paint colors. Or there’s Target’s See It In Your Space tool to visualize home furniture and decor.

How to add shoppable content to your e-commerce site

Shoppable content can go way beyond the add-to-cart and buy now buttons on your e-commerce website. Step it up with shoppable content on your blog, product pages, and anywhere else that makes sense.

Longform blog content is essential for improving SEO performance, but you can further optimize that content for conversions by adding shoppable images, multimedia, and customer reviews. This will provide a more realistic representation of your products and give shoppers the ability to add-to-cart or buy now with one click.

Or using social commerce tools like Bazaarvoice Galleries, you can upgrade your home page, product pages, or separate gallery pages with beautiful shoppable image and video displays of your products sourced from influencers, shoppers on social media, and your own content.

By bringing user-generated content (UGC) from social media to shoppable website galleries, apparel brand Quiz increased time on site by 276%, average order value by 23%, and conversion rates by 154%.

Read the full case study here to see how they did it.

Customize and curate your shoppable content

It’s not enough just to tag your content with products on your social channels and call it a day. Give that content a fighting chance by planning it strategically.

Carefully select which products you want to showcase in shoppable posts and catalogs. Focus on lower-priced items, or at least offer a range of prices, as shoppers are more likely to make smaller in-app purchases and take more time to research higher-priced items.

You can group your products together in categories on Facebook and Instagram Shops. Curate your product collections based on the types of products that are driving sales and social engagement, as well as what aligns with your product marketing strategy. If certain products aren’t selling that well in-store or on your e-commerce site, try selling them on social platforms. 

You can also organize collections based on what’s in season, what’s trending, new products, and sales you’re promoting.

A proven way to increase engagement, reach, and conversions is to leverage UGC. Whether it’s content on your social media or website, UGC will go the extra mile because it’s created by your customers, many of whom have become brand advocates. They’re sharing their experiences with your brand because it makes them happy or proud.

Repurpose the best images and videos created by your customers, turning them into shoppable content. Repost it (with permission) on your social media accounts and website.

Test and measure your shoppable content for success

There’s many types of shoppable content and many platforms on which to distribute it. But that doesn’t mean you have to use every single one. Create different forms and try different channels until you find which delivers you the most value.

Measure the performance of your shoppable content based on your goals. What’s driving the most conversions, attracting the most new customers, and bringing higher average order values? There’s an easy way to find out.

FEATURED RESOURCE

Masterclass: Shopping on social: From following trends to starting them

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You can check out the rest of our Long Read content here for more social commerce marketing strategies, tips, and insights.

By integrating user-generated content into your marketing strategy you’ll build brand authenticity, drive sales, and seamlessly integrate your brand into the ever-growing creator economy. All absolute necessities to succeed in today’s turbulent market.

Chapters:

1. What is UGC (user-generated content)?
2. The benefits of user-generated content
3. How to increase engagement with user-generated content
4. UGC best practices guide
5. Curate your brand identity with user-generated content

What is UGC (user-generated content)?

User-generated content, or UGC, is a form of content that’s created by real people to promote your brand. This includes written ratings and reviews, photos, videos, and even audio that your brand’s customers, followers, ambassadors, or even employees create and share across social and other digital platforms.

Recently, user-generated content has evolved to include professional-quality images, engaging videos, and thoughtfully written content that seamlessly support your brand identity. The days of grainy selfies and lacklustre videos are long gone, but UGC has retained its essential component of authenticity.

UGC doesn’t feel like an ad, and just like a word-of-mouth recommendation, it’s often more influential than one.

UGC is far more powerful than traditional brand marketing. Essentially user-generated content is the modern-day equivalent of a product recommendation, and the numbers back it up. 84% of consumers are more likely to trust a brand’s marketing campaign if it features user-generated content, and 77% are more likely to buy a product they found through UGC. 

Who provides UGC?

User-generated content is usually found through your customers, brand loyalists, and employees. An easy way to turn customers into UGC creators is to make it easy for them to leave reviews and add their own product photos. Brand loyalists are repeat customers who love your product so much that they’re willing to advocate for you without incentives.

Love them or hate them, the infamous Crocs knows how to rally its brand loyalists, with its hashtag #croctok gaining traction on TikTok and spreading its message to over 300 million viewers.

Finally, employee-created content, like video content discussing the company’s values, acts as a source of UGC that demonstrates diversity, support, and authenticity.

The benefits of user-generated content

Not only is user-generated content more influential than traditional advertising, but it’s also free, authentic, and engaging. There’s several benefits to UGC that have a big payoff for brands.

Builds authenticity and trust

User-generated content showcases how actual people use products in real-world settings. This creates authenticity for brands and allows them to promote products without being overly salesy.

Authenticity means a lot to consumers. 84% of millennials say user-generated content influences their purchasing decisions. And nearly half of Gen Z cites social media as their chief source of inspiration — even above family and friends.

Plus, people trust peer recommendations over branded advertising. A whopping 85% of consumers say they turn to visual UGC, rather than branded content, when making purchasing decisions.

Boosts search engine optimization ratings

Search engines place a premium on fresh and relevant content. UGC often contains keywords and phrases that can enhance the visibility of your brand in search results, indicating that the content is higher quality and more relevant to the reader, which leads to more organic traffic visiting your site.

And as we know, more traffic means more MQLs.

Increases engagement

User-generated content is all about connecting with consumers, building an online community, and creating a conversation between customers and a brand. So it’s no surprise that your content receives 28% higher engagement when UGC is integrated alongside your typical posts.

This is evident in all types of marketing content, including digital ads. When direct-to-consumer bedding and bath brand Parachute incorporated UGC into its retargeting ads, the ads generated a 35% higher click-through rate and a 60% lower cost per click.

What’s behind this higher engagement? It comes down to the fact that people want to get in touch with their favorite brands through social media channels. 60% of millennials alone say brand loyalty influences their purchasing decisions, according to joint research by Future Workplace and Elite Daily.

Plus, the most followed brands on social media are those that share their followers’ content. And engagement breeds further engagement, which inspires the creation of more UGC.

Drives sales

Using data from our Bazaarvoice Network of over 12,500 brands and retailers, we found there’s a 144% lift in conversion rate when shoppers engage with UGC and a 162% lift in revenue per visitor. Further research shows that visual UGC is more likely to convert compared with brand-created content.

78% of shoppers gain more confidence in a purchase when they see UGC, and 35% indicate they’re depending more on UGC during the cost of living crisis, according to our SEI. UGC provides social proof that assures consumers they’re making the right purchase, which translates to more sales.

However, some brands have experienced much greater growth in conversions, thanks to UGC. Take apparel brand Tuckernuck, for example. When Tuckernuck implemented a gallery of user-generated content on its website, as well as displayed UGC and influencer photos on its product pages, conversions skyrocketed by 190%.

“Having social content on our PDPs really helps with conversion,” says Kayla Robinson, a Tuckernuck customer experience and marketing associate. “When a customer sees other customers and influencers wearing the product, it inspires her or him to purchase it as well.”

User-generated content can be particularly beneficial to certain industries. The table above compares the click rate of posts both with and without UGC among various industries.

Provides audience insights

Consistently engaging with customers and analyzing the content they post about your brand allows you to better understand your audience. This enables you to not only improve how you interact with customers but also make adjustments to products and services based on customer feedback.

For example, branded hashtags often offer a ton of insight into what consumers want. If you own a cosmetics company, try searching for product names on social media to see what your target audience is saying. Do they want a more diverse shade range or sustainable ingredients? If a lot of people are voicing similar concerns, it’s time to take action and adjust your product offering. 

Ratings and reviews also contain a wealth of insights. If you’re constantly seeing customer reviews containing similar feedback, you know how to improve your products going forward. European retailer Vertbaudet noticed multiple customers had left reviews saying a maternity line dress was too small.

So in response to this feedback, the brand reassessed the dress and fixed the sizing of the cut which led to the average customer rating increase significantly.

Synchronizes with social commerce

Advertising on social media isn’t a novel concept, but social commerce is quickly becoming the new generation of shopping. 69% of shoppers say social media has inspired them to purchase products, and 52% have already shopped through social media. Consumers name convenience and product photos as the top reasons for embracing social commerce. 

User-generated content seamlessly aligns with social commerce because UGC takes the place of a branded ad and becomes an authentic, shopper-approved recommendation. Social media users see the UGC on a TikTok or Instagram post, click it, read the reviews, and purchase the product because it’s convenient and doesn’t require them to go to a different website to checkout. 

How to increase engagement with user-generated content

Let’s take a look at some of the most inspiring UGC campaigns in the world to emulate for your own UGC strategy.

Host contests or giveaways

Holding contests or giveaways is a classic way to have your customers get directly involved with your marketing campaigns and generate user-generated content

Offering a compelling prize is a crucial element to encourage more consumers to join in with your campaign. However, a good reward isn’t necessarily an expensive gift or a large amount of money. Starbucks, for example, came up with the #WhiteCupContest, encouraging customers to doodle their cups and upload a photo to social media with the #WhiteCupContest hashtag. The best part? The winning white cup drawings were featured as Starbucks’ limited edition reusable plastic cup.

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A post shared by Brita Lynn Thompson (@zenspiredesigns)

The contest generated great buzz on social media and within three weeks there were over 4000 doodled cups uploaded to Twitter and Instagram.

Incentivize your products/services

By giving customers good incentives to feature your products or services, you can quickly generate a huge number of organic content and tap into their follower communities at the same time. ‍

Hilton Grand Vacations encourages customers to upload their holiday pictures on social media with the hashtag #myHGV for a chance to be featured on their Instagram Feed.

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A post shared by Hilton Grand Vacations (@hiltongrandvacations)

These beautiful images act as a source of authentic inspiration for potential customers to book their next vacation at the hotel.

Develop authentic and inclusive brand messaging

Building an emotional connection between your products and customers is one of the best ways to improve customer engagement and form long-lasting relationships with loyal shoppers.

Women’s clothing brand Aerie launched the #AerieREAL campaign to promote body positivity and inspire women to be comfortable in their skin. The brand encouraged users to post unedited photos of themselves in Aerie’s swimsuits and shared customers’ photos with authentic captions. As part of the company’s initiative to promote real women’s bodies, the campaign was a move to empower women who are fed up with the idealised body type promoted by fashion brands.

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A post shared by Aerie (@aerie)

Aerie leveraged UGC to create an inclusive community of brand advocates on social media. By spreading the message of body positivity through its customers, there was also a huge boost in terms of brand image.

Partner with influencers

Influencer marketing is a great way to generate buzz and awareness around your products. Collaborating with the right influencers allows brands to tap into an existing audience and drive purchasing decisions.

Before the release of the Samsung Galaxy A model, Samsung collaborated with Blackpink to launch the hashtag challenge #danceAwesome. The dance challenge includes a short dance on the campaign’s catchy music, “Awesome screen. Awesome camera. Long-lasting battery life,” which perfectly highlights the smartphone’s features.

The brand then partnered with influencers like TikTok influencer @hollyh — who has about 16 million followers — to drive awareness of the challenge.

@hollyh working with @samsung on my audition for blackpink #danceAwesome #galaxyA #ad ♬ Awesome Phone Song(BLACKPINK Ver.) – BLACKPINK

These user-generated content videos went viral across social media and resulted in a whopping 4.7 million user videos with a combined 16 billion views.

UGC best practices

Adding UGC to your marketing strategy is an easy decision, considering the value it delivers, but there’s a few rules you should keep in mind. Follow these best practices to ensure your UGC works for you and your customers.

Develop a UGC strategy

With so many different types of UGC available, and with the countless ways your brand can utilize it, it’s easy to become overwhelmed. However, developing a user-generated content marketing strategy will help you search, curate, and publish the most effective UGC for your specific brand.

Provide clear guidelines

Tell your target audience exactly what kind of content you’re looking for. Only 16% of brands provide clear guidelines about the kind of content they want fans to create and share, but 53% of consumers want specific instructions on what to do.

Let’s say you’re running a giveaway on Facebook for a new product. Make sure the instructions on how to enter are super clear, and the value prop is front and center. Consumers appreciate clear directions as well as general guidance.

Include calls to action on site, on social, in emails, and on receipts, product packaging, and in-store displays. If you’re really in need of UGC, cast a wide net. You can also use a social commerce tool that’s created to source and sort existing user-generated content.

Ask for permission (and give credit)

Just because a customer tags your brand in a post or uses your hashtag doesn’t necessarily mean you can reuse it. So before reposting a user’s creation, reach out to them — whether it’s through email, comment, or direct message — say something complimentary about the content, and request permission to use it.

Once you receive permission, keep a record of it. Take a screenshot of the conversation or save the email in case any issues or questions come up in the future.

Always credit the original source of the content, and tag them if possible. This is respectful of the creator, and it encourages them — and other users — to continue creating content and sharing it with your brand.

Moderate it

User-generated content is considered quality if it’s created by real, non-paid users and conforms to your brand and community guidelines, government regulations, and audience expectations. That’s the only UGC you want. Any low-quality UGC (blurry images, typos, etc) or prohibited UGC (nudity, hate speech, etc) needs to be filtered out, reported, and binned. 

Content moderation can make or break your brand. Wanting a high volume of UGC is understandable, but quality is better than quantity. You don’t want to become known for showcasing low-quality UGC because, “Lawsuits and marketing to rebuild a bad public image are expensive” warns Abi Schuman, Senior Director of Content Management Services at Bazaavoice.

Share diverse content

Diversity and inclusivity are essential in marketing. Not only does it help your brand reach more customers, but it also makes your brand more accessible.

Users want representation, plain and simple. To quote Ad Age: “Given the fact that social networks are accessible by people of all backgrounds, shapes, sizes, and families who experience different seasons, communities, and landscapes, the diverse visual content found in UGC feels more like native social media content than advertising.” Couldn’t have said it better ourselves.

Make sure your audience finds this diverse content by syndicating it to everywhere they are.

Track content

Keep an eye on all the UGC around your brand — even the content you don’t use. UGC is like a continuous feedback loop you can use to stay on top of what people are saying about your brand. Bazaarvoice’s Insights and Reports offer a user-friendly dashboard to track and analyze your brand’s different types of UGC content, from reviews to social media posts. 

Evaluate content performance

The UGC cycle doesn’t end with distribution, it ends with an evaluation. Consistently compiling product reviews on your product pages that no one sees is a waste of time and money. That’s why evaluating the performance of your UGC campaign and monitoring the data is essential. 

Start with our UGC audit webinar here to learn the six core factors that should be evaluated, and get a handy scorecard to see how your content measures up. 

Curate your brand identity with user-generated content

Your customers are already talking about your brand on social media.

They’re posting selfies and uploading stories that feature your products. They’re comparing items and making recommendations. So take advantage of this and curate your brand’s content from the multitude of user-generated content out there. And with 69% of people making purchases because they saw a product on social media, it’s also the very kind of content that will inspire your customers to convert.

After all, this is the authentic and relatable content that your followers want, the essential meaning of UGC.

When it comes to answering the question “what is UGC?” few are more qualified than Bazaarvoice. As the #1 user-generated content platform (not our words, the words of G2) we’re well positioned to provide you with a comprehensive UGC education.

Looking to get started with UGC? Contact us below to learn how Bazaarvoice, the leading UGC platform, can help you transform your brand and marketing strategy with user-generated content and drive a better ROI for your business.

LEARN MORE

Masterclass: How lean teams can drive e-commerce growth with UGC

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It’s understandable for a retailer to focus on metrics that are directly related to sales and profits, but those numbers only give you a small part of the picture. They’re an indicator of the times you did everything right — for customers who are so perfect for your brand that they wanted to find you. 

But they don’t tell you about the customer who clicked through to your site and then bounced because the navigation was weird. Nor do they tell you about the person who blocked your social feed because after liking one ad, they found themselves bombarded with unconvincing content. 

Social media KPIs help you track and understand the success of your entire marketing and sales funnel. They grant you a look into potential customers’ minds and uncover weak points in your company’s shopping experience. 

Here’s the social media KPIs every e-commerce company should be measuring and why they matter. 

1. Awareness metrics
2. Consideration metrics
3. Purchase metrics
4. Going full-funnel with social media KPIs
5. Connection is the future of social commerce

Awareness metrics

Customers will only come to you if they know your company actually exists. Awareness marketing can be hard to make a case for, especially in a revenue-driven outfit. Campaigns to teach people about your company don’t translate into immediate or direct sales. These efforts are further upstream than that — but if they don’t happen, your company won’t get the downstream benefits. 

There’s three major awareness KPIs you can (and should) track to show that your awareness efforts are making a difference on social media. 

1. Impressions

Your impressions, or views, track how many times a post was seen. The number of impressions you get is not equal to the number of people you reach. Some people may see your content more than once, either by revisiting it, seeing it shared multiple times, or even encountering it on different platforms. 

Impressions are useful in determining whether you’re visible to the audiences who want to see you. This metric may fluctuate from week to week, which is normal. But in the long term, you want an upward trend to show that your social output is reaching more people. 

Impressions benchmarks

Industry-wide benchmarks for impressions may not help you because a small e-commerce brand won’t have the same reach as a large multinational corporation. Likewise, a brand that shoots for a niche audience can’t expect the same reach as one that’s going for the least common denominator. 

You could look at your direct competitors’ posts to see how they’re doing, or you could just track numbers internally and compare today’s operations to those of last year.

Increasing your impressions 

The key to reaching more people with your posts is constant engagement with a platform. You should always be posting new content and interacting with your followers. As you do so, you’ll begin to learn what works best for your brand on each platform; following those trends will lead to more impressions. 

2. Followers and community growth

Hopefully, some of the people who see your content (“impressions”) will decide they want to become a part of your community. Follower numbers matter because they represent the people who decide they want to see more from your brand. They’re signing up to hear your sales pitch so you can reach them without paying for ads.  

When looking at follower numbers, keep in mind that some accounts will follow you and then go dormant. Therefore, if your follower numbers aren’t actively growing, your actual audience size is likely shrinking. 

Increasing your follower numbers and community size

Give people a reason to follow your account by being more than just a bulletin board for bland announcements written in brand-speak. Many accounts have success with giveaways, either entering new followers into a raffle or sending a coupon code to those who sign up for updates.

Just know this “hack” only works if you have a plan to keep those followers around. 

3. Social engagement rate

Social engagement tracks how often your audience interacts with your content. Engaged audiences are worth more than passive ones; only those who have some level of emotional involvement will watch your videos and like or share your posts. 

It’s worth noting that certain types of engagement are worth more: Someone who follows a link to your store is more likely to buy your product than someone who watches a short brand video. However, watching that brand video may lead to a future link click, so don’t focus only on the engagements that lead to imminent conversion. 

Social engagement rate benchmarks

According to Rival IQ, the median engagement rate across platforms (per post) is: 

• Facebook: 0.06%
• Instagram: 0.47%
• TikTok: 5.69%
• X (Twitter): 0.035%

Increasing your engagement

As long as you’re not buying followers (don’t ever do this, by the way!), your engagement should increase as your impressions do. There’s a ton of ways to increase your social media engagement and conversion rates, so test out multiple approaches to see what works. 

Two of our favorite tips: first, interact with the people who interact with you. Second, share your community’s user-generated content (UGC). People love it when their posts get attention from an official brand account, and showing a bit of personality makes your brand seem more authentic.  

Consideration metrics

After awareness, would-be customers enter consideration mode — they start thinking about whether they want to buy from you and become the type of person who uses your products and associates with your brand. Some shoppers quickly move from consideration to conversion, but others linger in this phase for a while. 

These are the social media KPIs you can track to learn more about both types of buyers — and how you can win them over more efficiently. 

1. Site traffic

Any person who comes to your site is interested — at least briefly — in becoming a customer. In e-commerce terms, visiting a site is like picking up a product off the store shelf to look more closely or taking a piece of clothing to the fitting rooms. Your site visitors have found enough value in your social media presence to evaluate your brand more closely. 

For specific KPIs numbers, you’ll need to dig into Google Analytics data to determine how much of your site traffic came from your social media efforts and what campaigns drew visitors. 

Site traffic benchmarks

Most online retailers don’t publish raw traffic numbers, much less traffic numbers broken down by source. However, you can use your site traffic data to reverse-engineer your social media click-through rate. Chatdesk published the following click-through rate benchmarks:

• Instagram: 18% (organic posts) and 18% (ads)
• TikTok: 14% (organic posts) and 2.3% (ads)
• Facebook: n/a (organic posts) and 9% (ads)

Alternatively, simply use internal benchmarks for those raw traffic numbers.

Improving your site traffic

Since site traffic depends on your social media click-through rate, you’ll want to focus on the posts that are bringing visitors to your site. Make sure your link cards give an accurate description of your site and include eye-catching imagery. 

Every post with a link should include a clear CTA that tells people what they’ll get by clicking through. And, most importantly, you have to follow through on that promise. Someone who clicks through and has a disappointing experience is less likely to follow your links in the future. 

2. Lead generation

Gathering email addresses or phone numbers of interested shoppers helps you close the deal if they’re not ready to buy quite yet. Winning a social media follower is like getting your foot in the door. Think of someone giving you their contact information as inviting you in for a cup of tea (or coffee — your choice). 

You can continue to nurture leads by adding them to a newsletter that shares your values and highlights UGC to show your product in the wild. Or, you can send them coupons and notifications about sales to convince them to buy. 

Lead generation success benchmarks

No one has benchmarked lead generation success rates, perhaps because it’s a difficult thing to measure (and definitions of “what counts” may vary by company). We do know pop-ups that ask for visitors’ emails have an average conversion rate of 3.8% though. While this data appears to be largely e-commerce-focused, it’s not broken down by industry. 

It may be best to compare your performance to internal social media benchmarks on this one for now. Your lead generation rate KPIS specific to social media followers should at least equal, if not exceed, your overall lead generation rate. 

Increasing your leads generated

Customers often don’t want to give out their contact information (for good reason — how many times have you signed up for an email list and gotten five emails per day about “can’t miss” deals?). 

You can try the dreaded pop-up that promises a coupon or discount in exchange for contact information, or you can request it in a less aggressive manner. There are many clever e-commerce lead generation techniques that start with a useful, and therefore less annoying, interaction. 

If your social media efforts are bringing in a lower percentage of leads, it may be time to reconsider your audience and targeting strategy. A smaller, more engaged audience can be better when you curate a list of followers who are actually likely to buy from you. 

3. Site visits (number of sessions)

How many times does the average person come to your site before buying a product? If you know this, you know how many times you should be trying to get prospective customers to visit. 

Someone who’s been to your site once may not be the best person to retarget with an ad if you can spend that same money on someone who’s already browsed it three times in the past month. 

Site visits benchmarks

Your audience’s behavior is unique, so this is a metric that relies on internal benchmarks. It’s also a number you don’t need to worry about improving — it’s just important to know. 

Pull this information from Google Analytics (or your chosen analytics software) by looking at your user sessions. To get the most valuable data, you’ll have to dig into the session attribution statistics. There, you can see how often people visit before they buy and whether visitors from different sources have different behavior patterns. 

Increasing site visits

Like site traffic, it’s tempting to think this metric is about things outside of your site. After all, you just have to post another link and people will click through, thus taking themselves a step closer to buying from you. Right?

Not exactly. That CTA and link won’t be as effective if someone’s first visit to your site was a pain. Slow-loading pages, confusing navigation, and hard-to-read text can drive visitors away. 

You should think about ways to remind potential customers you exist, but it’s even more important to make sure interacting with your brand is a joy. Shoppers who know they’ll have fun browsing your site are more likely to come back.  

4. Time on site

The amount of time a visitor spends on your site indicates their engagement. Thirty seconds is about enough time for them to scroll down whatever page they landed on and then click away. In a minute, they can browse a category of products and see if you have the type of item they’re looking for. 

Someone who spends ten minutes likely looks at multiple products, reads up on them, and checks out ratings and reviews. (Make sure it’s 10 minutes of activity, though, and not 10 minutes of “let me just check this email really quick in another tab.”) 

Time on site benchmarks

This is another benchmark you can gather yourself using Google Analytics. Google will track someone’s time on page, which is a specific measurement per URL. So, you may see someone spend 30 seconds on your homepage, 15 seconds on a category page, and then three minutes on each of two product pages. 

Altogether, this would give them an engaged time of six minutes and 45 seconds. Both time on page and engaged time duration are important but in different ways.

Increasing time on site

There are two ways to approach convincing people to spend more time on your site. The first is by looking at the average time on page for each of your site’s pages. Are there any outliers? Some page types may lend themselves to shorter visits, but big variations between pages of the same type may indicate differences in user experience. 

Second, ask how you can extend a user’s engaged time. The most important thing to consider here is whether your CTAs match a user’s experience. Someone who clicks through to see your massive clearout sale and then gets bounced to your homepage rather than a catalog of on-sale items will likely bounce.

Purchase metrics

At last, the metrics your CEO probably cares most about — money. Now that you’ve been tracking users through the rest of your marketing and sales funnel, you have the context you need to tell a bigger story using these metrics.

After all, no purchase would happen without the awareness and consideration components you worked on. 

The most difficult part of handling purchase metrics is thinking about attribution. Someone who learns about your brand through Instagram and signs up for your email list because of an Instagram post might end up making a purchase after clicking an email link.

If you’re not using multi-touch attribution, the email campaign would get all the credit for that buy. That’s not fair to your social media efforts and KPIs — nor is it good data to base business decisions on. 

1. Revenue

This metric may be officially in the domain of your accounting team, but there’s no reason you can’t track it as well. When looking at revenue, you can track gross (all earnings) or net (earnings minus expenses) as your company prefers. 

Revenue benchmarks

When measuring the revenue your social posts brought in, you’ll want to look both at past earnings and future projections. Calculate the percentage of revenue you can attribute to social posts, then multiply that number by your company’s revenue predictions to get the benchmarks you’re aiming for. 

Increasing your revenue

Effective CTAs are part of the equation to increase revenue, and you should already be working on those. You also want to make sure customers have a clear path to purchase (and get the deals you talked about, if relevant) either directly through your social channels or when they land on your site.

For paid social efforts, ask how you can decrease your customer acquisition cost. This move won’t impact gross revenue, but it will increase net revenue. 

2. Transactions

Having more buyers is always a good thing. Not only does it bring in more revenue, but it also means you have a wider base of customers to solicit for return business. The number of completed transactions is also a measure of how easy it is for visitors to make a purchase after landing on your site. 

Transaction benchmarks

It’s natural for transaction rates to ebb and flow across e-commerce. The holidays typically see more sales, and various industries have different peaks at different times of the year. You may do best to compare directly across times of year.

For example, did your company process more transactions during December of this year than it did during December of last year?

Increasing your number of transactions

Since many shoppers (and social users) are accessing your site via mobile, you need a mobile-friendly shopping experience. You’ve already done your part to make sure your CTAs are fulfilling their promises. Now it’s time to dig into how your site can best serve your social audience as a whole.

Work with your website team to learn about the transactions that don’t happen. You should be tracking your shopping cart abandonment rate to see why buyers back out at the last minute. Often, convenience is the issue

But, if your abandonment rates are higher among visitors from social specifically, you may want to ask how your posts can better prime shoppers for the checkout experience. If you’re approved for shopping on platforms like Instagram, reassess your digital storefront:

• Are your posts filled with rich visual UGC that entices browsers to shop?
• Do you showcase ratings and reviews?
• Is the in-app shopping experience smooth, or are you forcing people to click through to your website?

All these factors affect a shopper’s decision to follow through with a transaction.

3. Conversion rate

How many of your social media click-throughs turn into purchases? This is your conversion rate, and it’s a number that can tell you a lot about your overall brand perception. 

There’s plenty of reasons a customer might not convert. Maybe your prices are too high, maybe they find your site annoying, or maybe you don’t ship to their country. Not all of these are things you can (or even need to) fix.

But, if the shopping experience is getting in the way of users making a purchase, it’s time to step in.

Conversion rate benchmarks

BigCommerce tells us a good e-commerce conversion rate is around 2-3%. That’s pretty low — but if your social media visitors are buying at that rate, then you’re doing well. 

Increasing your conversion rate

Your conversion rate affects the revenue and transaction metrics you’re measuring, and you improve all three in the same way. A smooth, fun shopping experience is a must if you want customers to convert.

Also, keep in mind that customers coming from a social link are likely responding to the offer in the post. They’re not here to browse, so don’t try to force them through extra steps before they can make a purchase.

If you can steal some more time with your website team, try our top 10 tips to improve your conversion rates. You’ll be able to help each other with these efforts. 

And if you’re selling directly on social, look for opportunities to optimize the experience. Like2Buy, for instance, is a tool that turns your Instagram pictures and videos into informative, directional, or shoppable posts. The transition from liking a post to buying a product from your store becomes a seamless process for shoppers.

4. Average order value

Shoppers often pick up a few tempting extras when they go to the store. Convincing them to mimic this behavior online will help your company. Obviously, more items bought lead to a higher average order value (AOV), which means higher revenue (gross or net). 

Customers who buy more are also putting more trust in your brand. If you deliver on your promises, they’ll be that much more likely to come back the next time they need the type of products you sell. 

Average order value benchmarks

There’s no e-commerce benchmark for this metric because it’s very dependent on your products and customer base. Your accounting team is likely already tracking this metric, so see if they have historical data — and if not, start gathering it now to set an internal benchmark. 

Increasing average order value

Growing your AOV is all about giving customers who are already buying a reason to splurge. Get your social media audience excited to spend by promoting offers that encourage them to .Free shipping over a certain amount? Tell them in the ad. Do loyalty program members get points for every dollar spent? Use your post copy to remind shoppers they can get more by spending more. 

The methods that work best vary based on the type of product you’re selling and your customer profile, so try a few techniques to nail down which is most effective. 

Going full-funnel with social media KPIs

Hopefully, by this point, you can see the direct link between awareness, consideration, and purchase metrics — but you work in marketing. Stakeholders in other parts of the business may not understand these ties as well as you do. As you’ve seen, some of these metrics require cross-department collaboration to gather. They also require collaboration to build.

If your leadership (or other department stakeholders) don’t buy into this approach, it’s helpful to frame it as an examination of today’s market. People don’t find products directly in stores anymore. They go online, do research, and often buy straight from their social feeds. 

Every cent of revenue a brand earns depends on shoppers being able to find your brand when they’re doing that research and then being impressed by what they see. 

Buyers typically have multiple touchpoints with a brand before they make a decision. They’re often navigating the awareness and consideration phases at the same time. Your online presence — social, site, and beyond — must account for this behavior by offering shopping content in places where people go to learn, and educational content in places people go to buy.

Here’s how to bring your efforts together. 

Set shared goals

What KPIs are more important for your social media channels this month — impressions or site traffic? Social engagement or on-site conversion rates? When your company sees these metrics as competitors, you’ll end up shafting efforts that need to be collaborative. 

Get everyone in the same room to talk about foundational goals so you can identify how the metrics you’re tracking work as indicators for other teams as well. With this shared baseline, it’s easier to remind other departments how that action item you asked for to support your goals will also help them meet theirs.  

Take it slow

Creating a full-funnel social content and commerce strategy is a difficult task, and if you’ve never done any of this before, give yourself space to learn and grow. 

Yes, you’ll eventually want to have branded content and UGC at every touchpoint. But when you start with perfecting operations on one platform, you’re making the wise choice to build a foundation that you can scale. Later. 

Appoint a “UGC coordinator”

UGC is central to bringing the awareness, consideration, and purchase behaviors together. That puts it at risk of becoming a secondary issue in each of those areas because no one wants to step on anyone else’s toes. 

Beat this tendency by choosing someone to own UGC efforts, and — this is important! — make sure they have the authority and sway to implement their strategy across multiple teams and departments. 

Bring the social to your site

Social commerce doesn’t only live on social networks. When you integrate UGC into your site, you’re giving people the chance to see what real customers have to say about your products. 

They don’t have to go searching for that valuable social proof, so you’ll see your conversion rate improve. There’s no need to integrate UGC into every product page off the bat. Start with a fun gallery on your homepage to see the promise of this technique in action. 

Build a UGC “treasure trove”

UGC, like any marketing asset, can be used more than once. Set up a central UGC database or library where you share the best pieces of UGC. How you organize this collection is up to you, but make sure you have some way for everyone to search by product type/line, content type, etc. 

Connection is the future of social commerce

With all the content on the internet, people are turning more to one another for trusted advice and reviews. Company-generated marketing materials aren’t dead yet, but they work best when they’re paired with UGC. And when you can integrate your brand communications and your fans’ contributions into the entire marketing and sales funnel, you’ll add authenticity to your communications.

That means your metrics — the social media KPIs and those more related to your site and sales — will keep going up.

Curating UGC can be a job of its own unless you have a strong platform supporting you. Our Social Commerce solutions help you curate the best of the best (now with AI assistance and recommendations!). We track UGC’s performance as part of your marketing campaigns and sales efforts to return full-funnel metrics — like the ones in this piece. In short, it’s easy for you to execute on your strategy and tell stakeholders the story of how your work is important. 

Your social media KPIs are only one slice of the pie. If you’re hungry to learn more about the future of social commerce, check out our social commerce conversion e-book — it’s full of tips to help you integrate UGC into every consumer touchpoint and help you measure the impact of that work. 

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Research tells us that over half of consumers would be less loyal to a business if the e-commerce experience isn’t as enjoyable as in-person and 55% of customers claim they’d stop purchasing from a brand altogether after several bad experiences. Another 8% would end their relationship after just one bad experience.

An exceptional e-commerce experience is no longer just a surprise-and-delight bonus for customers. They’ve come to expect it. And their standards are higher than ever! Especially now that more people are shopping online and new technology keeps evolving. So for brands to remain competitive and attract and retain customers, they must emphasize the overall experience as much as they do the transaction.

Learn the criteria for an outstanding e-commerce experience and how top brands deliver it for their customers so you can emulate their success.

Chapters:

1. Benefits of a strong e-commerce experience
2. The traits of a superior e-commerce shopping experience
3. 6 brands acing the e-commerce experience
4. Measure the success of your e-commerce experience

Benefits of a strong e-commerce experience

The individual components of a successful e-commerce strategy all have their own benefits — together they create an overall winning customer experience. When you design your e-commerce strategy to exceed your customers’ expectations, they’ll show their appreciation. Customer experience is an important purchasing decision factor for 73% of consumers.

Just like going to the movies, people are willing to spend money for a better e-commerce experience. According to McKinsey, a positive customer experience results in a 10-15% increase in sales-conversion rates. In particular, 43% of consumers would pay more for greater convenience.

Customers are willing to volunteer their own data in exchange for a better experience. That data, including their email address, birthday, gender, location, preferences, and other information, fuels the very personalization that improves the experience. 

The traits of a superior e-commerce shopping experience

The key to creating an amazing e-commerce experience is supplying what your customers want and need. Focus on what will be most convenient, appealing, engaging, and user-friendly for them to guide your action plan.

Accessibility

Making your website accessible is fundamental to a high-quality e-commerce experience. Having an accessible website means that anyone can easily understand and navigate it, regardless of skill level, age, or physical capability. 

While this seems like common sense, a staggering 94% of the highest grossing e-commerce sites don’t meet accessibility requirements. Considering this reality, if your site is fully accessible, you’ll be an outlier among your competitors.

You also won’t risk losing customers and sales because of a poor or difficult website experience — inclusive marketing should be the bare minimum. So ensure your e-commerce site is accessible for your customers by following these standards:

• Optimize images with alt text and descriptions for visually impaired users
• Label hyperlinked images for visually impaired users
• Use adequate color contrasting on linked text for colorblind users
• Form fields should be sufficiently marked up with descriptive labels and prompts
• Videos should have captions for deaf and hearing-impaired users
• Your website should be operable using just keyboard navigation and be mobile optimized

Product recommendations

A wide range of potential customers visit online stores. Some people know exactly what they’re looking for, while others prefer to browse. Product recommendations are one of the most important social proof tools to help shoppers make decisions. They also drive discovery, as shoppers can find similar products or see products they might not have found otherwise. 

There’s a variety of ways to leverage your data when recommending products that can increase your sales. For instance, you can showcase items that are frequently purchased together or even highlight items that other people with similar product views rated highly.

Personalization

Personalization is another critical part of the customer experience. Personalized marketing is the practice of using customer data to deliver relevant offers and recommendations based on customer preferences and activity.

Personalization enhances and improves the customer experience because it delivers what shoppers are looking for: convenience, product discovery, or content that appeals to their curiosities and interests. It’s a growing priority for consumers, and has a significant business impact for e-commerce companies. 

Twilio Segment’s State of Personalization report found that almost half of the 3,000+ consumers surveyed would likely become repeat customers after a personalized shopping experience. Conversely, 62% of consumers claimed that they’d stop being loyal to a business after an un-personalized experience. Out of the business leaders surveyed, 80% say that customers spend an average of 34% more when their e-commerce experience is personalized. 

Augmented reality (AR) is growing as an immersive personalization trend — 74% of consumers are excited that brands are enhancing shopping experiences with AR. AR is a type of technology used in marketing that allows shoppers to virtually try on and experience products.

Snapchat and TikTok filters are examples of popular AR features from the past several years. Major beauty, apparel, and home decor brands leverage AR to let customers interact with and visualize products before making purchases.

Customer support

E-commerce sales, including mobile purchases, are increasing at a higher rate than brick-and-mortar sales for U.S. consumers. More consumers are drawn to online shopping each year because of the convenience and ability to browse, discover, and compare brands and products easily.

This shift towards online shopping also comes with high expectations for online customer support. Customers want their questions answered and problems solved on the same platform where they shop. 

Successful customer support empowers customers to solve problems themselves without escalation, and when issues require intervention, it entails fast and effective service. The result is happy customers and better performance for brands. Customer support that mitigates problems leads to increased customer acquisition and loyalty. 

“Value enhancement” customer support increases repurchase likelihood by 82%, wallet share by 86%, and sharing positive experiences by word of mouth by 97%. This approach focuses on predicting customer behavior to tailor interactions and allocating experienced customer reps for high-priority issues.

Effective online support methods include: 

• Robust FAQ pages
• Product pages with questions and answers features
• Live chat options
• Contact pages with customer support phone numbers and email addresses. 

Omnichannel marketing

These days, shoppers use a variety of digital touchpoints to search and purchase products. Building an omnichannel strategy enables you to reach all of your customers on each platform where they’re active. That means expanding your presence beyond your e-commerce site to social media channels, text messages, emails, and mobile apps, depending on your customer demographics. 

An important part of omnichannel marketing is meeting customers at every stage of the buyer journey. For e-commerce brands, that often means:

• On social media at the discovery stage
• On product pages at the consideration stage
• In emails at the loyalty stage

Practicing an omnichannel strategy is also a valuable tool for gathering and evaluating customer data. By collecting data on every touchpoint, you can build a more detailed and accurate profile for each of your customers. This ensures that you serve them pertinent messaging at the right time. For example, if a customer leaves a poor review on a product, they shouldn’t be seeing Facebook ads about that product. Likewise, if they already purchased a particular product, they shouldn’t see ads for that product.

The final step to completing a high-performing omnichannel strategy is linking your various channels for a seamless customer experience. If someone sees an ad on Instagram and starts a purchase on their phone, they should be able to finish it on their laptop at a later time if they choose. 

By taking an omnichannel approach, you’ll have more opportunities to capture customers and sales. Plus, you’ll provide a cohesive customer experience across the multiple channels they use to browse and shop. An omnichannel presence gives customers greater access to your brand and keeps it top of mind. 

Social commerce

Social commerce is an extension of e-commerce but on social media channels. People are already on social media all the time, so it makes sense for them to be able to do their shopping there, too. It eliminates friction along the buyer journey. 

Consumers have fully embraced social media as a marketplace. According to DataPortal’s Digital Statshot Report, 75% of global internet users use social media to research brands and products. And just in the U.S., social buyers are projected to grow to 114.3 million by 2025, an 18% increase from 2021. 

Gen Z is the biggest audience for social commerce, with 57% discovering new products on social channels in recent months. Almost half prefer Instagram Stories as a source of inspiration, followed by 41% who look to short-form videos on Instagram Reels and TikTok. Facebook and YouTube are more popular with older audiences. Twitter is anyone’s guess with Elon Musk in charge.

To provide the best experience for your customers on social media, tailor your content to match the most popular types on those channels. For consumers, the most memorable content from brands includes funny content, relatable content, and product tutorials and demos. Consumers also want the brands they follow to earn their trust by raising awareness and speaking up about important social issues. Brand building is equally as important as selling when it comes to the social commerce experience.

Gamification

Many e-commerce brands use gamification, like interactive quiz and surveys, to provide an engaging experience for their shoppers, and to also learn more about their customers. Shopper information obtained this way can be used to customize shopping experiences to better meet their needs and preferences.

Make sure to add a skip button or quick exit to allow your visitors the option of omitting questions they don’t want to respond to, and avoid launching a survey the moment a visitor arrives on your site. 

Enhanced segmentation

Every customer uniquely engages with your e-commerce store. Segmentation allows you to ensure that shoppers accomplish their objectives on your site, regardless of how they interact with it!

For example, you could highlight special promotions for winter gear to visitors living in areas that are cold. Variables could include location, age, income, if they’re a new or repeat customer, and lots more. By doing this, you can maximize the aforementioned personalization and set up your e-commerce site to provide the best customer experience.

Displaying UGC

Consumers are driven by peer-to-peer decisions more than any other marketing tool — When shopping on a brand or retailer’s website, 40% of shoppers won’t purchase if there isn’t UGC on the product page.

Including user-generated content (UGC) such as reviews, photos or social media posts will give your site a new dimension. Visitors can see how your products in real life by sharing images, videos, and customer reviews.

Offering a continual e-commerce shopping experience

By enabling customers to pick up where their virtual shopping baskets where they left off, you can easily reduce shopping cart abandonment. With this strategy, you can instantly notify guests of previously chosen products and preferences based on their web browsing history.

Although it’s a more intricate tactic, it can produce excellent results, and make shoppers feel valued.

6 brands that ace the e-commerce experience

There’s a lot to consider when crafting an A-list e-commerce experience. It requires smoothly integrating all the ingredients of a successful shopping spree for customers at every turn, on every channel. One good thing about a saturated market is there’s plenty of brands doing a stellar job to draw inspiration from. 

These examples show how different brands in various industries make online shopping seamless, educational, and fun at different points along the customer journey. Take notes to level up your own production value.

Plenty optimizes product pages with ratings and reviews

The volume and recency of product reviews are two of the biggest factors that influence purchase decisions. That’s why Plenty prioritizes their customer review strategy to optimize their e-commerce site for ready-to-purchase customers. Leveraging this powerful form of user-generated content UGC showcases their own customers’ feedback, providing social proof for other shoppers.

Plenty encourages reviews with a CTA for visitors to leave a review for a chance to win £100 every month. Their review collection efforts result in hundreds and thousands of reviews per product. They put those reviews to good use, analyzing the insights found in them to develop new products and marketing content.

For example, when pet adoptions surged in the U.K., so did reviews about how Plenty products help with pet clean-up. As a result, Plenty developed helpful blog and social media content for pet parents.

Samsonite inspires shoppers with customer photos

The luxury luggage brand Samsonite strengthened their omnichannel experience by funneling their social media content to their e-commerce site. Using Bazaarvoice Galleries, Samsonite displays visual UGC of customers and influencers with their products throughout their site. The images are linked with the featured products so customers can purchase directly from the gallery.

Using a social media hashtag campaign, Samsonite was able to generate 27,000 pieces of UGC to promote their products on social media and their product pages. This strategy resulted in a significantly higher dwell time on pages with galleries and a 245% increase in conversion rate. This boost in visual content supports consistent branding across channels and entices shoppers with relatable marketing.

Bemz personalizes social commerce

The Bemz business model relies on personalization, and so does its e-commerce experience for customers. Bemz makes customized, made-to-order covers for IKEA furniture. With so many product options, the brand realized it needed UGC to give shoppers an accurate representation of how their products look in real life settings.

Bemz leans on social media to collect and promote both branded and UGC media. They make their social content shoppable by enabling social commerce. By turning their social feed into a digital storefront, they increased their click-through rates on social channels by 41%.

Kohl’s innovates with augmented reality

Speaking of amazing movie experiences, remember that scene in Clueless when Cher picks out her outfit every morning with a computer program? That movie was really ahead of its time, because that’s exactly what Kohl’s AR feature does, except on Snapchat.

Kohl’s Virtual Closet gives shoppers the opportunity to mix and match different outfits from select Kohl’s products. This takes the concept of cross selling to a whole new level. With Snapchat’s selfie feature, users can also virtually try on products in the virtual closet. When shoppers find items they want to purchase, they can do so right on the app without ever leaving. 

This campaign combines augmented reality with social commerce for the ultimate e-commerce experience.

Snug brings the in-person experience online with live shopping

Snug thinks outside the delivery box regarding their e-commerce customer service. The sofa company solves the common customer dilemma of making a big furniture purchase online with their live shopping service. Their entire Live Shop program is a study in customer-centric e-commerce excellence. 

Snug’s Live Shop invites shoppers to book an appointment with a showroom consultant to get a better look at their sofas and ask any questions they have in real-time. As they outline on the Live Shop page of their e-commerce site, this feature fits into every stage of the customer journey:

1. Because you’ve just started looking
2. When you’ve seen a few different sofas
3. When you’re almost ready to buy

The landing page itself is a great customer service tool, complete with its own FAQ section, customer reviews specifically about the Live Shopping experience, and overall Snug reviews about their glowing customer service. 

Fresh stimulates visitors with an immersive experience

Over the past 30 years since its inception, Fresh has become a global natural beauty brand with an e-commerce experience to match the detail and care that goes into their products. One of the challenges with having a mostly online business for beauty brands is the inability for customers to try different products. There is no way to smell fragrances or feel textures. 

Instead, Fresh designs their website with interactive content and visuals for an intricate digital experience. The home page greets you with a fun and enticing “spin to win” mystery offer game. When you’ve won your prize, you can then explore product categories, curated gift sets, their sustainability practices, details on their ingredients, and much more.

Their product pages are just as rich and robust, giving a deep dive into individual product ingredients and clinical test results. Their collection of customer reviews features photo-first displays so you can see products on real people in addition to reading about them.

Measure the success of your customer e-commerce experience

After you’ve laid the foundation for a sparkling e-commerce experience, you need to track its performance. Determine if it resonates with customers and produces results by analyzing key performance indicators. There’s many different metrics you can look at to reach these conclusions, but here’s some important ones you can start with:

• Customer retention rate: The percentage of customers who make repeat purchases from your e-commerce shop. This is a great indicator of the quality of your e-commerce strategy, because if it satisfies customers, they’ll keep coming back
• Conversion rates: The percentage of website visits that result in a desired conversion, such as product clicks and orders. If your website is accessible and conveys the value of your products, your conversion rate will prove it 
• Average order value: The average purchase amount per order on your e-commerce and social commerce channels. When customers spend more money, that’s a good sign that they connect with your products, brand, and overall e-commerce presence
• Customer sentiment: Your customers’ feelings and opinions about your brand. You can measure customer sentiment by analyzing the insights from customer reviews and customer satisfaction surveys. This information provides you with specific feedback on your brand’s e-commerce experience

To get started, learn how retail giant Walmart has evolved its e-commerce experience, as explained by Alyssa Thomas, Director of Product, Content as Commerce, at Walmart.com, in our on-demand masterclass.

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