Retailers are becoming proficient at targeting and optimising the customer experience on their websites.

While that is great, there is still frequently a ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach to online shoppers.

For retailers to improve customer engagement on their websites, personalisation could be the best approach after optimisation has been implemented.

“For retailers to offer an entirely personalised customer experience they need to look at and use the data they have already collected about their customers to specifically tailor their experience,” says Mike Harris, vice-president EMEA at internet marketing service Monetate.

Personalising a customer’s experience can be done in a variety of ways, from bespoke product recommendations to email and direct mail, as well as the overall experience across websites, mobile sites and apps.

Harris explains: “Although all of these things are forms of personalisation, the key is to join them up. If retailers can learn how to do this well, each customer will end up with a more relevant and valuable experience.”

While ecommerce has grown rapidly, it is important for retailers to continually innovate their online offers in line with customer expectations.

“The danger of retailers not moving from optimisation to personalisation is that sooner or later your competitors will be, enabling them to engage at a deeper level with your customers than you can.

“This could inevitably result in you losing customers to a rival offering more targeted, pertinent products or services,” says Harris.