Personalização tem que estar presente no e-commerce

The number of e-commerce stores in Brazil grew by 16.51%, increasing from 1,640,076 in 2022 to 1,911,164 in 2023, according to the "2023 Brazilian E-commerce Profile" survey conducted by BigDataCorp. To stand out in a competitive market, personalization has ceased to be just a differentiator; it has become a crucial component of the consumer journey. 

The study "CX Trends 2024," conducted by Octadesk in partnership with Opinion Box, reveals that for 65% of consumers, personalized experiences have a significant impact on their purchasing decisions. The research suggests that companies now need to go beyond the basics to attract and retain consumers.

To win over customers, simply offering products isn't enough; you need to provide a unique shopping experience tailored to each individual customer's needs and preferences. The recommendation is to build a journey that is relevant and engaging, from the moment a customer accesses the store until the purchase is complete, during the... Checkout and payment.

Considering this, the Brazilian Service for Support to Micro and Small Businesses (Sebrae) highlights that intelligently segmenting customers is one of the foundations for achieving personalization that guarantees results. This involves grouping consumers based on their behavioral, demographic, and purchasing preference characteristics. 

In this way, e-commerce businesses can offer tailored offers and communications based on the needs of each segment, and consequently increase conversion chances, as Sebrae reports. Furthermore, it's possible to provide customized service based on each customer's preferences, using the channels they prefer, such as chats, emails, social media, or phone calls. 

According to "CX Trends 2024", 671,000 consumers view personalized service as the primary factor influencing their purchasing decisions. Meanwhile, 821,000 consider real-time service offering by brands to be important or very important.

Opinion Box's head of insights, Julia Villela, believes that, despite seeming simple, talking to the public is the easiest and most efficient way to identify and prevent emerging trends. "Collect feedback, conduct periodic research, and you can gain valuable insights that help you better understand consumer behavior and anticipate what they expect from you," she suggests.

Artificial intelligence can assist with personalization. 

The study also shows that it's natural for companies to face difficulties when trying to offer a personalized experience on a large scale, as personalization is often associated with high costs and long execution times. 

However, with the right approaches and technological support, personalized service delivery is possible. To achieve this, using resources such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) is recommended. Solutions for creating a... Free online store They also serve as an option to test personalization strategies without significant initial investments.

According to the research, 42% of consumers have already interacted with AI during customer service, highlighting the relevance of this technology in the purchasing process. For them, the advantages of this technology include reduced time in checkout lines (26%), more effective customer service (22%), and personalized offers (18%). 

Furthermore, 35% of the respondents believe that AI is essential for offering more targeted promotions, based on consumers' purchase history and online behavior. 

The Sebrae explains that offering personalized offers is a way to captivate customers. 

Instead of treating everyone with the same approach, e-commerce businesses should use purchase behavior data, such as purchase history, special dates, and abandoned carts, to send personalized offers and coupons. This way, the brand demonstrates that it pays attention to the details and preferences of each customer.

Challenges for technology use

Despite its benefits, research shows that there are also concerns regarding the use of AI in the shopping experience. Among the most prominent are the lack of personalized human interaction (41%), concerns about data privacy (40%), and distrust in the accuracy of recommendations (21%).

Therefore, the study emphasizes that solutions for the customer experience should not replace human service agents. Ideally, they should work together, aiming to simplify workflows and repetitive tasks, allowing human agents more time to solve complex problems.

Regarding data security, the company must adopt strategies emphasizing transparency and security, communicating ethical practices, values, and privacy policies clearly, including a detailed explanation of how customer data is collected, stored, and used.