By the Stats: Get Personal in Cyberspace

E-mail personalization is a lost opportunity, says David Daniels, research director at JupiterResearch, a Darien, Conn.-based business research firm. Such a lost opportunity is particularly troublesome, he says, in an era when the technology to do personalization is readily available.

E-commerce merchants who responded to the e-tailing group’s fourth annual Merchant Survey, released last month, admit they still have a way to go in this arena. Following is how they answered the question: How do you define personalization relative to your Web site and e-mails?

¥ 7% said their sites dynamically show products based on customers’ past purchases.
¥ 14% offer tools that allow customers to personalize their online shopping experiences or profile their needs.
¥ 17% said their e-mail campaigns are very personalized on past customer behavior.
¥ 24% said their sites greet returning customers by name.
¥ 58% offer no personalization at all.

(Note: The numbers total more than 100 because respondents could check more than one answer.)

For more information on the e-tailing group’s most recent annual Merchant Survey, visit www.e-tailing.com.