How E-Commerce Quizzes Boost Conversion Rates With Personalization

The e-commerce industry recently saw a massive boom from the pandemic, causing a shift to more online shopping. This led to 20 percent growth for the e-commerce industry, which was originally estimated to take five years.

This shift led to a loss of one-on-one interactions between businesses and customers — an experience many consumers desire. As e-commerce continues to grow, I believe it's more important for merchants to build strong relationships with customers and personalize every experience.

That leads to the following question: Can this humanized part of the in-store shopping experience be brought online for consumers? It can. Online brands can set themselves apart from their competition through deeply personalized customer journeys. An e-commerce quiz is the foundation of this level of personalization.

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Why E-Commerce Quizzes Are Powerful for Advanced Personalization

An e-commerce quiz is an interactive questionnaire that asks consumers about their likes, dislikes, preferences and needs. Every question narrows down products to match consumers with the best recommendations.

One of the most powerful parts of an online quiz is the retailer's ability to discover more about their customers than ever before. How? The process is simple. A quiz is like the online version of a store associate, greeting new visitors with personal, contact and intent-based questions. This collected data can be used to personalize customer journeys via email, SMS, Facebook Messenger and paid ads channels.

A business in any industry can use an e-commerce quiz. Furthermore, there are many types of quizzes that can be created, including gift finders, personality matching, customer onboarding and post-purchase surveys. A great example is BeautyBio’s virtual consultation experience. In the quiz, consumers are asked about their age, skin type, concerns and desired outcome. The brand then recommends a full routine to help treat every visitor's skin concerns.

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Why is Personalization Important?

Imagine you enter a store. You're searching for a new moisturizer and see hundreds of products on the shelves. How do you know what product will give you the best results? What products match your skin type?

These questions get answered by talking to a sales associate. Consumers ask about the products, explain their needs, and the associate matches them with the right solution. This type of personalized assistance hasn’t been present in the e-commerce space before.

There’s no denying that personalization is important. In fact, 59 percent of consumers say personalization influences their shopping decisions. Ninety-one percent of consumers are more likely to shop with brands that send personalized offers and recommendations.

An on-site quiz gives consumers this personalized conversation. Businesses can ask questions, get to know customers and recommend the right products. A store can use that collected data to personalize every future conversation and recommendation.

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How to Optimize Your Quiz to Collect Opt-Ins

To personalize the customer journey, you’ll need to grow your marketing lists. Luckily, quizzes are an exceptional lead magnet for email, SMS and Facebook Messenger opt-ins.

You can collect this information using two methods: asking consumers to opt in to receive their quiz results, or by offering an incentive (such as a discount or free product). Both options are great for increasing the chances of a customer opting in.

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A quiz is effective for growing your marketing list because it's an attractive interactive experience. Consumers are already engaged with your brand while taking a quiz, so it’s a good opportunity to show your value and ask them for an email or phone number.

In most cases, consumers are willing to share their contact information because the quiz has taught them something about themselves or about the brand and its products. This new relationship makes consumers interested in continuing to build a bond with the brand.

A quiz allows online brands to have great conversations with every shopper, the same way an associate does in retail stores. An interactive experience, like a quiz, is key for collecting marketing opt-ins, learning who your customers are, and personalizing every future engagement. In my experience, this level of personalization builds memorable relationships that drive major increases in revenue.

Why wait to get started? Your customers need your attention.

Matt Schlicht is the CEO and co-founder of Octane AI, the all-in-one buyer persona marketing platform for e-commerce.