Rich Media, Personalization Key Loyalty Builders for E-Tailers
Rich media and personalization are essential to establishing brand loyalty, according to a recently published study from Limelight Networks, a content delivery network. The study, which was based on a survey of more than 1,600 online shoppers, found that those who shop online more frequently value advanced online shopping features more than those who shop online less often.
The following are rich media features that respondents found to be very important in their decision to stay and purchase from a site, as well as return to that site to make other purchases:
- clear and thorough product photography (94 percent of respondents who shop online more than once a month versus 84 percent of those who shop online only once a month);
- customization of products (79 percent versus 65 percent);
- advanced product viewing functionality (76 percent versus 68 percent);
- video demonstration of required assembly or installation (49 percent versus 35 percent);
- video demonstrations of products in use (46 percent versus 30 percent); and
- video product reviews from customers (46 percent versus 33 percent).
Online buyers ranked the presence of dynamic content such as personalization as a critical component to the online shopping experience. Respondents ranked the following personalization features as extremely or very important in their decision to stay and purchase on a site, as well as return to that site to shop again:
- site automatically recalls billing and shipping information (73 percent of those who shop online more than once a month versus 59 percent of those who shop online only once a month);
- site recognizes you when you come back to visit (68 percent versus 52 percent);
- website remembers personal preferences, such as shoe size, aisle seat on an airplane, etc. (57 percent versus 43 percent); and
- product recommendations are made based on items that you've already purchased (55 percent versus 41 percent).
