The art and science of hyper-personalised shopping

Ecommerce brands are leveraging customer data to provide highly customised experiences. This is achieved through the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI), which has the ability to learn a great deal about your purchasing habits. For instance, I recently joined a boxing gym and was surprised to receive a text from Sam, a representative from the gym, asking about my first class experience. He continued to follow up with suggestions for beginner classes and other options such as a studio membership.

I had willingly provided my phone number to the gym upon signing up, aware that it could be used for marketing purposes. However, I was not expecting to receive personalised messages from a seemingly real person who had specific information about my gym experience. It turns out that Sam is the gym's general manager. But in the current ecommerce landscape, it's highly likely that his messages are pre-written and automated through software, based on the data they've collected about me.

Your gym is just one of many companies that collect data on their customers to provide personalised shopping experiences. Experts suggest that many brands are taking personalisation a step further by using AI-assisted hyper-personalisation tactics. These tactics, like Sam's timely texts, are designed to keep consumers engaged and spending. Personalised shopping can take various forms, from texts from your favourite boutique to personalised emails from pet retailers. This type of marketing is becoming the new norm for brands looking to retain customers and build loyalty in a modern, data-driven way.