Notonthehighstreet.com has boosted its average order value by almost a third after introducing personalised recommendations.
The alternative marketplace, which specialises in homewares, fashion and gifts that aren’t sold on the high street, introduced Peerius’ SMARTrecs technology in order to understand the needs of its individual customers. The software uses filters, algorithms and hints to compare product listings from all of the 3,000 sellers who use Notonthehighstreet.com. It produces personalised recommendations for customers on the home page, on the product page, on the add to basket pop up pages, in the shopping basket and on the order confirmation page. Post-transaction emails also feature personalised recommendations, through the company’s use of Peerius SMARTmail.
Since the partnership went live, in 2010, notonthehighstreet.com has seen a 31% increase on its average order value, while average units per order have risen by 78%.
“Our customers are as individual as our products, so offering them off-the-peg recommendations based on what other visitors have looked at is fairly pointless,” said Dave Thomson, head of product management.
“The Peerius SMART-recs engine doesn’t look at ‘a customer’, it looks at ‘our customers’, to understand what they’re interested in and connect them to the perfect products.”
It also helps Notonthehighstreet.com to deliver the kind of personal experience that its customers want. “We know that customers keep coming back time and time again because we offer them something very different to the products and experiences delivered by big retailers,” said Thomson. “Ours is a very personal service for discerning individuals, and we have to maintain this if we, and our retainers, are to continue to grow.”
Notonthehighstreet.com was founded by Holly Tucker and Sophie Cornish (pictured, l-r) in 2006 and has doubled its revenues every year since then.
