What You Should Know About Online Product Recommendation Engines

If you have experienced shopping in large online market websites like

This system is becoming more and more popular even with small to medium sized businesses because of the many benefits that it provides. If you want to learn more about product recommendation engines, you can check out the following paragraphs.

What are the basic components?

Online product recommendation engines vary in terms of their components. However, all of them have these basic similarities.

Website registration – For the system to do its functions, the user has to register to the website. This means that the visitor has to create an account by signing up with a username and password. He has to provide certain details like full name, email address, and physical address. When you sign in to the website, the system will keep track of his searches and purchases to be able to give useful recommendations. Encouraging your visitors to sign up to your website should be no problem especially if they know that they will be enjoying more features once they create an account.
Permission from the user – The system also asks the user’s permission to collect user data that will be used for providing relevant recommendations. This may be included in the terms and conditions that the user has to read upon signing up.
Data gathering method – The system also uses data gathering methods to obtain information from the user. In most cases, the process of data acquisition is done behind the scenes, like when the user is browsing different pages in the website or makes a purchase. However, in some cases, the system interacts with the user directly when gathering more specific type of data. There are also instances when the user can select what type of recommendations he wants to see by tweaking the settings in his account.

What are the benefits?

Online product recommendation engines are becoming more and more popular among e-markets and shopping websites because of the many benefits that they provide to the business. Below is a list of benefits of product recommendation engines that you should know.

The main benefit of using a product recommendation engine is conversion. There is a higher chance that your visitor will become a customer if you recommend products that are similar or related to what he is looking for. A visitor who browses several pages after clicking your suggested products will stay for a longer time in your website, increasing the possibility of conversion, and the dollars spent on your website.
If your website has a high conversion rate, your website will earn more profit. Someone who stays for a longer time in a shop whether online or offline has a bigger chance of buying more products than someone who only looks at one product. If you suggest related products, your visitor will remember things that he should be buying, which will also increase your earnings.
Online product recommendation engines also provide a more personal shopping experience to your customers. This is because instead of seeing ads that are unrelated to what they are looking for, they see recommended products that are similar or related to what they need. Online shoppers can be impatient and it would be better to give them what they need when they visit your website.

Based on these benefits, using a product recommendation engine is not only beneficial to the website owner but also to the customers. The website owner will earn more money while the customer can save time and find what they need without too much trouble.

Different functions

Online product recommendation engines offer different functions to your website. These functions are used to determine the products that are suggested to a specific user.

Monitors behavior of user – A product recommendation engine starts to monitor a user’s action from the time he logs in to your website until he logs out. It takes note of the amount of time a user spends on your website, the products and sections that he views, the purchases that he makes, and other actions that will help the system determine what products to suggest.
Monitors social network activities – These days, most websites allow their users to connect to the website through their social network accounts like Facebook or Twitter. The engine will research purchases made by the people in the user’s network or friends’ list, and this data will then be used to come up with a list of suggested products for the user. This is effective especially if you are targeting customers who are greatly influenced by their peers, like teenagers or students.
Monitors cart abandonment – One of the things that shopping websites try to reduce is their cart abandonment rate. This is when customers abandon their online cart. It can be because they changed their mind or other personal reasons. Whatever it is, a product recommendation engine monitors your website’s cart abandonment rate and tries to do something about it by giving more useful and relevant suggestions.

Most online product recommendation engines have these functions while there are some that only has at least two of these functions. It would be best to choose a product recommendation engine that offers these functions if you want to get better results.

Conclusion

If you have a website and you want to increase your profits, you should consider using a product recommendation engine that suggests similar and related products to your users based on their past searches, purchases, actions, social network, and other factors.

Did you like this article?

Please share it with your network, we’d really appreciate it!
Would you like to write for Tweak Your Biz? Or sign up for our RSS?
An outstanding title can increase tweets, Facebook Likes, and visitor traffic by 50% or more. Generate great titles for your articles and blog posts with the Tweak Your Biz Title Generator.

Connect with Tweak Your Biz on: