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Boost your WooCommerce store’s average order value with top product recommendation strategies. Discover the best eCommerce product recommendations tips and techniques to enhance your customers’ shopping experience.
Product recommendation, in simple terms, is a system that filters and highlights products your customers are likely to be interested in or want to purchase. These recommendation algorithms analyze past interactions and preferences to present a curated selection tailored to each user.
This comprehensive guide explores effective product recommendation strategies for your eCommerce store—diving into advanced recommendation tools and techniques that not only enhance your eCommerce marketing strategy but also strengthen brand loyalty.
Key Takeaways
- Implement personalized product recommendations to increase customer engagement and drive conversions.
- Use relevant upselling, cross-selling, and frequently bought together recommendation strategies to boost average order value.
- Leverage product recommendation engines to display dynamic product suggestions across product, cart, and checkout pages.
56% of online shoppers are more likely to return to a site that recommends products! 👀
According to reports, the eCommerce personalization software market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 24.8%, reaching USD 2,412.3 billion by 2033. This makes it essential to have the right product recommendation strategy in place to maximize conversions.
The whole aim of product recommendations is to offer personalized experiences to your customers. Helping your customers could nurture a healthy relationship with your store.
For example, YouTube recommendations. It often feels like YouTube recommendations understand you better than you understand yourself. The app keeps suggesting things you’re genuinely interested in—even before you realize it! That’s YouTube’s AI recommendation system working at its best.
This relationship between the tool and its consumers creates a bond of trust, which will keep the consumers engaged and loyal to the platform. Though sales are your immediate goal, you should define this relationship generation as the end goal of the product recommendation system you plan to set up on your website.
Moreover, such a product recommendation system would help you sell more!
Why you need to implement a product recommendation system in an eCommerce store?
- Encourages customers to buy more by recommending relevant products, helping increase overall cart size.
- Saves customers time by guiding them to the most suitable products quickly and effortlessly.
- Analyzes user behavior to deliver dynamic, data-driven suggestions—just like Amazon’s recommendation engine that drove a 29% revenue increase.
- Automated product recommendations are consistent and unbiased, offering fair suggestions based purely on user preferences.
Now, before we go any deeper into effective product recommendation strategies to boost eCommerce conversions, let’s first explore the different types of product recommendation systems.
Diverse product suggestion methods are used to shape the user experience. Each method plays a distinct role in crafting a personalized journey for consumers, from collaborative filtering to hybrid systems.
| Product Recommendation Type | What They Are? | Example |
| Collaborative Filtering | Utilizing collective user behavior, this method unveils products endorsed by like-minded consumers. Collaborative filtering relies on the assumption that individuals who shared similar preferences in the past will continue to do so in the future. | For example, if two users have identical preferences or purchase patterns, Amazon’s system might make product suggestions to one user based on the choices and preferences of the other. |
| Content-Based Filtering | This product recommendation approach tailors recommendations by looking at the user’s previous interactions with the product, such as their viewing and purchase history. | Netflix recommends movies and TV shows based on the user’s past content preferences. If a user frequently watches action movies, Netflix suggests action-related content. |
| Hybrid Filtering Systems | Leveraging collaborative and content-based methods is when we achieve the highest accuracy and relevance. | Spotify combines both approaches in its recommendation system. It considers user listening history and the attributes of songs users liked to provide a personalized playlist. |
Implementing effective product recommendation strategies for your eCommerce store can significantly enhance customer engagement and drive sales. Here are some recommendation strategies and product recommendation examples to help you make informed decisions on how to recommend products to customers.
We’ve categorized these product recommendation strategies based on the pages where they appear for easier navigation and application.
You will have your customers’ full attention once they enter the product pages for individual items. You can implement the following product recommendation strategies on product pages.
1. Frequently Bought Together
This frequently bought together recommendation strategy recommends products that are mostly purchased together. By anticipating additional needs and offering convenience, it simplifies the shopping process and introduces customers to complementary products they may have yet to consider.
For example, a shoe cleaning solution with a sneaker. A simple technique to accelerate the frequently bought together product sale is offering a discount on the FBT bundle, for instance, offering a 5% discount on the cart when purchasing the shoe cleaning solution with the sneaker.
‘Customers who bought this item also bought’ and ‘Perfect Combinations’ are another common titles of the frequently bought-together recommendation widget.
2. Complete The Look
‘Style it with’ or ‘Complete the look’ is one of the most common product recommendation strategies used by clothing retailers. These recommendations are designed so that it is easy for your customers to find the products that match the item they are browsing.
This reduces the net purchase time and also boosts customer satisfaction. For example, T-shirts and shoes with a trouser. It is ideal to hand-pick such products.
3. Items That Pair Well Together
This product recommendation strategy is similar to the above-mentioned ‘Complete the look’ – but for non-fashion-based products.
In this example, the products that are compatible with an iron grill are added as product suggestions.
4. Upsell Recommendations
Upsells are product recommendations where you suggest products whose price or value is higher than the item your customers are browsing. The recommended items are usually similar to the current items.
It can have the same category, tags, or attributes but should offer more value or be costlier than the current item.
For example, recommending outdoor grills with more functionalities or expensive than the grill the customers are currently looking at.
5. Discounted Products
Showcase products similar to the currently viewed products but are available at a discount.
For example, recommending laptops with slight spec variations to help identify the available options seamlessly.
Showcasing products currently running offers as such a recommendation strategy could guarantee even more sales.
6. Related Products
Related Products recommend products directly associated with the product the customer is currently viewing. This can include accessories, complementary items, or products frequently bought together.
Presenting a cohesive set of options encourages customers to explore further, ultimately increasing the average order value.
For example, if a customer wants a camera, related products might include camera bags, tripods, or memory cards.
Related product suggestions can be set up based on the category, tags, or attributes. You may choose the related factor for your store based on your requirements.
7. Also Viewed
This product recommendation strategy revolves around displaying products other users have viewed while looking at the same item. It fosters a sense of shared choices and familiarity.
When customers see these product suggestions, it creates a connection and encourages them to explore and make informed purchase decisions.
Category pages are one of the most visited pages on every eCommerce site. It is where you can find all the products that you might like at once. For example, to buy an item of clothing for a female friend, we would first go to the Womens > Clothing category.
Let’s look at the recommendation strategies that can be implemented on the category page of your store.
8. Featured Products
You usually make a featured product list with the items that you want to put on the spotlight. Adding these products to the top of your category page would help you attract more eyes to them.
Here, in this example, it is sure that nobody will miss out on seeing the products in ‘Kylie’s glossy glam’ collection.
9. Bestsellers
Best sellers are products that are the most sold in your store. A bestseller tag on your product acts as social proof and gives users the trust they need to purchase it.
This product recommendation strategy highlights popular or top-selling products that are well-received by other customers. This creates trust, influencing the customer’s decision-making process.
Identifying best sellers based on categories and displaying them on the category pages is one of the best product recommendation techniques.
Featuring best-selling products on the website reinforces that these items are preferred by a wider customer base.
10. Top Rated
Top-rated products are the products that have satisfied your customers the most. The positive reviews that the product has acquired would act as social proof and help to sell it more easily.
Product recommendations based on customer reviews and ratings reassure customers about the quality and overall satisfaction of the recommended products.
11. Trending Now
This product recommendation strategy taps into the psychological aspect of social proof by providing users with suggestions that align with evolving interests.
Highlighting such products instills a sense of being up-to-date and can prompt customers to explore the latest trends.
The following types of product recommendation strategies can be set up on your eCommerce store shop page to improve sales.
12. Daily Offers
Feature products daily and showcase them on the top of your shop page. This can improve the net sales figures. Users landing on this page will not miss seeing the deals.
13. New Arrival Recommendations
The freshness of the products is an important criterion when contemplating purchasing a product. You can boost your newly arrived products in your store by displaying them on the shop page of your store.
Also, new arrivals belonging to a specific category can be added to the corresponding category page of the store.
14. Seasonal Recommendations
Seasonal recommendations enhance relevance and contribute to creating themed shopping experiences.
For example, suggesting warm clothing in winter or outdoor accessories in summer caters to the customer’s seasonal requirements, boosting conversions.
Cart and checkout pages are where you want your customers to make quick decisions. Recommending products retailed at small prices is ideal for such locations. Let’s see the recommendation techniques you can implement at the cart and checkout.
15. Cross-Selling
Cross-selling is a type of recommendation where you suggest alternatives for a product. It can also be products that are complementary to a given product.
Usually, the prices of the cross-sell recommendations would be less than the product in the cart.
16. On-Sale Products
Recommendations based on discounts and promotions involve suggesting products currently on sale or offering special deals to incentivize purchases.
This taps into the customer’s desire for value and savings. Moreover, it creates a sense of urgency, prompting customers to make quick purchase decisions.
17. Recently Viewed Products
Customers can make faster decisions if you suggest products that your customers have already examined. Therefore, such products on the cart or checkout page would help increase the average order value.
Allowing customers to quickly revisit recently viewed products is a convenient feature that can influence user decision-making. It acknowledges the customer’s interest and encourages them to reconsider items, reducing the likelihood of abandonment.
18. Get Free Shipping By Adding More
Customers would do anything to get free shipping! It is a great idea to suggest products that, when added to the cart, will qualify the cart for free shipping.
You can set this up by triggering the suggestions when the cart subtotal falls below the minimum free shipping criteria.
19. Low-Valued Accessories
Low-valued accessories at checkout have much higher chances of conversion than a higher-priced item. Leverage this idea and showcase complementary products at lesser prices.
For example, pants and T-shirts with sneakers.
It is much easier to make your customers return to the store than to acquire new users. Therefore, you must try to make your customers return to the shop even after completing a purchase.
The product recommendation strategies on the order confirmation or ‘thank you’ page would help you with that. Let’s see how.
20. Personalized Product Recommendations
Making your customers shop for more products once they have completed a purchase is a difficult task. You can only engage with them by offering them what they want.
This can be done by suggesting the products they have previously interacted with or similar products.
Utilizing customer data to provide customized product recommendations based on browsing history and purchase behavior is a powerful strategy for enhancing the shopping experience.
Tailoring product suggestions to individual customers increases the relevance of product recommendations and leads to higher conversions.
21. Wishlist Integration
Integrating a wishlist feature and recommending items from customers’ wishlists is a customer-centric strategy. It encourages them to revisit and complete their purchases.
eCommerce platforms like Amazon seamlessly integrate wishlist recommendations into their product suggestions, enhancing the shopping experience.
22. Abandoned Cart Recommendations
Reminding customers of items left in their cart and providing additional product suggestions help recover potentially lost sales. Sending targeted emails re-engages customers and encourages them to complete the purchase.
For eCommerce businesses, optimizing product recommendations is critical to enhancing the user experience.
Through advanced recommendation campaigns, the best WooCommere recommendation engines can help you implement these recommendation strategies and guide customers to the right products. Some of the popular WooCommerce recommendations plugins are:
WooCommerce Product Recommendations
WooCommerce Product Recommendations is an advanced plugin enabling diverse recommendation campaigns. Offering features like upsell, cross sell, and more, it facilitates personalized suggestions.
Customizable templates cater to store promotions, customer needs, and seasonal offers. It also displays suggested products on various pages to grab and hold visitors’ attention.
Frequently Bought Together For WooCommerce
The Frequently Bought Together generates compelling upsell and cross sell opportunities. It harnesses customers’ order history to recommend products automatically.
Supporting multiple layouts, the plugin allows flexible display options and enables discounts within the bundled recommendations.
Recommendations Engine
The Recommendations Engine empowers WooCommerce stores to implement personalized product suggestions. It configures upsells, cross-sells, and related product recommendations using purchase history and product data.
The plugin supports widget creation for diverse recommendation campaigns.
Products of the Day
Effortlessly select and display top products on specific days, arranging them using a drag-and-drop interface with the Product of the Day plugin.
It offers customization options, including product image thumbnails and add-to-cart buttons.
Product Recommendations Quiz for E-Commerce
This plugin acts as a virtual personal shopper, guiding customers to find the right products. Through personalized quizzes, it captures leads and segments them based on responses. The results are emailed to customers, encouraging them to buy the recommended products later.
Related Products for WooCommerce
Easily create related product sliders or grids using this plugin. You can display storewide-related products based on tags or categories.
The plugin provides flexibility by excluding specific categories or out-of-stock products from the related product display.
There are a few factors you should consider when recommending products for sale, which can enhance the effectiveness of your product suggestions. They are:
- Listening to your customers is critical. Engage with their feedback and gain valuable insights that can improve your recommendations.
- Integrate trust signals into your product suggestions, whether it be customer reviews, UGCs, or product transparency.
- Provide relevant product suggestions. Tailor your recommendations to each customer segment, making them meaningful and effective.
- Communicate the benefits and value of your recommendations. Addressing ‘what is in it for them’ creates a compelling argument that persuades them to purchase.
- Don’t just display product suggestions—measure how they perform. Use analytics or integrate with Google Analytics to monitor click-throughs, conversions, and revenue impact from each product recommendation strategy.
Conclusion
Mastering product recommendation strategies for your WooCommerce store is pivotal to e-commerce success. Leveraging advanced tools and strategies can drive conversions and foster brand loyalty.
The product recommendation examples and strategies explored here empower store owners on how to recommend products to customers on WooCommerce store that promises an enjoyable shopping experience.
As you refine your recommendation tactics, remember that understanding your customers and staying adaptable are the keys to sustained success.
Thank you for reading! We’ve reached the end of this guide on the top WooCommerce product recommendation strategies to help you boost sales and customer engagement. What type of product recommendations have worked best for your store? Drop your experience or questions in the comments—we’d love to hear how you’re optimizing your WooCommerce recommendations!
A product recommendation engine is a tool that makes your online shopping experience more personalized by providing recommendations based on your shopping behavior.
A product recommendation strategy is a personalized marketing approach that suggests relevant products to customers based on their behavior, preferences, or past purchases.
An example of a product recommendation system is Amazon’s “Customers who bought this also bought” feature. It uses customer data and purchase history to suggest related or frequently bought-together items, encouraging upsells, cross-sells, and repeat purchases.
