Forget about going mobile and SEO-optimizing – there is a new e-commerce trend that can boost conversions by a whopping 200%. We are talking about weather personalization. Yup, you heard right — weather personalization.
The perks? You don’t need the bulk of your customers’ data, but only their location, which is easily defined by geo-targeting. And yet, it can deliver just as good results as if you were greeting each customer by name.
In this post, I’ll try to cover the fundamentals of this conversion-optimization technique, as well as give some useful tips on how to implement it within the limits of your general marketing strategy.
What is weather-based personalization?
Weather-based personalization is as simple as it sounds – personalizing the content and the look of your website depending on the weather in your users’ location. It is similar to personalizing your email campaigns by using names and specific locations in subject lines – this time, however, it will require a bit more effort on your part.
Weather-based personalization is not only applicable to websites selling clothing items, and you will be surprised how many businesses and spheres (more specifically – the number of their sales) are directly influenced by weather conditions.
Why does it matter?
There are SO MANY reasons to take weather into account. Besides the obvious (defining whether you need a fur coat or a bikini), the temperature outside defines buying and even browsing behavior. In fact, it is the second major factor to influence consumer decisions after state economy.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Consumer behavior: New research shows a correlation between temperature and purchase intent:” quote=”New research published in the Journal of Consumer Psychology found a direct correlation between ambient temperature and a growing purchase intent of buyers.” theme=”style2″]
You heard right — warmth somehow helps us part with money more eagerly and without as much regret.
Where should weather-based personalization apply?
Whatever the industry you are working in, chances are weather plays a major role in your buyers’ purchasing decisions. Here are but a few examples of business fields directly related to climate conditions:
- Apparel
- Food and Drinks
- Airline tickets and other travel businesses
- Medical businesses
- Garden
- Cars
- Energy
- Insurance services
- Health and Beauty
- Household items
Virtually every sphere has been touched on by weather and how it influences consumers. Experience proves that weather conditions influence the sales of drinks, as well as air conditioners.
How to implement it?
You don’t have to manually monitor temperatures in countries and cities where most of your traffic comes from. There are companies, such as WeatherTriggerAPI or SkyMosity, that provide such services on a regular basis. These are easily integrated and deliver accurate data on different locations around the world.
The tips for implementing weather targeting on your e-commerce website
How to do weather-based personalization right? There is no commonly accepted way and it will depend greatly on what industry you are working in. However, there are a few things that might slip your attention and that I will try to cover.
Analysis of weather history
Source: https://blog.crazyegg.com/2013/10/10/potential-pitfalls-personalization/
It is convenient to have someone else’s conclusions and recommendations to rely on, but the results will be much better if you gather information yourself.
Take weather history for a few previous months and compare it to ordering history in the corresponding geographic location. Which products enjoyed popularity on sunny days? What pages were your customers more eager to browse when it was rainy outside?
It can take time, but the data you’ll receive will be 100% relevant to your particular business and target audience.
It can also work to improve targeting. If you know what whether users were exposed to for a few days or even weeks, you can define what products to offer. Think automotive – it is not uncommon for drivers to prepare their vehicles for winter only when it’s been snowing for weeks.
Offering products based on current weather and predictions
You’ve seen it in malls – shop managers dress their mannequins in fur coats when it is still warm and nice outside. The same happens in February. Of course, you won’t be changing your entire stock like they do, but it can be used as a basis for ad popups and re-arranging the order of sections for easier and faster access.
Imagine if a storm is forecasted for the next week and users find out about it from your website? How valuable is that for building trust and adding value??? And a chance to buy extra-convenient, super-cheap and durable umbrella is just a side benefit.
I will not elaborate on product offers based on the current weather – it’s just way too obvious and doesn’t call for explanation.
Boosting your pitch when it is cold and rainy outside
Quite expectedly, buyers are more likely to hunch over their laptops whenever they are indoors, and not by their own choice. If you have some quite aggressive and even negative ad pop-ups, it is time to use them. It is also a good time for informative content – your customers have time to read through pages of in-depth descriptions and reviews.
Even purely informational content will help! You can tell them about the dangers of not wearing sunscreen when temperatures hit the boiling point and build trust to fuel future purchases.
Capitalizing on emotion
Source: http://blog.usabilla.com/how-to-convert-more-customers-using-emotional-targeting/
Europe was overwhelmed with heat waves this summer, and so was the Internet. Hundreds of users were posting images of melting asphalt all over social networks. If you have felt this yourself, you know what I am talking about.
“Emotional” is a must-have characteristic of any ad or sales copy piece. If you know for sure your customers are suffering from heat or cold, what is a better way to tap into the emotion? I am mostly talking about popups and suggested content, but if you can go as far as sending them to a differently designed landing page, you will have an even better result. Don’t be afraid to overstep – it draws lots of attention.
Offering products based on customer behavior based on weather conditions
What do you do when you have an evening for yourself and you can’t go outside? Read? Draw? Cook?
If you have well-developed user personas, you already know the hobbies of your customers. If not, you can make a general prediction and offer goods most closely associated with in-door hobbies. This strategy is especially useful for retailers that sell a large variety of goods in different categories.
Implementing all of those strategies is difficult but possible, especially if you take into account what amazing results it will have on your sales and bottom line.
A few general recommendations:
• Never make decisions based on data collected in another industry, especially if it is far from your line of business. Consumer behavior differs greatly depending on what kind of products they purchase.
• Always take into account the mentality. No other country has such a huge demand for barbecue equipment as the USA. Consequently, the rush to buy it will be the strongest in the US in spring. Don’t expect the same in other countries that are less addicted to roasted ribs.
• Analyze what you have implemented, the results you have received and the amount of effort you have invested. It is the general rule for any kind of marketing, so weather-based personalization should not be an exception.
If there is something that all marketers agree upon, it is that keeping up with innovations is difficult, and not keeping up with them is deadly.
You should be implementing changes not because you want to deliver better service (at least not only), but because your customers demand it. They will punish you with abandoned carts and fewer visits, favoring competitors.
There are so many factors that can hurt your business – social media harm your image, bad reviews harm your credibility, and so on, and so forth. That’s why it is crucial to grab on all opportunities for improvement. Weather-based personalization is definitely one of them.
About the Author: Veronica Hunt is an edtech expert and an experienced blogger from Delaware City, DE. Veronica sees her purpose in providing her readers with up-to-date info in the spheres of marketing, technology and social media. Apart from work, Veronica adores traveling and yoga. You can find Veronica on Facebook and LinkedIn.