The Importance of Related Products to Enhance the Customer Experience for Your Store Visitors

A good seller understands that every customer needs assistance. The only question is what kind of help to offer and in what form. In this article, we will explore the concept of a related products feed in online commerce, focusing on why it’s important to implement it in your online store and what strategy to choose.

What is a Related Products Feed in an Online Store?

A related products feed is a marketing tool used in online stores to encourage customers to make additional purchases. It may go by different names, such as:

• Recommended products
• Frequently bought together
• You might also like
• Products from the same category

This feed is typically located on the product page and contains a list of other products that may interest the customer based on their previous actions or the characteristics of the product they are viewing.

That’s the basic definition. Now, let’s turn to practical examples to see how it works.

Imagine a visitor is searching for a specific TV model. They click on a link from Google, but that particular model is currently out of stock. By displaying recommendations like "products from the same category," you can showcase other TV models with similar prices, features, and more. This increases the likelihood that the visitor won’t immediately leave your website but will instead browse your catalog for other options.

Another approach with the same TV is to offer useful accessories. For example, you might suggest a smart remote with a keyboard for easier use of Smart TV functions, webcams for video communication, audio systems for creating a home theater experience, TV stands, brackets, or even wipes and screen care products. This strategy increases the chance of securing an order of a much higher value.

Why Does a Related Products Feed Increase the Profitability of Your Business?

You might think that when people search for products online, they are in a relaxed environment and know exactly what they need. However, various studies suggest that this is often not the case, and here’s why:

• Simple Forgetfulness: We all get distracted by other thoughts or products and may forget certain things. Reminders like related products can gently draw the visitor’s attention back to useful items they may have considered before.
• The Appearance of New Products: Modern assortments change rapidly, especially in technological niches. A buyer might not be aware of interesting and useful new products, so they aren’t searching for them. By offering related products, you have the opportunity to spark their interest. For such items, it’s important to provide detailed descriptions.
• Change of Priorities: People often change their minds while shopping, especially if they find something more appealing that overshadows their original intent. For example, if a customer sees a better TV model at a comfortable price, they might decide to purchase it instead.

All of these factors open up new marketing opportunities. Displaying related products in online stores is an effective strategy that offers several benefits to business owners. Not only does this tactic enhance customer satisfaction, but it also helps increase revenue and strengthen the company’s market position. Here are some of the key benefits:

• Increase in Average Order Value: Showing related products encourages customers to add more items to their carts, thereby increasing the average order value. For example, a customer buying a laptop can be offered a case, mouse, or antivirus software.
• Improved User Experience: Related products help customers quickly find additional items they might need. This convenience saves time and enhances customer satisfaction, increasing the likelihood of repeat purchases.
• Cross-Selling and Increased Loyalty: Recommending related products promotes cross-selling, allowing you to sell additional products or services. If these recommendations are useful and meet customer needs, they can boost brand loyalty.
• Increased Marketing Campaign Effectiveness: Analyzing data on related products helps you better understand customer needs and refine marketing strategies. This enables more targeted advertising campaigns, increasing their effectiveness and profitability.
• Reduced Customer Churn: Displaying related products can keep customers on your site longer, increasing their interaction time with your brand. The longer a customer stays on your site, the more likely they are to complete a purchase, reducing the risk of churn.
• Opportunity to Promote New or Leftover Products: Online retailers can use related products to promote new arrivals or clear out old stock. This helps free up warehouse space faster and boosts sales of new products.
• Increased Brand Awareness: Showcasing related products, especially from lesser-known manufacturers, can increase their recognition among customers. This contributes to the development of new products and overall sales growth.

Showcasing related products is a crucial part of an online retailer’s strategy. It’s not only a way to increase revenue but also a tool to improve user experience, enhance customer loyalty, and optimize marketing efforts. By implementing this tactic, businesses can grow while staying competitive in the market. To reap these benefits, make sure to engage the right options on your website.

The Importance of Personalization in the Related Products Feed

Personalization is key to success in modern e-commerce. When it comes to a related products feed, its effectiveness depends on how accurately it meets the individual needs of each customer:

• Increasing Conversions: When users see products that genuinely interest them, they are more likely to add those items to their cart and complete the purchase.
• Boosting Average Order Value: Personalized recommendations encourage customers to buy more products in a single order.
• Enhancing Customer Loyalty: When customers feel understood and are offered exactly what they’re looking for, they become more loyal to the brand.
• Reducing Return Rates: Personalized recommendations help customers choose the right product, reducing the likelihood of returns.

You have several tools at your disposal to achieve effective personalization:

• Collect Detailed User Data: Browsing history, past purchases, items added to the cart, and interactions with recommendations are all valuable information for creating personalized offers.
• Use a Variety of Recommendation Algorithms: These can be based on factors like purchase history, user behavior, product attributes, or a combination of several factors.
• Consider the Context: Recommendations should change depending on factors like the time of day, user’s device, geographic location, and other contextual elements.

There is no single perfect algorithm, so continuously test different approaches and choose the one that yields the best results.

How to Add a Related Products Feed to an Online Store on WordPress

Adding a related products feed to your online store on the WordPress platform can significantly increase sales and improve the user experience. The most popular way to implement this is by using the WooCommerce plugin, which serves as the foundation for all ready-made eCommerce themes by 8Theme. Here’s how you can do it in a few simple steps.

Add Related Products to Products:

1. Edit or Create a New Product: Navigate to Products > Add New, or edit an existing product.
2. Find the Related Products Section: Scroll down the product page to the Product details section, and select the Related Products tab.
3. Add Related Products: You can use several options. Cross-sells are shown on the cart page as upsells to the current product. Upsells are more expensive options or add-ons to the current product. Group products are useful if you want to combine several products into a group — create a group product and add related products to it.
4. Save the Changes: After adding related products, click Update or Publish.

If WooCommerce’s basic functionality isn’t enough, you can use additional plugins to customize the display of related products:

• WISDM Custom Product Boxes: Allows you to create sets of products that can be offered as related products.
• WooCommerce Product Recommendations: This plugin provides advanced features for customizing product recommendations based on customer purchase history, viewed products, and other data.
• YITH WooCommerce Frequently Bought Together: This plugin shows products that are often bought together, similar to the functionality on Amazon.

Don’t forget the importance of thorough technical testing for every change and using analytics to evaluate the effectiveness of your strategies.

One of the advantages of WordPress is that most of this can be implemented fairly easily on your own. However, if you need help, you can easily find specialists without spending a fortune.

Conclusion

Adding a related products feed to your WordPress online store using WooCommerce or additional plugins can greatly improve the user experience and increase revenue. Properly setting up and optimizing this feature can turn casual visitors into loyal customers. By choosing ready-made templates from 8Theme to create your commercial website, you save time and money. Check out our collection of works