Morrisons | Internet Marketing Blog

Are questionnaires an effective tool for online product recommendations?

While browsing ecommerce sites recently I noticed several examples of retailers that use questionnaires as a way of delivering product recommendations.

It’s not an approach you see that often, as sites more commonly recommend products using features such as ‘Customers who bought this product also bought’ or ‘Popular products’.

But that doesn’t mean questionnaires aren’t an effective tool. In theory, asking customers for their preferences adds an element of personalisation to the shopping experience and makes the recommendations feel more relevant.

This could in turn lead to higher conversions as the customer feels more confident about their product choice.

But does it work in practice? To find out, I tried out product questionnaires on three very different retail sites...

Personalisation is key theme in Morrisons' first foray into ecommerce

When Morrisons bought Kiddicare in 2011 one of the main motivations was to take advantage of the latter’s expertise in ecommerce.

Despite the fact that Morrisons is the UK’s fourth biggest grocery retailer, it still doesn’t sell groceries online.

However Morrisons finally took its first foray into ecommerce towards the end of last year with the launch a new Wine Cellar business.

The main feature of the site is product recommendations based on the customer’s answers to a taste test. There are just three questions that ask what type of hot drinks the user prefers, whether they like salt and their preference for sugary soft drinks.

Kiddicare moves offline by opening 10 superstores

Online nursery retailer Kiddicare.com has announced it is to open 10 new shops in premises left empty by Best Buy.

The announcement of the new offline stores was made through Kiddicare’s social media platforms and customers will be able to decide which store opens first through a Facebook vote.