Enhancing Shopping with Personalization: Aritzia's Tailored PLP Experience

This case study explores the design and development of a Personalized Product Listing Page (PLP) tailored to enhance user shopping experiences. The PLP leverages user preferences and behavior to curate a selection of products that align with individual tastes, adapting in real-time for a dynamic, ever-relevant experience.

 

Recommendations enhance the user experience by combining implicit and explicit data about user preferences.

• Explicit behaviors, like past purchases and items saved to a wishlist, directly shape recommendations, aligning with specific styles or brands.

• Implicit behaviors, such as browsing patterns and engagement with different categories, inform broader thematic suggestions, creating diverse yet targeted recommendations like "Inspired by Your List" or "New for You, Styles You’ve Never Seen." This blend of data-driven insights allows for a dynamic, highly tailored experience that evolves with the user’s tastes and seasonal needs, seen in sections like “Sunny Days in the Forecast.”

 

Localization and trending items deliver tailored experiences for new customers while encouraging authentication for deeper personalization.

For new customers without previous interaction data, our personalization strategy leverages localization to deliver relevant, engaging recommendations. By showcasing trending and popular items in their area, we provide an experience that feels tailored, even on their first visit. These customers are presented with a blend of locally favored products and brand-focused content, highlighting the essence and values of our brand to build interest and trust. A strategically placed login prompt encourages new users to authenticate, allowing us to further refine their experience and offer deeper, more personalized recommendations in the future.

 

Entry points & discovery throughout the shopping journey

Our personalization strategy includes multiple entry points to guide customers toward tailored recommendations seamlessly throughout the site.

A “Personalized Picks” option in the main menu, marked with a “New” subscript, serves as a prominent access point. On the homepage, users can explore “Picked Just for You” sections, with a “See All” link that deepens their engagement with curated products.

Personalized search suggestions in the search panel further refine their browsing experience, and an order confirmation page provides additional recommended items to keep the customer journey going.

Research: Evaluating the Impact of Tailored Product Recommendations

The research study aimed to evaluate the personalized PLP prototype and its role in delivering tailored recommendations. By understanding user needs and expectations, the goal was to enhance the shopping experience, increase engagement, drive sales, and build stronger customer connections.

Approach:
An unmoderated usability test was conducted to guide participants through tasks and capture insights on their interactions with the PLP prototype, while mitigating potential observation biases.

Objectives:

  1. Understand User Perception of Personalization

  2. Identify User Needs and Expectations for Accessing Personalization

  3. Evaluate user perceptions, interactions, and expectations of the personalized PLP

Insights from Research Study:

  1. Participants saw value in having a dedicated area on Aritzia.com for personalized recommendations.

  2. All participants saw value in signing in to increase relevancy. Many believed it was a prerequisite for personalization.

  3. Participants expressed a desire to inform personalization by giving explicit input (style preferences etc.)

  4. Participants described a preference towards liking/dislking products vs refreshing all of the recommendations.

  5. Participants expressed confusion around the view mode names and desired to see on model images in one view.

“It feels more authentic that like you saw my purchase history as to why you're recommending certain things versus just like recommending things to make a sale”

“I can imagine myself visiting the personalized picks page and I think it will vary kind of just based on if I'm shopping for like occasion wear or like a specific style or if I'm looking to revamp my wardrobe as a whole.”