Mastering conversion optimization is crucial for managing the high demand of the holiday shopping season’s peak. In our latest webinar, we explored key strategies to boost conversion rates by creating more personalized customer experiences and optimizing site performance. You’ll also discover how to get your backend systems ready to handle the increased holiday traffic, so your business can boost sales during the busiest time of the year.
What we learned:
- How to address the dynamic customer journey
- The power of real time engagement
- How industry leaders approach innovation
- The importance of using leadership to embrace long-term KPIs
Speakers:
- Sherry Shi, Head of Women’s Fashion, TikTok Shop
- Lucy Liu, VP, Product & Strategic Planning, FabFitFun
- Ruchika Julapalli, VP Digital Experience – Product Management, UX & Technology, J.Crew
- Mary Kate Cash, Head of Growth Marketing, AB Tasty
- Moderated by: Scott Silverman, CoFounder, CommerceNext
Watch the replay or read the recap below.
Addressing the Dynamic Customer Journey
Today’s customer journey is flexible and always changing. People interact with brands in many ways, like shopping in stores, using apps or browsing online on different devices. To keep up, companies need to ensure all shopping touchpoints run smoothly. Using data and smart tools like AI, businesses can offer more personalized experiences, sometimes even knowing what customers want before they ask. This helps companies stay ready to meet customers’ needs, no matter where they are in the customer journey.
The Power of Real-Time Engagement
Brands need to start thinking about customer journeys as real-time experiences. A shopper’s behavior can change based on their mood or experiences on any given day, even if it’s the same person visiting the same site. To provide a personalized experience, companies must adapt to who the customer is at that moment, regardless of when or how they engage. Emotions AI is an AB Tasty tool that uses behavioral data, like scrolling and mouse movements, to categorize users into “emotional buckets” for targeted experiences. Jacari used Emotions AI to segment customers who prefer detailed information, adding a free shipping progress bar within personalized product recommendations. This approach drove a 10% revenue increase, a 1.7x rise in average order value and boosted conversions.
How Industry Leaders Approach Innovation
J.Crew believes that adopting a balanced approach between immediate results and long-term learning is crucial in today’s rapidly evolving retail landscape. The company emphasizes the value of a “test and learn” strategy, especially as brands experiment with generative AI and new shopping experiences. By launching small-scale tests on their website, J.Crew can gather insights into customer behavior and preferences, while also monitoring KPIs to inform their roadmap. This way, J.Crew can tell the difference between short-term results and long-term plans, helping them stay flexible and ready to meet changing customer needs.
AB Tasty highlights the value of gradual progress when introducing novel experiences to customers. The company also believes in a “test and learn” approach that focuses on incremental development, comparing current offerings to those from the previous year to show that small changes can still lead to novel experiences. This method minimizes the risk of making large, unsuccessful changes. By taking smaller steps, AB Tasty ensures that new features are valuable and well-received by customers, allowing them to learn and adjust along the way.
TikTok Shop approaches innovation by carefully evaluating the impact of new technologies on their daily operations. Leaders at TikTok Shop understand that while small changes can improve operations, some tools can create big opportunities. When deciding whether to adopt new features, they look at the potential for growth and how well these tools fit with what businesses are already doing. By focusing on these strategies, TikTok Shop helps businesses adapt and succeed in a changing world.
Leadership to Embrace Long-Term KPIs
FabFitFun is committed to finding the right balance between improving current offerings and exploring new growth opportunities. They focus on smaller projects that require immediate attention while also planning for the next three to five years. To achieve this, FabFitFun ensures that all leaders are aligned on future goals, identifying the necessary steps to move the company forward. By dedicating about 80% of their energy to these important actions, FabFitFun can enhance their current offers while working on their future growth. Embracing long-term KPIs helps the company focus on sustainable success and continuous improvement.
At J.Crew, the approach to working with leadership involves staying closely aligned on daily operations, forecasts and quarterly goals while also creating room for longer-term KPIs. They know it’s important to pay attention to what the business needs right now, especially since retail relies on accurate forecasts. By staying focused on day-to-day operations, J.Crew can successfully include long-term KPIs in their plans. This balance helps them stay ready for both today’s challenges and tomorrow’s growth.
For more tips like these, sign up for the 2025 CommerceNext Growth Show, taking place in NYC on June 24-26, 2025. Sign up here.
