Pet food brand I and love and you achieved a 44% increase in dog food repeat purchases and a 35% increase in cat food repeat purchases. The company has deployed the Nosto commerce experience platform to tailor online shopping experiences to distinct customer segments. The same approach has also led to a 17% lift in e-commerce purchases from first-time customers.
Founded in Boulder, I and love and you makes a wide selection of meals, snacks, toppers and treats for both cats and dogs in partnership with a holistic veterinarian. Its products are available through retailers nationwide and online via iandloveandyou.com, Amazon, Chewy and more. The company has been using Nosto to segment e-commerce visitors to its website in real-time, starting with three key groups: returning, loyal and first-time customers1.
Returning and loyal customers
When returning and loyal customers are identified on-site, Nosto's replenishment algorithm estimates whether enough time has passed for those customers to be ready to re-order their previous purchases. When this is the case, as soon as the shopper hits the store's menu, they are shown a hero image of the product they previously purchased, along with a prompt to "buy again". Clicking on this takes them directly to the appropriate product page from where they can quickly complete their purchase. The product page also includes 'Other people were also interested in' product recommendations, based on Nosto's analysis of the purchase behavior of similar shoppers.
By helping visitors instantly find the products they're likely to be looking to repurchase—without having to search via the navigation menu—I and love and you saw 44% and 35% increases in dog and cat food replenishment purchases respectively. This tactic also had a positive impact on mobile visitors, which account for around half of all the brand's traffic. The add-to-cart rate on mobile for cat food increased by 332%, while abandoned carts on mobile for dog food went down to 0—presumably because customers have much greater certainty that they are repurchasing the correct product.
Segmenting the customer base and improving the online experience have also contributed to the doubling in size of the brand's loyal customers segment and has produced a 24% increase in visit value from them.
New customers
For the new customers segment, Nosto displays a list of best-seller product recommendations based on individuals' browsing behavior. If they indicate an affinity to dog food, they are shown recommendations showcasing the best-selling dog food products. Similarity, if it's cat food, they are shown the best-selling cat food items. This has generated a 17% increase in e-commerce purchases from the new-customers segment, as well as contributed to the 9% increase in the sales conversion rate for the best-selling dog food, and the 12% increase in sales conversion rate for the best-selling cat food.
Home page hero placements
I and love and you has also experimented with tailoring content to specific customer segments. For example, because it is one of few pet food brands that supplies both dog and cat food equally, it personalized the home page hero image for segments that have a dog or cat affinity. Those with a dog affinity (purchased dog food previously) were shown a dog hero image, and those with a cat affinity, a cat image—while those who have purchased both (or have no previous purchases) were shown an image of both animals.
"We wanted to have a website that engaged people-- it needed to strategically target customers by putting the right things in front of them," said Jeff Spears, vice president of Digital Commerce at I and love and you. "Our view is that the more we can understand who the shopper is and what's going to help them convert, the more we can personalize the experience and ensure they find something they love. That's why we invested in Nosto in the first place and continue to look for opportunities to use it to optimize the experience we're delivering."
