Personalisation and discoverability: Why relevance now defines retail growth

Personalisation has been discussed for years, often as a promise, but rarely as a practice. But in 2025, it’s no longer optional. The UK shopper expects it.

Seventy-one per cent of consumers now expect retailers to recognise their preferences and deliver tailored experiences. When that doesn’t happen, 76% say they feel frustrated. For retail leaders, the equation is clear: relevance drives conversion, and conversion drives profit.

What’s changing is how it’s achieved. The winners aren’t the ones with the most data, but those who use the data they already have intelligently.

From broadcast to precision

For many retail teams, ‘personalisation’ still translates to name inserts in emails or product carousels that look roughly relevant. That’s not enough.

Personalisation today means removing friction and making it easier for the right product to find the right customer, at the right time. The impact is immediate: lower bounce rates, higher conversions, and measurable growth in lifetime value.

One UK fashion brand recently introduced ‘Complete the look’ recommendations and saw a 20% increase in average order value within months. The technology wasn’t groundbreaking. The difference was relevance; customers saw items that made sense, contextually and commercially.

Start with the data you already have

You don’t need a data science function to create intelligent experiences. Most of the value sits in data you already capture:

• Purchase history: category frequency, replenishment cycles, brand loyalty.
• Browsing behaviour: pages visited, filters applied, device used.
• Location and logistics: store proximity, shipping speed, delivery promise.

When these signals connect, small optimisations start to compound. Homepages adapt. Recommendations feel logical. Emails become genuinely useful rather than interruptive.

On-site moves that matter

There’s a clear roadmap for improving relevance without major infrastructure change:

• Dynamic homepages that recognise returning customers and highlight familiar categories.
• Recommendation carousels such as ‘Inspired by your browsing’ or ‘Frequently bought together.’
• Intelligent search with synonym and typo recognition - ‘sofa’ = ‘settee,’ ‘joggers’ = ‘track bottoms.’
• Context memory that remembers a customer’s preferred size, fit, or brand filter.

It’s not a theory. In multiple case studies, improving on-site discovery and search lifted conversion rates by 30–50%. These are immediate commercial wins, not long-term digital transformations.

Lifecycle personalisation

The next layer of relevance comes through triggered communication. Instead of mass email campaigns, focus on customer lifecycle flows that speak to intent and timing.

For example:

• Welcome journeys that guide new customers to explore key categories.
• Post-purchase follow-ups with care advice and complementary recommendations.
• Win-back campaigns targeted by recency and product interest, with right-sized incentives.
• Replenishment flows for consumables or seasonal items.

Triggered emails and SMS journeys consistently deliver transaction rates up to six times higher than generic campaigns. The key is discipline - not volume, but relevance.

Search: the highest-intent moment

Search remains one of the most underutilised assets in ecommerce. 43% of visitors head straight to search, yet most retailers still rely on basic keyword logic. When search functions intelligently, accounting for synonyms, inventory, and margin-aware merchandising, conversion rates can double.

It’s not simply about showing more results. It’s about showing the right results: in-stock, in the right size, and aligned with commercial priorities.

Where to focus next?

Retailers that prioritise discovery, context, and timely communication will win on efficiency as much as engagement. The goal for the end of 2025 and the start of 2026 isn’t more personalisation; it’s better personalisation — the kind that feels invisible because it simply works.

Want to know how to put this into action like leading UK retailers?

Download The Customer Engagement Playbook from Visualsoft and clearer.IO for implementation checklists, technology recommendations, and sequencing strategies that turn data into measurable growth.