Originally posted on LinkedIn.

Dad with a wallet: a Retailer’s Best Friend.

Retailer’s worst nightmare?  Over-engineered personalization with mismanaged content.

Read on…

My daughter’s 13th birthday is just around the corner.  While that may be scary, so is her tech savvy approach to reminding me what she wants.  Three weeks ago she went to Amazon under my login and and looked it up a Talking Chewbacca Plush toy.

Where it worked

This week while on Facebook I see that furry toy in the right column – a great example of personalization via retargeting.  I clicked through the Facebook advertisement and landed on the item page on Amazon.

$39 for a talking 15″ plush toy?  Will it wash my car?  Needless to say I bought it for her, but resisted the temptation of the “Others Also Viewed” items.

Where it imploded

Saying I had buyers remorse is an understatement.  That was half the cost of my first Gordon & Smith “Pine Design” Skateboard.  I saved for months to get that when I was her age.

But things took a turn for the better, well for me anyway.

On the bottom of the Order Confirmation page were three suggestions, including a 12″ and 9″ version of the SAME toy, but for half the cost (see below).

Quicker than you could say “Millennium Falcon,” I cancelled my order and got the 12″ version for half the cost.   Somehow their suggestion algorithm didn’t filter those out, and as a result cost them $20.

Bad Dad?  Heck no, the savings is going towards a purple soft surfboard with pink flowers.

CX Lessons Learned

The most sophisticated algorithms and suggestions engines are good for consumers. While doing so it’s vital to scientifically measure the customer experience to ensure you are not misfiring.