5 Inspiring Examples of Successful Personalization in Online Stores

#1 Ex Libris: AI-powered interest-based search with personalized gift suggestions

The interest search feature in Ex Libris's gift finder provides personalized book recommendations based on natural-language search queries (Source: Screenshot from exlibris.ch)

The interest-based search feature in Ex Libris’s Gift Finder demonstrates how modern personalization can work in e-commerce. When it comes to gifts, many users start out unsure and with only a vague idea of what they’re looking for. This is where the Gift Finder comes in, combining traditional product search with intelligent processing of complex and personalized requests —all directly from the search box.

Here’s how it works: Users describe in natural language who the gift is for and what the person’s preferences are—for example, their favorite author or preferred genres. The system automatically recognizes whether users are looking for a specific product (“Harry Potter Book 1”) or whether it’s a complex and personalized request (“I’m looking for a gift for my dad, who loves reading thrillers”). Once a query reaches a certain length, the integrated AI Search kicks in: It understands the context and intent of complex search phrases and translates even natural-language queries into a suitable selection of products.

To make it easier to get started, clicking on the interest search displays “conversation starters ”: suggestions that draw on current trends and popular search terms and encourage users to search semantically. The results list is then given a context-based headline, so that the results feel more like a personal recommendation than a simple list of hits.

Here’s a practical example: If someone types in “I’m looking for a gift for my dad, who enjoys reading thrillers like those by Sebastian Fitzek,” AI Search not only provides suitable thriller titles by similar authors, but also frames the recommendations with a headline such as “Thrilling suspense for anyone who loves Sebastian Fitzek’s thrillers.”

This example demonstrates how personalization works through the intelligent interpretation of search queries, thereby significantly improving the quality of search results. Interest-based search translates individual, freely formulated user requests directly into a curated selection of products. Users don’t need to know the exact search terms; instead, they can simply describe what they’re looking for—which is especially helpful in situations where they’re unsure of what to search for, such as when looking for a gift.

#2 naturPur: Personalization on the Home Page

The naturPur homepage varies depending on the user's history—new visitors see general top sellers, while returning users receive personalized product recommendations (screenshot from shop-naturpur.de)

The homepage is often the first point of contact with an online store. naturPur uses this prominent touchpoint to tailor its approach to visitors based on their browsing history, thereby displaying relevant content early in their visit.

Here’s how it works: On the homepage, the store distinguishes between visitors with and without a purchase history. New visitors, for whom no data is yet available, initially see general top-seller recommendations. These provide an overview of popular products. As soon as initial behavioral data becomes available, the homepage dynamically adapts: The heading of the recommendation widget changes to “Our recommendations for you,” and products are displayed that match the user’s individual preferences and previous click behavior.

This starts working after just a few interactions: For example, if a new shopper clicks on several products in the cosmetics category and then returns to the home page, relevant, personalized product recommendations are displayed there immediately.

This example shows just how effective personalization can be right from the homepage: A personalized homepage offers a tailored entry point to the store, enhances the user experience, and helps visitors find relevant products more quickly.

#3 mobilezone: Quick start guide to personalization via the shopping cart layer

Personalized accessory recommendations on the mobilezone shopping cart page (Screenshot from mobilezone.ch)

The shopping cart layer is a perfect example of how personalization can be implemented quickly and easily for a single use case. The mobilezone online store uses a cart layer widget that personalizes the shopping cart layer with targeted, relevant product recommendations.

Here’s how it works: When a customer adds a product to their cart, a pop-up appears with recommendations tailored specifically to that product. The product just added serves as a particularly strong signal: it clearly shows what the user likes and what they want to buy. In addition to highly granular rules regarding compatible accessories, click and purchase behavior as well as frequently purchased items are also factored into the recommendations. For example, if a customer adds an iPhone 17 to their cart, they are shown complementary accessories such as matching phone cases, screen protectors, or chargers.

This example demonstrates how personalization can be implemented quickly and effectively within a single use case. The recommendations are highly relevant because they are based directly on the current product and the user’s behavior. This makes it easy for customers to discover useful accessories, while the store generates additional revenue through cross-selling.

#4 Ex Libris: The Highest Level of Personalization in Email Marketing

Personalized email campaign from Ex Libris, which, thanks to automated recipient selection, reaches only users who may be interested in the new book release (Source: Screenshot of an email from exlibris.ch)

Ex Libris uses personalization in its email marketing, specifically in email campaigns promoting new book releases. Approximately 90 days before a new release is published, the company aims to target customers for whom the title is truly relevant.

Here’s how it works: Before sending an email campaign, the AI automatically identifies which customers are most likely to be interested in the new release. Only these selected individuals then receive the email. The AI handles the entire target audience selection process and exports the final recipient list directly to the email delivery system. To the recipient, the email looks like a standard newsletter—the actual level of personalization happens behind the scenes.

In this example, personalization is not primarily evident in the visible content, but rather in the intelligence behind the recipient selection. Instead of sending the same message to all customers, only those for whom the content is highly likely to be relevant receive an email. This reduces wasted reach, preserves recipients’ attention, and increases the likelihood of opens, clicks, and purchases.

The results are clear: Ex Libris was able to increase revenue from email marketing in its online store tenfold compared to a standard email campaign that did not target a specific audience. You can find more details about this personalization example in the case study.

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#5 Outletcity Metzingen: Sending out category newsletters with personalized content

Personalization in Outletcity Metzingen’s category newsletter with personalized product recommendations (Screenshot from outletcity.com)

Outletcity Metzingenalso uses personalization in its email marketing and demonstrates how effectively it works inits category newsletters. The company was already sending editorially curated newsletters but wanted to use this channel more strategically as part of its personalization strategy. The goal was to reach recipients with content that matched their interests and likelihood of purchase as closely as possible.

Here’s how it works: Using AI, a “favorite category” is calculated for each active customer —that is, the category in which the next purchase is most likely to occur. Based on this prediction, the category newsletter is fully personalized. This applies to several elements at once: the selected category, a relevant subject line, a tailored teaser image, personalized text, and relevant product recommendations. For example, if a customer is interested in ankle boots, they receive a newsletter focused specifically on this topic with corresponding suggestions.

This example shows how email marketing, through personalization, can go far beyond simply addressing recipients by name to provide them with content that is highly relevant.

The impact of the personalized category newsletters was clearly measurable: the personalized version increased revenue generated through this channel by 44.3%. You can find all the details in the case study.

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