From bottlenecks to breakthroughs: How to craft memorable ecommerce customer experiences faster

What’s a shopping experience you enjoy? Maybe it’s unboxing new electronics or getting your morning brew at a fancy cafe. Whatever it is, chances are you'll choose that store or product over similar brands because you enjoy how the ecommerce customer experience feels. 

And you’re not alone. A Gallup Survey found that brand preferences are 70% emotional and only 30% practical. That means it’s not the best product that wins; it’s the brand that provides the best experience.

What makes customers return to your brand instead of switching to a competitor? In this post, we’ll explore how retailers are modernizing their ecommerce strategies to create customer experiences for ecommerce that stand out and keep shoppers coming back.

Why are positive ecommerce customer experiences essential?

Positive customer experiences sell your products and turn casual shoppers into loyal fans. Consistently delivering delightful experiences can turn an everyday product into a household name. 

Consider Lululemon. You’ve probably heard the name, even if you don’t buy their athletic apparel. Why? Because they create memorable experiences like dinner parties for loyal customers and clothing swaps where consumers trade their knock-off “dupes” for Lululemon’s own Align apparel. 

According to data from Qualtrics XM Institute, 72% of U.S. consumers say they would pay more for a premium experience.

Memorable ecommerce customer experiences help brands stand out from competitors. They get people talking and make loyal customers feel special. People are willing to pay a premium for brand experiences that make them feel good.

Improving your ecommerce customer experience drives revenue

Improving ecommerce customer experiences doesn’t just get people talking about your brand; it directly impacts revenue. Depending on the industry, improving customer experience by one point can lead to more than $1 billion in additional revenue, according to Forrester.

Improving the customer experience drives revenue by:

• Improving ROI from campaigns and paid media: Many brands operate with huge advertising budgets. At that volume, customer experiences that boost product discovery even 1% can mean millions of dollars in improved revenues.

• Personalized shopping experiences: Focusing on the ecommerce customer experience and acting on customer feedback leads to a better understanding of your customer and the customer journey. This helps retailers improve segmentation and match target audiences with persona-based content. See how matching customers with the right content helped Pets Deli increase conversions by 51%.

• Boosting average order value (AOV): Experiences like targeted product recommendations can increase order value for new customers and loyal customers through upselling and cross-selling. See how Ruggable segmented its customers to create more granular journeys and boosted conversion rates by around 25%

• Lowering cart abandonment rates: Reduce cart abandonment by creating experiences that signal trust, improve product clarity, and make checkout easier.

• Increasing revenue per visitor (RPV): When visitors see relevant products and content, they’re more likely to become paying customers. With each visit, customer satisfaction improves, and satisfied customers are likely to spend more.

Content is the key to meeting rising customer expectations

Content is the heart of every customer experience, but content alone is no longer enough. To meet rising customer expectations, brands must enrich transactional content to create engaging shopping experiences.

Content enrichment helps customers see how your product or service fits into their lives. Customers want rich, dynamic content at every touchpoint, from the pre-purchase stage through customer support, loyalty programs, and win-back campaigns.

The goal is to create an ecommerce experience that immerses the customer in your brand story.

Case study: Bang & Olufsen enriches content and increases AOV 27%

Bang & Olufsen sells premium audio equipment using an immersive customer experience. The ecommerce site features striking imagery, beautiful colors, and a soothing design.

Product pages include images of people enjoying the product at home, on the go, and at the gym. Shoppers can imagine how they’ll look, how those headphones will improve their commute, and what their friends will say when they see that premium speaker. 

Behind the scenes, Bang & Olufsen uses Contentful to enrich content with commerce, for a seamless browser-to-buying experience that sets them apart from your average electronics store. Replatforming to Contentful helped drive a 60% increase in conversions and a 27% increase in AOV. 

How to improve ecommerce customer experiences

For this article, we will assume you’ve mastered the basics. You have great product descriptions, compelling customer stories, and a clear understanding of your target audience's needs. 

But like many brands, you might struggle to connect the pieces and transform the customer journey into something outstanding. The effort is worth it. 

Forrester found that 67% of U.S. online consumers rated their brand experiences as merely “okay.” Imagine the market share you could gain by elevating your customer experience from okay to good or even great. 

It’s possible, and let’s see how Contentful is helping brands engage new shoppers and earn repeat customers.

Speed: Empower teams to assemble and ship experiences faster

Consumers want everything faster: access to the latest product, real-time connections between sales channels, and the ability to complete a purchase in minutes. That means brands need to move quickly to ship new experiences before they become old news.

Contentful helps brands move faster with unified content and composable commerce. We integrate with customer data platforms (CDPs) like Segment and Salesforce, commerce platforms like Shopify and BigCommerce, search and product information systems (PIMs), and so much more.

We bring all the tools ecommerce brands need together so you can see all of that data and make decisions on real-time functions and real-time personalization. Unified content and visual editing tools allow editors to act on those decisions quickly. 

Imagine conducting an A/B test, seeing that the proposed change decreases cart abandonment, and then being able to push that change out across sales channels in minutes. Making those small changes at speed helps brands increase revenue faster.

After testing the waters with Contentful’s Free plan, On decided to go all-in on the Contentful Platform. They enlisted Contentful Professional Services to help them move faster. See how a sustainable content model and scalable design system are helping ON sprint ahead of the competition. Read the case study.

Personalization: Reach customers where they are with what they want

74% of consumers expect brands to provide a personalized experience, according to Klaviyo’s 2025 Future of Consumer Marketing Report.

Personalization strategies must extend beyond simply greeting a customer by name or displaying product recommendations. Customers want brands to meet them where they’re at, whether on social media, mobile, online shopping, or in-store. They expect personalized, localized content in marketing promos, banners, and landing pages.

Today’s personalization is dynamic, informed by real-time data that instantly matches users with experiences tailored to them across channels and throughout the customer journey. 

Does this level of personalization sound impossible? Learn where to start and how to scale in our Personalization Playbook webinar.

Consistency: Keep every experience on brand and on message

An email with your old color scheme, inconsistent information between your website and mobile app, or messaging that just feels off can all undermine the customer experience.

And customers are quick to leave: 91% of shoppers say they would leave an online retailer after a poor shopping experience, according to Netcore. 

Brands need to deliver a consistent customer experience whether a customer walks into their store, shops on their mobile app, or follows them on Instagram. That kind of consistency is almost impossible to deliver when teams are struggling with disconnected tools and silos.

Consistency starts with unified content and seamless integration across backend systems. 

See how Kraft Heinz partnered with Contentful and Apply Digital to modernize ecommerce across 200+ brands. With structured, reusable content and a unified design system, regional teams can tailor experiences while staying on brand. Real-time updates span web, mobile, and digital signage, supported by seamless integrations with personalization and analytics tools.

The result: a 30% lift in engagement and up to 78% higher conversion rates.

Common challenges and how to overcome them

Most marketers know what they need to do to craft outstanding customer experiences, but struggle to overcome common challenges.

1. Content process bottlenecks

One key requirement we often hear from our retail customers is the need to ship content faster. Merchandising teams need to act quickly to react to new trends or personalize product recommendations to different regions, but inefficiencies hinder them in the content creation process.

Contentful accelerates content creation and delivery with structured content and features that empower marketers to move faster without waiting on developers or navigating clunky workflows.

Learn more about shipping ecommerce experiences faster in The marketer's guide to creating digital experiences that convert.

2. Lack of scalable systems

Brands need to roll out personalization and experimentation at scale, but many are on monolithic platforms with poor integrations that break under the strain. 

Composable platforms, like the Contentful Digital Experience Platform, make it easy to integrate with modern technologies. Use native personalization and experimentation abilities with AI translations and local adaptations using AI Actions.

3. Insufficient personalization

User demand for highly personalized experiences that work flawlessly across channels and throughout the customer journey keeps increasing. This kind of data-driven, real-time personalization requires integrated systems, supported by AI and automation that can turn data into action and ensure that each user sees the content meant for them.

See how Contentful Personalization helps marketing teams of all sizes create the tailored experiences your customers want.

4. Not knowing where to start

With so much on your wishlist, it can be hard to know where to start. Contentful has you covered with our Professional Services and Partner Network. 

Engaging professionals who’ve helped other retailers succeed is the secret to quickly enhancing your customer experience and building your brand’s reputation for satisfying customers.

Contentful helps brands craft customer experiences that convert

Whether you’re an established brand like Kraft-Heinz that needs to modernize the ecommerce experience or an up-and-coming brand looking to delight customers from the start, Contentful has the capabilities you need to boost conversions and build customer loyalty.

See how Contentful can help you enhance ecommerce customer experiences with speed, personalization, and consistency in a way that scales with your vision. Give your teams the edge they need to win in the retail race. Contact sales to learn more.

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