Our most recent Retail Hive Café saw a group of retailers and experts discuss personalisation. It struck me that personalisation is a broad church; it means different things to each retailer and varies by company and product type.

Personalisation isn’t just about clever algorithms or Customer Data Platforms. It’s about purpose, context, and delivering actual value to customers. Successful personalisation paves the way for loyal customers, authentic engagement and of course, upsell and cross-sell.

Personalisation: More Than Just a Name on an Email

Retailers are leveraging various types of personalisation:

• One-to-one CRM-based approaches for known customers
• One-to-many strategies for broader segments
• Anonymous behavioural personalisation for new or unregistered users

But a powerful reminder emerged from our conversation: “Personalisation without purpose is pointless.”

Retailers must focus on enhancing the customer experience—not just conversion rates—through intelligent, intent-driven recommendations. For example, introducing serendipity into product suggestions prevents the experience from becoming too pre-planned. A sense of discovery matters, as many shoppers will buy products they were not necessarily planning to!

The Strategic Balancing Act

One of the biggest challenges discussed was deciding the right message or treatment for each customer at the right time. The tools to make instant, precise personalisation decisions are still evolving, and many retailers find themselves limited in agility and accuracy. So, retailers must walk a tightrope between:

• Short-term metrics like basket size or click-through rates
• Long-term goals, such as customer retention and lifetime value

A key takeaway was that retailers should embrace a “test and learn” mindset. Not every experiment will succeed—and that’s okay. The value lies in learning what works and what doesn’t, and evolving fast. Over-personalisation can backfire. Bombarding customers with overly specific content or recommendations can lead to disengagement and even returns. Finding the sweet spot is critical.