5 Sneaky Ways to Use Personalization to Drive Online Retail Brand Loyalty (Without Killing Profits)

Are you really getting the most out of your online retail personalization strategy — especially the sneaky stuff that drives great, long-lasting loyalty?

Probably not — but these five strategies will help get you there! 

These sneaky tweaks work behind the scenes to build loyalty, increase repeat purchases, and protect your margins — without relying on constant discounts or one-size-fits-all campaigns.

And, to prove that you don’t even need to be loud about it. 

Jump in to find out how. 

1. Sort Product Collections Based on What Each Shopper Is Most Likely to Buy

We know product recommendation personalization works in converting new customers.  

However, it can also be a powerful customer retention builder. 

And when done right, it results in the kind of loyalty that comes from customers feeling like a store “gets” them every time they return.

But there is a trick to sorting your product collections to ensure they don’t just convert but also promote customer retention and loyalty. Instead of only using past purchases, you want to factor in how they’re behaving in that moment. 

• Things like hovering, scrolling, or revisiting specific product pages all point to shopping intent 

This kind of real-time recognition makes the shopping experience feel personal and responsive, which keeps your customers coming back. 

Here’s how you can implement this strategy: 

1. Track browsing behaviors (like dwell time, repeat visits, and scroll depth) so that if a shopper keeps circling back to a specific collection, make that the first thing they see next time they are browsing your store 
2. Use “negative interest” (anti-signals) to push less relevant products to each shopper’s taste further down in your collections
3. Blend shopper behavior with profitability rules to sort collections in a way that feels helpful but also supports your margins

The latter simply means prioritizing high-margin products that align with what the shopper is already engaging with — precisely what we designed Kimonix’s advanced merchandising product sorting to do! 

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2. Give Your Shoppers Access to Hidden Product or Bundle Gems 

Product exclusivity is another advanced Shopify personalization strategy you can use to build brand loyalty.  

This could mean creating bundles of products specifically for your repeat shoppers and adjusting product recommendations within these bundles even further, so that they aren’t just exclusive to VIPs, but exclusive to a single VIP.  

By rewarding repeat buyers with access, not just discounts, you can create that “I’m part of something” vibe while keeping margins safe.

• If a shopper always buys fragrance-free products, their exclusive skincare bundle should reflect that and not include those two fragranced creams (AKA, slow movers) you're trying to move 

But what if you could offer this kind of exclusivity to all your customers — new and old? 

Fable has a customizable bundle feature that allows shoppers to choose variants by mixing and matching colors to create their own set. It doesn’t get more personalized than that! 

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Here are some other ways you can implement this strategy: 

• Use hidden collections or SKUs that are visible only to repeat shoppers, but tease that visibility to new customers as a reason to come back 

• Send early access emails or pop-ups for launches or restocks, and tie access to loyalty status so customers feel like they’ve earned it — think, “VIPs get 24 hours to shop before this collection goes live”

• Tag products with metafields or personalization tools so they display “exclusive for members” badges planting the seed that loyalty unlocks more, while also reinforcing loyalty through exclusive products to repeat customers

3. Combine Urgency with Customer Status 

Urgency tactics work. But not if they are too repetitive — and too generic. 

Personalizing urgency messaging based on who a customer is (first-timer, VIP, discount-driven, etc.) makes your shopping experience feel more relevant and connected. 

Instead of shouting “20 people bought this today” to everyone, make the language personal. For example: 

• A VIP shopper might see “Only 3 left in your size,” while a first-time shopper sees “Trending among customers who shop [category]”
• Or, if a shopper browses but rarely buys, test copy like “Still eyeing this? You’re not the only one — [X] sold in [Location] this week”

These micro-personal touches tell your shoppers: These products and promotions are just for you! 

Here’s how you can implement this strategy:

1. Tag customers by status or behavior in your CRM or personalization engine
2. Create dynamic content blocks for urgency messaging
3. Pull behavioral data from recent browsing or cart actions
4. Set location-based logic for FOMO messaging  
5. A/B test your urgency copy across different customer types

Apps like Fomo will help you implement this strategy pretty quickly. 

4. Time Your Shopper’s Product Follow-Ups Based on Usage, Not Timetables

The concept behind this strategy is simple: 

• Instead of sending product follow-up messages based on a fixed schedule or a default number of days, you would base them on how long the item typically lasts or is used. 

This means using real usage data to predict the right time to re-engage each shopper. It shows them that you understand how and when they actually use what they buy, making your timing feel thoughtful rather than spammy. 

And it’s the kind of personal attention that keeps your shoppers coming back.

Example: 

• Say your average customer goes through a 1-pound bag of coffee every 2 weeks. Instead of blasting everyone with a reorder email after 10 days, you track how often they buy or how much they drink (based on past orders or a quick quiz), then send a “Time for a refill?” email just before their supply runs out for a strategically timed nudge.

And don’t forget to throw in some personalized product recommendation displays in your emails. And a bit of your brand style and humor, like this example: 

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5. Reorder Your Shopify Homepage Sections per Interaction 

What if you change your homepage to match each specific shopper? 

Automatically reordering or swapping homepage sections (like carousels, featured collections, and banners) based on shopper behavior + business logic (like profit margin, inventory, loyalty status, etc.) can help boost retention in a big way. 

This strategy is tricky, but not impossible with the right tools: 

1. A personalization engine or rule-based widget tool (like Locksmith) that enables you to dynamically control homepage widgets 
2. A good product sorting and collection management tool (AKA, Kimonix) to generate personalized product lists or collections within these sections
3. Access to customer segments and sound behavior data — from Shopify tags, your CRM (like Klaviyo), and your merchandising dashboard

What would this look like in practice? 

A returning customer usually shops for men’s streetwear and has recently clicked through several new arrivals in that category.

Instead of showing them a generic homepage with all categories featured, your store automatically bumps up a banner for your latest streetwear drop, swaps the hero carousel to highlight joggers, and slides women’s or unrelated categories lower down. 

It’s a subtle (sneaky) shift — but one that makes every visit feel like it was designed just for them.

The Last (Sneaky) Word

There you have it: Five online retail personalization strategies to win over new and old shoppers. 

When done right, personalization doesn’t have to be in-your-face (or is it in their face?).

So, whether you’re nudging shoppers with a perfectly timed refill reminder or quietly reshuffling your homepage to match their tastes, remember: subtle personalization is powerful personalization.

Now go forth and personalize... quietly. 😏

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