ProVape: Boosting basket sizes with personalized recommendations to see a 298% increased conversion rate

Industry: Food, beverages, + tobacco

Products used: Recommendations.

Founded: USA

Challenges:‍

1. Continually managing a large inventory of products
2. Manually updating and picking recommendations for each product
3. Receiving outdated and obsolete data from static systems

Results:

1. 298% increase in conversion rate
2. 25% higher average order value
3. 39% increase in basket size

In this customer story, learn how ProVape, a US-based webshop specializing in vaping products and accessories, utilized Clerk’s Recommendations within their webshop. By doing so, they have seen a 25% jump in their average order value, 39% larger basket sizes, and a 298% increased conversion rate.

Introduction to ProVape: Making waves in the vaping industry

ProVape is a leading online retailer dedicated to providing vaping products and services to its customers. With a diverse range of offerings catering to both seasoned enthusiasts and newcomers alike, ProVape has established itself as a trusted destination in the vaping community. 

ProVape's commitment to customer satisfaction is evident in their user-friendly interface, expert customer service, and dedication to staying ahead of industry trends.

ProVape has been using Clerk's Recommendations tool for more than two years and focuses heavily on the power that recommendations have on cross-selling and up-selling to their customers.

Before Clerk: Overcoming the challenges of an extensive product inventory.

Prior to integrating Clerk's solutions, ProVape faced several hurdles that are incredibly common when operating an e-commerce store. The major one being that manually managing product listings and determining the right recommendations for each of these products proved to be time-consuming and inefficient. 

Not only that, but their vast inventory made it challenging to curate personalized experiences for customers, leading to missed opportunities for both engagement and conversion. Manually adding recommended products for each new product is a full-time job in itself, not to mention inefficient.

This also meant that any data gathered from these manually placed recommendations would become obsolete after a short period as they were not dynamic.

ProVape recognized the need for finding a scalable solution to address these pain points and enhance their online presence. They also saw this as an excellent opportunity to leverage specialized technology that could streamline their operations while simultaneously elevating the customer experience. 

By implementing an automated and personalized recommendation system, they aimed to:

1. Increase user engagement,
2. Boost conversion rates,
3. And ultimately drive revenue growth. 

With these objectives in mind, ProVape embarked on the search for an e-commerce partner capable of delivering innovative solutions tailored to their needs. And that’s when they found Clerk.

The Solution: Why choose Clerk as an e-commerce tool?

Clerk’s solution has allowed ProVape to use an automated system for their product Recommendations. This means they can say goodbye to manual work, freeing up their time to focus on the more important aspects like business strategy and product development. 

The platform operates seamlessly in the background, requiring minimal manual intervention from ProVape's team. 

In fact, Artak Stepanyan, E-commerce Director at ProVape, loves the fact that Clerk just works on autopilot. He says, “we just love it. What we love most is that we don’t need to do anything: we just need to turn it on”. 

He furthers this statement, mentioning that while it can be easy to add most platforms and tools to your tech stack, many require you to continuously do the work. At the end of the day, all you need is for the tool to do its job. 

Complementing this automation are several other key aspects of Clerk:

1. Cookieless personalization

Clerk’s AI platform is completely cookieless, meaning the personalized experience works entirely within privacy compliance and ensures sensitive data is kept safe. 

2. An all-in-one platform

The unique suite of products works in conjunction to create a fully-rounded e-commerce personalization and automation experience.

3. Works from day one

Clerk’s technology requires no learning period and works out-of-the-box, meaning results can be measured from day one.

4. Driven by the power of AI

Clerk’s AI-driven software functions just like an in-store employee, using its insightful and intuitive data to correctly predict the products customers want to purchase.

The Results:

ProVape mentions three crucial areas upon which Clerk has really assisted with:

• Managing their large inventory through continuous and autonomous product recommendations that help prolong the customer journey on their webstore.
• The ease of implementation and guided help throughout this process.
• The unexpected bonus of improved SEO rankings.

The Implementation process: Guidance every step of the way.

ProVape was incredibly impressed with their implementation and how the entire process didn't take long for them to be properly up and running. They state that onboarding was an incredibly smooth process and that they received actual human support throughout. 

Unlike many solutions where you either have an allotted half-hour slot or, even worse, you just need to figure it out by yourself, Clerk provided assistance to ProVape every step of the way. ProVape received all the help they needed and found the system easy to integrate with their existing systems and entire tech stack. And then once implemented, Clerk's systems work from day one.

SEO Impact: An unexpected but vital bonus

ProVape also observed significant improvements in SEO ranking after implementing Clerk's solutions. Enhanced internal linking and optimized product recommendations contributed to improved visibility on search engines, driving organic traffic and attracting more potential customers to their site.

Artak notes that: "What we noticed is that Clerk is really impacting our SEO ranking due to better internal linking between products. This is what's been used by Google, and that is important."

And, the numbers speak for themselves

Key Metrics 2023:

• ‍298% Increase in Conversion Rate: ProVape experienced a substantial uplift in their conversion rates following the implementation of Recommendations. By presenting users with personalized product suggestions, ProVape has been able to guide customers towards making purchase decisions and furthering their buying journey, resulting in higher conversion rates.‍
• 25% Higher Average Order Value: Utilizing tailored recommendations has incentivized customers to explore additional products, leading to an increase in average order value. By showcasing complementary items and exclusive offers, ProVape has furthered their upsell and cross-sell efforts, driving revenue growth.‍
• 39% Increase in Basket Size: Through strategic placement of recommended products, ProVape witnessed a significant increase in basket size. Clerk's algorithms help to identify product opportunities and suggest relevant items, encouraging customers to add more products to their carts and complete their purchases.

Artak puts it best stating: "Clerk has been a game-changer. The autopilot functionality allows us to focus on what we do best – providing exceptional products and service to our customers. It feels like having a magic wand that effortlessly drives revenue growth".

Conclusion: 

A big thank you to ProVape for the collaboration and partnership. It has been wonderful to see how they have leveraged Clerk's AI technology and personalized recommendation tools to achieve remarkable results, including increased conversion rates, higher average order values, and larger basket sizes. 

As ProVape continues to expand its presence online, we are honored to remain a trusted partner, assisting to drive continued success and deliver tangible results.

Want to read more customer stories with Clerk? Click here.