E-commerce retailers shift focus from data accumulation to intent-based personalisation

Retailers are facing a shift in how they approach customer personalisation as third-party cookies disappear and data protection regulations strengthen. While many e-commerce businesses have historically focused on accumulating vast amounts of data—such as page views, purchase history, and clicks—experts suggest that more data does not necessarily lead to better commercial outcomes.

Effective personalisation requires distinguishing between durable consumer preferences and temporary curiosity. The challenge lies in moving from mere data collection to true interpretation. For example, a customer might view a product out of genuine intent, for comparison, or by mistake. Simply increasing the volume of recorded events improves an organization’s memory but does not inherently improve its judgment.

A more effective strategy involves understanding immediate user intent during a single session. By using artificial intelligence to interpret real-time signals—such as specific search queries, applied filters, and browsing patterns—retailers can provide relevant experiences based on what a visitor is doing right now, rather than relying solely on historical profiles.