The Rise of Highly-Curated, Persona Driven D2C eCommerce Stores

​Now that we’re finding ourselves deeper into the era of social media, users are becoming more accustomed to being perceived by algorithms as a “persona”. The user expectation is to constantly be served content that is funny, beautiful, relatable, and inspiring (for their particular taste). For instance, TikTok is popular for a lot of reasons, but its ability to serve spot-on content on the FYP (For You Page) is a large contributor to the platform’s success. So, why wouldn’t the expectation for persona-driven curation also extend to the D2C eCommerce experience?

Frictionless Experience Around The Discovery Process

Remember when brands would be built for upwards of 5-10 different personas? Now, there’s a trend of D2C eCommerce brands being built for 1-3 personas. Why? This allows these brands to be extremely specific in their messaging, placement, product assortment, and visuals. And, on top of that, it creates a frictionless experience around the discovery process. In a post-pandemic world, convenience is proving to be a sustained value.

Take, for example, Lisa Says Gah! They describe themselves as “a carefully curated selection of must-haves from independent cult-loved fashion brands.” They are “anti-fast fashion and pro-community.” And, that truly is exactly what they are.

Not only do they carry cult-loved brands, but they have also become one. Everything about their eCommerce experience elicits a feeling of “being understood” when their target audience is reached. This website (and the products on it) feel like home for the “Lisa Says Gah!” persona.

Curation as a Key Marketing Strategy

Not only do these persona-driven stores curate extremely well, but they use their curation as a key marketing strategy. Soko Glam is a founder-tested and approved curation of Korean Skincare products. Their site states that their “team regularly travels to Seoul to scour the Korean skincare and makeup market, consult industry experts, and meet tastemakers to bring back the best selection of Korean beauty products for curation on Soko Glam.” Essentially, they have built a D2C eCommerce brand that is seemingly “niche” but has actually brought the 10-step Korean skincare routine to the masses in the West. Sometimes, the more specific and “niche” you are, the more relatable you are.

Adding a touch of curation to your eCommerce store can actually be a pretty streamlined process. You can say thanks to the many tech solutions within the Shopify ecosystem. Here are the essentials to get started:

Add Products to Your Catalog from Complementary Brands, Risk-free.

You may be thinking, “when is it ever risk-free to add more products”? This is where Carro comes in. Carro allows you to partner with brands and sell each other’s products without ever having to hold the inventory. Unlimited curation potential, unlocked.

Try Carro's Brand Partnerships

Create Educational and Inspiring Product Detail + Collection Pages

Highly successful persona-driven D2C eCommerce stores use their curation stories as a large piece of their marketing and messaging strategy, especially on key pages in the buying journey. For example, Lisa Says Gah! Implements “behind-the-brand” messaging at the top of brand collection pages, while also keeping the brands they carry front-and-center in the blog and social media messaging.

Customizing product detail and collection pages to educate and inspire is a promising differentiator. Soko Glam has a “Soko Glam Guarantee” on product detail pages, which means that their founder has tested, approved, and guarantees the product.

Whether you have a team of designers and developers at your fingertips or not, Shogun is an excellent solution that allows you to customize your D2C eCommerce experience code-free.

Create Messaging Pop-Up Campaigns

Create product-specific messaging campaigns on product detail pages. It’s likely that, if you’re carrying new brands on your site, your customers might have some questions. CUUP, for example, has a messaging campaign that assists with commonly asked questions on specific product pages. Be one step ahead, launch a campaign powered by Gorgias to warm your customers up to the new product assortment and brands that you’re carrying.

‍