01. The Challenge
A Roadmap Full of Features, Short on Evidence
Our client, a multi-market online retailer, had a personalization roadmap driven by internal opinion and competitor copying, and a conversion rate that wasn't moving. Every team had a favourite feature, but no one could say which changes would actually shift buyer behaviour rather than simply sound modern.
Shoppers say they want everything. The roadmap that wins is built on what they actually do, not what they claim in a survey.
They needed rigorous shopper research to separate stated preferences from real drivers of conversion, and to prioritise a roadmap by evidence rather than by whoever argued loudest.
02. Our Approach
Measuring What Actually Moves the Buyer
Zapulse ran a 4-week quantitative programme designed to isolate real conversion drivers using structured trade-offs rather than self-reported wish-lists.
Representative Shopper Survey
Surveyed 2,400 shoppers across 6 markets, quota-controlled to mirror the client's actual customer base, avoiding convenience-sample skew.
Conjoint Trade-Off Design
Used conjoint analysis so shoppers revealed what they truly value by giving something up to get it, as in a real purchase decision.
Driver Prioritisation
Modelled which features and price points actually drive choice, ranking them by conversion impact rather than stated preference.
03. Research Methodology
Research Methods Deployed
Quantitative Survey
A bias-checked instrument fielded to 2,400 representative shoppers across six markets, covering discovery, trust, personalization and checkout.
Conjoint Analysis
Choice-based trade-offs that measure the real value of each personalization feature and each price increment on purchase decisions.
Segmentation
Segmented shoppers by behaviour and willingness to act, revealing where personalization converts and where it doesn't.
Expert Validation
Findings pressure-tested with e-commerce and CRO specialists before delivery to ensure they were decision-ready.
04. Key Findings
Where Conversion Is Actually Won
01
The Say-Do Gap Was Large
Several features shoppers rated 'very important' had minimal impact on actual choice, while a few overlooked ones moved conversion sharply, a gap that would have misdirected the roadmap.
"
We were about to build the features our shoppers asked for. Zapulse showed us they'd have barely moved the needle, and pointed us to the ones that would.
VP, Digital Experience
02
Trust Beat Personalization
For the client's core segments, trust and checkout friction drove more conversion than advanced personalization, reordering the roadmap's priorities.
03
Personalization Paid Off in One Segment
AI-driven recommendations converted strongly for one high-value segment, justifying targeted rather than blanket investment.
05. The Results
From Opinion-Led to Evidence-Led Roadmap
A Reprioritised Roadmap
Delivered a conversion-ranked roadmap, each item traceable to evidence of real shopper behaviour rather than internal preference.
Investment Refocused
Redirected spend from broadly-requested features toward the three levers proven to move conversion, and toward one segment where personalization pays.
A Repeatable Testing Framework
Delivered a conjoint-based framework the team can re-run as the market shifts, keeping the roadmap evidence-led.
06. Client Perspective
In Their Own Words
"
Zapulse turned a roadmap full of opinions into one built on evidence. We now invest in what actually moves our shoppers, and we can prove it to the board.
VP, Digital Experience
Enterprise · Global (6 markets)
