FAQ
Here we have collected the most frequently asked questions about our service.
What effect does the tool have on the loading speed of the website?
No effect, your site stays on the blazing-fast speed.
We understand the importance of your store's performance and how crucial website speed is. That's why we have taken significant efforts to ensure that our solutions don't slow down your site.
To achieve this, we use asynchronous script loading. This means that even if the Retail Rocket script fails to load, it won't prevent your main site content from loading normally. Your browser won't wait for Retail Rocket, and it won't block other scripts or elements from loading. So, your site's normal loading process and times won't be affected.
If your site has many script tags, it may cause Retail Rocket recommendations to appear slower compared to other elements. However, this doesn't mean that Retail Rocket itself is slow or that it will slow down your site. It's simply a result of multiple scripts preventing Retail Rocket from loading in a timely manner.
To improve the speed at which Retail Rocket recommendations appear and enhance overall loading times, we recommend reducing the number of synchronous scripts on your site. By doing so, you'll ensure a smoother experience for your customers.
What kind of time do I need to invest weekly/monthly? Do I need to put a person to work on your tool?
Up to 8 hours per month.
We cherish your time: you focus on the strategy and we will do the rest. We will need your input on the stage of integration and the communications scenarios setup. But when all is set up, the platform will work automatically. You just need to look at the statistics and strategize your next step. Based on our experience, platform management takes about 8 hours per month or less.
What kind of input do I have on recommendations? I want to have the ease of manual adjustments and/or rules.
We have 20 basic algorithms which cover almost all usecases (but we do not stop and continue to develop new scenarios as consumers’ behavior evolves and new business priorities arise). Besides basic algorithms, you might have access to WYSWIG and flow editors to adjust your marketing campaigns manually.
Retail Rocket has 20 basic algorithms which cover almost all usecases: from merchandizing personalization to abandoned search and the next best offer. We continue to develop new algorithms: only in the last 6 months we’ve launched 3 new algorithms — upsell, replacement for out-of-stock items, and related products to the current basket. If you want to stay in touch and learn more about our product updates, please follow us on LinkedIn
We understand that every business has its own specifics and priorities, permanent or relevant at the moment. Retail Rocket enables you to create and manage the business rules to customize the recommendations and meet your business priorities. You might have access to WYSWYG and flow editors to adjust and manage your marketing campaigns manually.
How fast is the system in product updates?
Every 2 hours in case we work with feeds. Almost live in case you use API.
There’re 2 main ways to update the product information. For the stores with a wide product catalog, we recommend using the API (you can find the requirements by the link). Retail Rocket API supports sending product updates and creating new products automatically meaning product details update immediately after you change it in the store’s own product management or catalog.
Another way to transfer product information to Retail Rocket platform is to export the product database to an XML-file (you can find the requirements by the link). In this case synchronization is performed continuously, with pauses between attempts from 15 minutes to 2 hours. If during the next check the system detects that the product XML-file has changed, it is importing to the system.
How long do I need to collect data before I can start?
Immediately for communications which do not require deep personalization, up to 7 days for personalization (e.g. recommendations blocks).
The speed of recommendations’ deployment depends on the store’s traffic: the more users that are visiting your store, the more page views they create, the better and more accurate the recommendations become. Based on our experience, it takes 5-7 days on average. To decrease the time of deployment we can upload the sales historical data (instructions are available by the link)
How easy is the integration? How much time do we need until the tool starts working (implementation included)?
Integration takes up to 2 weeks in case you have a dedicated tech team who will focus on integration. You can start using our solutions immediately for communications which do not require deep personalization, or allow algorithms to learn up to 7 days for personalization (e.g. recommendations blocks).
Integration is easy: build in the tracker, upload the product database (via API or via feeds), build in the recommendation blocks into the website/app grid, start using personalization. Our solutions require minimum involvement from your tech team, but if this team has resources and priority for integration — it makes things much more faster! Based on our experience, in this case it takes up to 2 weeks.
If you use e-commerce platforms, you can deploy Retail Rocket modules. Using the modules speeds up the integration to 1 week on average. Currently, we have modules for Magento and GTM. If you want to stay in touch and learn first when we deploy the new modules, please follow us on LinkedIn
After the technical integration, the algorithms start to learn. The speed of learning and recommendations’ deployment depends on the store’s traffic: the more users that are visiting your store, the more page views they create, the better and more accurate the recommendations become. Based on our experience, it takes 5-7 days on average. To decrease the time of deployment we can upload the sales historical data (instructions are available by the link)
Is your tool also working with cookie blockers?
Yes, because we use only client-side first-party cookies.
Answering this question requires understanding the difference between first-party and third-party cookies. A first-party cookie is set to a website by the publisher’s web server, and the data is collected by the website owner. A third-party cookie can be set by a third-party server via code loaded on the publisher’s website, and the data is collected and processed by that third party. First-party cookies are supported by default by all browsers and can be later blocked or deleted manually by the user. Third-Party Cookies could be either supported or blocked by browsers. Many browsers are blocking third-party cookies by default. Users can also delete or block third-party cookies on their own.
Retail Rocket use and writes only client-side first-party cookies. It means we monitor user behavior only on the site. Therefore any restrictions implemented by a web browser regarding third-party cookies won’t affect Retail Rocket solutions.
However, there’re certain limitations for first-party cookies. Apple ITP (Intelligent Tracking Prevention) restricts cookies in multiple ways: from full restrictions on third-party cookies to the 7-days lifespan on first-party cookies (client-set). In this case, if you don’t use special identification methods, it means that our algorithms based on shopping history analysis will work only on 7 days horizon.
What is going to affect your tool when the cookies disappear in September?
Retail Rocket use and writes only client-side first-party cookies. It means we monitor user behavior only on the site. Therefore any restrictions implemented by a web browser regarding third-party cookies won’t affect Retail Rocket solutions.
What if our users do not accept the cookies? Can we still personalize?
Yes, we can. Even if the user opts out of all cookies (and this is a minor part of all users), we still use some kinds of personalization based on trends and anonymous aggregated data (e.g. “popular right now” or “customers who viewed this product also bought”).
Let’s look at different scenarios:
- The user opts into all on-site cookies. It means we identify and track this user normally. All Retail Rocket personalization solutions are available and work to the fullest.
- The user opts out of cookies tracking his on-site activities (meaning opt-out of full personalization) or opts out of all cookies. In this case, the user will see some personalization functionalities, like “bestsellers”, “popular right now” or even “customers who viewed this product also bought” as these recommendations are based on trends and anonymous aggregated data.