Common Skincare Quiz Mistakes on Shopify (And How to Fix Them)

The product recommendation skincare quizzes are a common trick in e-commerce, and so are skincare quiz mistakes on Shopify. The thing is, product quizzes for Shopify are truly an incredible tool to increase engagement on your website, position you and your store more professionally, and build trust. It’s also a great way to get to know your audience and perhaps even boost conversions and average order value (AOV). The reason why it’s so popular isn’t only because of the benefits mentioned above. 76% of customers are left unsatisfied when personalization is missing, indicating a need for it. 

If we think about the industries that use quizzes as one of the ways to solve this issue, we might think of beauty and skincare. It’s not surprising that skincare, especially, is extremely personal. People’s skin type, preferences, allergies, and more play a huge part in how we choose and sell our products. Skincare product quizzes for Shopify are a fantastic solution, but the reality is that just like any other tool, quizzes also need to be optimized in order not to underperform. Today, we’ll look into the common skincare quiz mistakes on Shopify and how to fix them!

Why Skincare Quiz Mistakes on Shopify Occur

First, let's tackle why skincare quizzes may fail and not match your expectations in general. There could be a number of reasons, starting from not knowing how to ask questions in your skincare quiz to poor design or even not knowing your brand to its fullest. 

One of the first skincare quiz mistakes on Shopify is the overconfidence in personalization. By overconfidence, we mean quizzes that feel generic despite being interactive. So think of very generic questions, and how they do not represent the products that you sell, or even worse, a mismatch between answers and recommendations. This happens a lot of the time when quizzes are incorporated in skincare brands just for the sake of having a quiz, or we can say just for the sake of engagement. If your goal is to increase engagement on your website, then perhaps you can stick to it; however, we believe that the goal is not just having engagement but also turning that into potential customers. So ask questions that match your products. 

The second reason why you make skincare quiz mistakes on Shopify is the gap between UX and product logic. So think about this pretty interface that you have in order to engage your customers, which is great, but then you have week recommendation engine. This will lead to your customers being dissatisfied, and in the long term, it will cause a lot more harm than you think. Another thing that comes with this is no clear mapping from skin concerns to products. So it's not just that your recommendation engine might be weak, but it's also not knowing enough about the customer's skin concerns in order to provide the correct product. Know your products, and match them to the correct skin concern.

I know that we just mentioned that you have to know your customers in order to provide the best recommendation. That doesn't mean overwhelming them with too many questions either. The solution is to find the gold balance between the two extremes. The reason is that long quizzes, as much as they might provide you with the most accurate response about each of your clients, will increase drop-off rates. Meaning your customers will either get bored or not have the time to complete the 35 required questions. Also, think about how not everyone is taking these quizzes on their desktop, so mobile users will abandon mid-flow.

A few signs to look for are required questions that are over 10 and progress bars that stall early. There are ways to fix it, and since product recommendation quizzes for skincare usually act as a guide, not as a diagnostic consultation, there is simply no need to ask too many questions. So limit essential questions. Use branching logic to shorten paths, and on a similar note, you can combine related questions.

One of the best and most advanced examples of how asking just enough questions is The Ordinary Skincare Regimen Builder.

It asks 13 questions, not all of them are required, and at the end, it's not just a bunch of products, it's a skincare routine. It goes to show that within less than 15 questions, you can ask about preferences, concerns, and get to know the level of knowledge that your audience has. 

Mistake #1: Asking the Wrong Questions

We have talked about this before, so let's keep it short. If your questions do not affect product selection, there is no need to add them. One exception is when requesting the person's email or contact information for marketing purposes, or when asking questions meant to personalize (e.g., name). Besides those two exceptions, there is no need to ask trivia-style or marketing-only questions.

There are a couple of ways to fix it, and one of them is to tie every question to a product decision and remove any questions without a mapping value and score questions by impact on recommendations. 

First Aid Beauty is an American-based skin care brand that specializes in specific skin concerns (eczema, acne, etc.), and it is a great example of a brand that sticks to a concern and continues with it. Let's take a look at this example right here. 

Once the question about the biggest skin concern is answered ( in our case, post-exercise breakouts), the next question targets specifically breakouts 

Mistake #2: Using Confusing Skin-Type Language

The third problem that a lot of skin care quizzes make is using skincare jargon. A lot of the users don't know the technical terms, which cannot just lead to confusion but also to terrible self-diagnosis errors. Quizzes are not meant to replace a dermatologist; they're meant to act like a shop consultant. 

So do not make skincare quiz mistakes on Shopify by using specific terminology that could confuse your users and lead to self-diagnosis. Obviously, as a skincare brand, you understand the terms like barrier damage, confusion between dehydrated vs dry, sensitized vs sensitive, but your customers might not.

Use plain language and include visuals and scenario-based choices to help even further. For this example, we're actually going to look at the mistake itself. Frank Body is an Australian-based skin and body care brand that also has a quiz on their shopify website; however, it makes the mistake of not adding visuals and not really having a distinction between confusing terms throughout the whole quiz.

Mistake #3: Recommending Too Many Products

If you want a skincare product quiz that converts, don't recommend too many products; you're defeating the whole point of the product recommendation quiz in the first place.

What these Shopify skincare product recommendation quizzes are meant to do is to reduce decision overload that customers have when first landing on your website.  few things to look out for are if your quiz has a very low add to cart rates it's just an indicator that you might have too many products recommended.

A way to fix it is to recommend up to five products first (even five might be a stretch depending on your brand); however, a better way to approach is to recommend three core products and offer optional add-ons. Another example would be to have a starter routine versus a full routine, which is also really helpful for customers. An extra tip: instead of recommending products only, try to build a skincare routine quiz. It not only reduces the decision for the customer but also for yourself. 

Ayla Skin is an Australian-based leading skincare brand that was featured in Vogue, The Guardian, etc. It does illustrate our solution perfectly. After asking around 10 questions, it narrows down your preferences and concerns to two core products only!

Mistake #4: Weak Result Pages

This is sort of similar and is a combination of all of the skincare quiz mistakes on Shopify that we've talked about before. So your result pages do not need to feel like a product list or a diagnosis. One of many skincare quiz mistakes on shopify the most problematic one is that skincare brands make their quizzes and don't provide explanation or education. These explanations and education for your customers are a really nice addition. Especially when the recommendations include products that are harder to deal with (Vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, etc.).

As for the solution, explain why each product has been chosen for them. The greatest example for this that we can go back to is again The Ordinary. You can also provide a summary of the user's skin profile and explain how that product will target that concern. For The Ordinary, after completing their regimen quiz, it provides you with a quick summary of your primary concerns for your skin, and then it provides you with a step-by-step treatment with the products that also explain what each step does for your routine.

And of course, some users want to know how to use and what other tips they can have, so include them as well. That's why having a list is not going to be the greatest choice, because this is a lot easier to do with three to four products.

Additional Skincare Quiz Mistakes on Shopify and Checklist

Here are other skincare quiz mistakes on Shopify to look out for that don't need a long explanation. However, they deserve your attention if you want to make the most out of your skincare product recommendation quiz for Shopify.

• Ignoring skin sensitivities and exclusions - This does depend on your brand, but try to be as inclusive as possible in your quiz so that your customers feel seen.
• No email captures strategy - This was briefly mentioned above; however, quizzes are not just for your customers, they're also for you as a merchant. Capture contact information like email, and then retarget your email marketing with third-party tools.
• Not optimizing for mobile - It is common sense; however, a lot of brands make this mistake. Optimize your quizzes for mobile.
• Not updating or testing your quiz - Test before launching your quiz, and regularly update if you have new products. 

Checklist 

• Ask questions within the target limit
• Every question should be tied to its logic and the product
• Don't use confusing terminology
• Recommend products within the target limit
• Don't overlook skin sensitivities
• Provide explanations for the recommended products
• Integrate email capture strategy
• Optimize your quiz for mobile and update it regularly 

Conclusion

The quizzes can help you sell more, and your custumers will be more satisfied. 

Remember that small changes can make a huge difference for your brand. If you're interested in integrating a quiz for your skincare shop on Shopify, you need the correct tool for it. Recomma is here to help you. You can set it up without coding, and it has a very intuitive system to work with. 

All you do is figure out your question, set up a result page, and enjoy the outcome. Recomma also provides you with an opportunity to connect it with third-party tools like Klayio and MailChimp, to help you to target your audience better and follow up with email marketing. Get Recomma now!