If the rapid rise of the Buzzfeed quiz taught us anything, it's that people like taking quizzes. After all, who doesn't want to know which Game of Thrones character they would be? Or a little help deciding what houseplant to buy?

Online quizzes might seem like fun time wasters. But they can actually act as a "shortcut to finding out who you are and what you like." That's because it's much easier to answer a series of questions than it is to conduct research, make a personal evaluation, and self-identify. Rather than trying to make your best guess, each quiz question serves as an opportunity to consider a different factor that ultimately helps determine the test result.

Just like a personality quiz can help you discover what pizza topping best represents your personality, a product recommendation quiz can help win over your target audience by making it easy to find products they'll love.

What is a product recommendation quiz?

A product recommendation quiz is a fun way for shoppers to find the products they are looking for, even if they don't yet know what they want. The quiz usually appears in a pop-up window that encourages shoppers to fill it out.

Typically, it starts by asking questions about what kind of product or service the quiz taker is looking for. It may also ask questions about customer preferences, like their favorite colors or what price point they're shopping in. Then, it uses their answers to create a personalized list of recommended products that best match their needs.

Why should you use product recommendation quizzes?

Online shoppers are often overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices available to them. And facing so many options doesn't just cause unnecessary stress for shoppers. It leads to a state of paralysis and hurts sales.

In fact, according to a recent study, facing an "overwhelming level of choice" leads around 10% of customers to abandon their purchases altogether. While 10% might not seem like a big deal, that small percentage of abandoned carts can add up quickly.

Product quizzes help test takers find the products they're most likely to buy without ever having to browse the countless product pages of an E-commerce store. This helps make the online browsing and shopping process much more manageable for customers.

Rather than having to sift through all of the items in an eCommerce store to find items they might be interested in, customers get access to a list of personalized product recommendations.

Ecommerce quizzes reduce customer stress.

Showing customers the perfect product based on their quiz results increases the chances of making a sale. Because customers are only looking at products that they're likely to be interested in, they're much more likely to find that "perfect product" they've been searching for. They're also more likely to see an item they may have otherwise missed in the online store, which means personalized recommendations can also help increase order values.

And because the shopping experience will be stress-free, first-time buyers are much more likely to become repeat customers. That means product recommendation quizzes don't just boost conversion rates and profits. They also improve customer loyalty.

How to make a product recommendation quiz

To create a product recommendation quiz, first, you need to determine how you'll build it. As an Ecommerce brand, you might already have a developer on your team who has the skills to build an online quiz. If not, you'll need to choose a third party that can create an interactive quiz and provides the integrations you need to add it to your website.

Then you need to name your quiz and write questions that will help you understand what the test-taker is looking for. The quiz should include enough questions to learn about the customer and their preferences. But be careful with how many questions you write—if you ask too many, customers might get bored and not finish the quiz.

Aim to include between five and seven questions in your quiz. Each question should also include a few multiple-choice options for customers to select. By correlating each multiple-choice answer with a product in your shop, you can enable the test to automatically assess which items to recommend to the test-taker.

Once you've mapped out the quiz questions and matched responses to potential product fits, you're ready to soft-launch it. Release the quiz to a small group to test its functionality and accuracy. As long as the test is a success, your product recommendation quiz will be ready to roll out to your customers.

Quiz creation best practices

To provide the best experience for customers and create a quiz that drives sales, follow these quiz design best practices:

Promote the quiz with a pop-up.

Make sure customers see your product recommendation quiz is seen by customers by creating a pop-up ad. Pop-up ads are an effective way to capture the attention of shoppers who might be too busy browsing your store to notice the quiz without an additional prompt.

Make sure questions are relevant and reflect the brand.

Using your brand's tone of voice in product recommendation quizzes is a great way to create an engaging, personalized experience for customers. When writing questions and answers, make sure they reflect the personality of your brand.

Use language that accurately represents your company's values and ethos while still being relevant to the products or services you offer. This will help you create a consistent customer experience that resonates with shoppers and encourages them to take the quiz.

Collect customer contact information.

Add a prompt to the end of the quiz that asks test takers to provide their email or phone number. This allows you to add new customers to your email and SMS and email lists for future marketing campaign outreach.

Because they've already filled out the quiz, you'll have data about the products they like. And that means you can use this data to create tailored email and SMS campaigns that are more likely to be effective in driving sales.

Additionally, having access to this type of customer data allows you to segment audiences into different categories based on interests or demographics. That makes it easier to target the right people at the right time with personalized messages that have a greater chance of converting prospects into paying customers.

2 real-world product recommendation quiz examples

Prose Shampoo

Prose is an Ecommerce company that creates personalized haircare packages for customers. And it uses its product recommendation quiz to match shoppers with shampoo and conditioner formulas that are specifically designed for their hair type.

The Prose product quiz uses basic questions like "What is your natural, untreated, air-dried hair texture?" But the reason this quiz is so successful is that it's designed to guide users through and encourage them to finish taking it:

  • Pop-ups within the quiz offer more context about each question, including things like images or an explanation of why the question is included and how it influences the quiz results.

  • A progress bar gives test-takers insight into how many questions they've answered and how close they are to receiving their product recommendations.

  • A smaller window appears to give test-takers the ability to save their progress if they opt to close out of the quiz without finishing it, helping improve quiz completion rates.

Fuzzy Pet Care

Fuzzy is an online veterinarian service that provides customers with prescriptions, supplements, and care advice. And it uses a couple of different quizzes to do it:

  • The pet concern quiz serves two purposes. First, it guides test-takers to the subscription and payment page, where they can choose to either become members of the service, pay for a single consult, or sign up for a free trial. Then, based on their selection and quiz responses, it matches test-takers to a veterinarian that can help provide them with the pet care they need.

  • Prescription tests for things like anxiety and heartworm help Fuzzy collect information about pets, including their age, weight, and medical history. It also asks questions about the pets' medical concerns. This allows the service to make a care recommendation that will allow the owner to get the medication and treatment their furry friend needs.

Use SMS to send product surveys that keep customers engaged

After you capture customers' information through a product quiz, you can follow up with a survey to ensure they love their recommendations. By sending a quiz survey by text, you can get feedback about what customers think of your products and services.

This helps show customers that you truly care about making sure they love the products they buy. And by analyzing survey results, you'll also have more information to make better recommendations in the future.