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Home
Design Examples
Personalisation Examples: Real Product Recommendations
Design Examples

Personalisation Examples: Real Product Recommendations

See how companies like Bounce, Ocado and Airbnb personalise recommendations, with examples of social proof, complementary search suggestions and time-of-day feeds.

Real world examples:

Updated: 26/10/2026, view all 1,496 examples

Examples on Built for Mars include
  • Bounce uses social proof to pick locker sizes

  • Ocado and Swiggy suggest pairings, not swaps

  • Spotify matches playlists to the time of day

UX Bite:
Bounce logoBounce

This is the size you need

Bounce is a temporary luggage locker, and after listing the bags you have, they’ll contextualise and pre-select the right locker size for you.

This is the size you need
#1448
View UX Bite
UX Bite:
Spotify logoSpotify

Spotify prompting mixes

Occasionally, Spotify will show you your top genres, and prompt if you want a playlist mix created for you.

Spotify prompting mixes

More context:

This is a way of onboarding the "mixes" feature, with very low effort.

i.e., "Law of minimal effort". It's just one click.

#729
View UX Bite
UX Bite:
Ocado logoOcado

Suggested searches

After making a search, Ocado will show suggested new queries. These are accompanying products, not similar products.

Suggested searches

More context:

The difference here is subtle but important: they're showing fruit to go with your greek yoghurt, not another type of yoghurt.

This requires mapping what else customers like (or buy with X).

It's likely that this increases the number of items customers go on and add to their cart, because it acts as a kind of discovery tool.

#625
View UX Bite
UX Bite:
Whatnot logoWhatnot

Creating your feed

During onboarding, Whatnot asks you what you're interested in. They'll then pin relevant tabs directly on your home feed.

Creating your feed

More context:

This makes it more likely that you'll quickly find items that you're interested in.

i.e., may reduce the "first 60-second" churn.

#1026
View UX Bite
UX Bite:
Precision Hydration logoPrecision Hydration

Carbs per hour

Precision Hydration has a calculator in the checkout to estimate (and contextualise) how much product to purchase for your routine.

Carbs per hour

More context:

Importantly, this helps you be confident in the purchase.

i.e., even if you don't purchase more, you can be more confident that you have bought the right amount.

#901
View UX Bite
UX Bite:
Airbnb logoAirbnb

Why not extend your trip?

Subscribe to unlock this example
Plans start from £8 per month
Subscribe to unlock#1465
Preview
UX Bite:
Spotify logoSpotify

Matching your vibe

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Plans start from £8 per month
Subscribe to unlock#1165
Preview
Brand logo. A single bold letter "S" on a plain background, with no interface, controls or screen content shown.App icon or splash screen showing the brand's stylised letter "M" logo on its own, with no other interface elements, buttons or text visible.App icon. A circular emblem with a trail of small dots forming a tick shape beside a larger dot, used as the app's logo rather than an interactive screen.

There are more than 1400 UX Bites like this

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"An exceptional resource for learning how to build habit-forming products that people love."

Author portrait. A smiling speaker wearing a headset microphone, shown alongside the cover of the book "HOOKED: How to Build Habit-Forming Products", used to introduce the author or a feature on habit-forming product design.
Nir EyalAuthor of Hooked

"I’d never met anybody who looks at usability and UX the way I do until I met Peter. Only he’s smarter."

Author portrait. A usability expert is shown with the cover of his book "DON'T MAKE ME THINK revisited", subtitled "A Common Sense Approach to Web and Mobile Usability", a classic reference on intuitive interface design.
Steve KrugAuthor of Don't Make Me Think

"The completest view of the psychological underpinnings of human behaviour that I’ve ever seen."

Profile image. A circular headshot of a smiling man with two overlapping company logo badges, indicating the organisations he is associated with, as used for speaker, testimonial or team member introductions.
Bing GordonKleiner Perkins & EA

"What a nice idea! Christopher Alexander would be proud to see patterns collected like this."

Profile image. A circular headshot of a person with two app icon badges overlapping the corner, linking the person to the apps they're associated with.
DHHHey! & Basecamp

FAQs

Should recommendations show similar items or complementary ones?

Complementary items turn recommendations into a discovery tool, whereas similar items only offer alternatives to something already chosen. For example, Ocado suggests fruit after a Greek yoghurt search rather than another yoghurt, and Swiggy shows dishes people usually pair together directly in the basket. This relies on data about what customers buy together, but it's likely to increase the number of items added to the cart.

Why do shoppers abandon a purchase when they're unsure how much to buy?

Not knowing what size or quantity to order can stop people ordering at all, as they leave to think about it and never return. A calculator or recommendation at the point of purchase removes that uncertainty. As an example, Precision Hydration's checkout calculator estimates gels per hour, so even shoppers who don't buy more feel confident they've bought the right amount.

How does social proof make a pre-selected option more convincing?

A default backed by what others chose in the same situation feels less like an upsell and more like advice. For instance, Bounce labels its locker recommendation as based on what 57 other travellers chose, and switches from a small to a large locker when the bag count rises to three.

How can a product feel personalised in the first minute for new users?

A few quick onboarding questions, applied immediately to the home screen, give new users something relevant to look at straight away. This is what Whatnot does by asking what you like to shop for, then pinning those categories (e.g., Pokémon Cards) as tabs on the home feed. It targets the first 60-second churn that comes from feeling there's nothing there for you.

What signals beyond purchase history can drive personalisation?

Context like time of day, trip status or the quantity a user has entered can make a recommendation feel timely rather than generic. For example, Airbnb shows stays in a nearby city during an active trip, framed as extending your holiday, instead of a generic block of homes in your area.

How can personalisation help introduce a new feature?

A ready-made, personalised result behind a single tap lowers the effort of trying something new, which reflects the Law of Minimal Effort. As an example, Spotify shows your top genres and offers to create a mix, opening a 'Made for you' playlist straight away.