What does it take to win on the web? Customers expect retailers to have eCommerce channels, but some are successful while others falter. Make sure your retail brand follows the example of the most successful eCommerce sites including these three characteristics:
- Great User Experiences
When it comes to shopping online, a user-friendly, streamlined experience is the way to go. The most successful eCommerce sites make it easy for customers to find what they’re looking for and to interact with retailers. Website navigation should be customer-centric, aligning with how shoppers actually use your company’s website, not organized according to how you think it should be done. Don’t forget to include site search functionality for shoppers who want to skip the menus and get straight to a particular item. Test the site with real-life users to glean invaluable data and incorporate key findings.Cart abandonment statistics continue to show that many shoppers stop short of making a purchase online, and this often happens right around checkout time. Poorly designed websites have lengthy, multipage checkout processes. Others may not reveal shipping costs and taxes until the checkout page, turning off some shoppers who find their total costs going with each click. The most successful eCommerce sites provide a simple and transparent single-page checkout experience. Allow customers to store addresses and payment information so they can breeze through checkout.More and more of your customers are making purchases on mobile devices, so it’s important that your eCommerce platform enables a responsive design that maintains a consistent look and feel when a customer is viewing it on a laptop, tablet, or smartphone. With so many consumers using mobile devices to transact and browse these days, it’s important that your website is optimized for both mobile and PC. - Products, Front and Center
Most successful eCommerce sites showcase products. Regardless of other goals you may have for the website such as building your brand, customers expect to be able to quickly and easily find information on products. Providing product specs and detailed descriptions without making a page look cluttered, however, can be a challenge. A solution is an eCommerce platform that enables you to use product hotspots — when a shopper hovers over an image, product information or a close-up image appears.Also consider adding customer reviews of products you offer that give shoppers an idea of what real-life users are saying about the product with regard to specs such as fit, color, or durability. Maybe a red jumpsuit shows up differently in natural light than it did in the studio photography or a hardware toolset simply wasn’t what a shopper was expecting. You can also link to social feeds that feature buzz about the products you offer.Also be sure to include suggestions for other products customers have purchased with the one the shopper is viewing or similar products they may be interested in considering. Cross-selling and upselling can increase average order value. - Conversion Strategies
For most successful eCommerce websites, a well-executed promotions strategy makes all the difference in sales conversions.- Calls to action. Motivate your shoppers to buy. Include clear messaging about limited-time-only sales and deals. Give them a reason to make the purchase.
- Retargeting. Retargeting strategies enable you to display an ad or promotion to a customer that looked at a product, but didn’t buy.
- Exit offers. This strategy typically uses a pop-up window with a special discount aimed at “saving the sale” from a customer about to leave your eCommerce site without checking out. A well-timed nudge or promotion could prompt a shopper to continue the transaction and boost your conversion rates.
The most successful eCommerce sites offer a user-friendly experience, make product discovery a snap, and encourage shoppers to complete purchases. How does your eCommerce site measure up?
For more information on the importance of optimizing your eCommerce Channel read our e-book: “True Omnichannel Means Bricks + Clicks.”
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