E-Commerce
sites are competing for customer attention and loyalty. The user experience
features included in a site are the focal points for engaging customers, and
can make or break the purchase process.
Make Website Visitors Trust You
People watch what they spend on; so it’s only natural to
expect that they want to know everything there is to know about the product
they’re going to buy, the purchase process, payment methods, the delivery
service, warranties etc, which will help them secure a decision and commit to a
transaction. So, make sure that you have linked to the appropriate pages from
your home page. Such foresight will save much of your support team’s time, and
reduce the number of customer’s pre-sale help requests.
We’d like to suggest to you several features which will
probably help you to improve your web store usability and increase its
profitability. Note that these features are desirable but not obligatory.
1 -Product Videos
A minute of video is worth 1.8 million words, according to
Dr. James McQuivey of Forrester, a leading technology research firm. Product
videos engage attention and convey information in a way that doesn’t require
much effort on the part of users. Videos bring a product to life more than
static images. Because of their potential for increasing sales as well as
improving search engine placement, product videos should become a standard
feature on e-commerce product pages in the near future.
2 - Order Online,
Pickup in Store
Offer “order online, pickup in store” functionality. Pairing
the convenience of online shopping with the immediate access of a store
location is a winning combination.
Admittedly, supporting this feature requires substantial
backend logistics. If someone purchases a product in the store, and someone is
looking at the same item online, the store inventory has to let the online
catalogue know in real time that one fewer of that product is available.
Keeping store inventory and online inventory in sync is a feat that not every
retailer can manage with using their current technology, but it is a possible
feature that customers are likely to look for.
3 -Price Drop Alert
Function
Price is a key determining factor for purchase decisions.
Customers often hop from one site to the next to find the best price. It makes
sense, then, to let customers know when the price of a product they have
indicated an interest in drops. It’s an incentive to return and buy it.
Customers have to surrender their email address to use this feature, so it’s a
win-win situation.
4 - Customer Product
Views/Tag
Letting customers create their own tags for products keeps
the taxonomy fresh and relevant. It also gets customers involved with products
that they like. When a customer sees that another customer described a product
in a certain way, it seems more authentic and natural than the terms marketers
have devised to describe that same product. After all, they weren’t paid to say
it.
Furthermore, customers typically have to log in, in order to
tag a product, which is a step that supports ongoing loyalty and
self-investment.
5 - What Other
Customers Viewed
Customers looking for ideas or wanting to know what items
are hot right now may like a window into what other customers have viewed over
say the last 7 days. It’s worth considering as this feature could enhance
browsing and spend.
6 - Show Advantages of
Your Products
A list of product categories or a grid of
them can be the perfect thing to help your online store. Special deals and new arrivals are also good to coax the common web
surfers to buy. You probably know that there is a huge chunk of online surfers
who don’t know what they want exactly; they just want to hang around. Your goal
as an online seller is to tap into that market and show them what they are
missing out on.
7 - Deals, Freebies
and Free Shipping
People usually decide very quickly whether they like a
website or not, that’s why you should grab their interest in a matter of
seconds upon their entry to the site; otherwise they will just find some other
shop with a more attractive home page. And nothing attracts better and faster
than shopping deals. Millions of people lose their minds during sales and
discounted periods, and buy anything at slashed prices just because it’s on
sale.
Some are attracted by free shipping, some by the major mark
downs — but almost everybody is interested in one kind of promo or another.
Thus, discounts and special deals are usually the first things that website
visitors look for. Alluring promises and unique prices stimulate visitors to
spend, spend, and spend. So, it makes sense to position eye-catching banners
with discount offers on the upper part of the home page of an online store.
Free shipping is also a crowd favourite. You are now selling
to the world, not just to the local market, so you should take the shipping
costs into account. To save themselves from unwarranted shipping expenditures,
many online stores usually adjust the minimum order price to include shipping
costs. As for the customers, buying from big retailers and online brand stores
usually result in major if not multiple purchases. Hence, the order price for
free shipping is marginal and not a deterrent for these buyers. Moreover,
buying things on the Web even without the holiday deals may even be cheaper
than in shops and boutiques — that’s why minimum price limitation is
acceptable.
8. Latest News and
Most Popular Products
When there is news, a sales period or upcoming events that
buyers should know about the product, the home page is the best place to house
them. Do not make it too hard for buyers to find exclusive deals and hot
prices. Moreover, recurring customers will more likely look through several
‘new’ items on sale rather than spend half an hour browsing through the full
inventory for something new and trendy.
9. Brand Products
It’s not always possible to predict what the next customer
will be looking for, but it doesn’t mean that you should place all your
products directly on the home page. What you can do is have the most
eye-catching and interesting offers readily accessible. This trick makes a huge
difference for retailers who have a huge product catalogue.
If you have branded goods on sale, then display them
upfront. It’s a great attention-grabber especially with first-time visitors who
don’t know what exactly they are looking for. Moreover, there are many large
retailers which provide an opportunity to ‘shop by brands’. Customers can find
what they need through more targeted and effective channels
10. Shopping Cart,
Login Box and Search Box
The shopping cart, login box and search box features are
usually placed together at every E-Commerce site. It’s almost impossible to
imagine a store without a shopping-cart function included. The most popular
shopping cart icon is a simple basket so it makes sense to choose something
similar for your site. Many stores also provide their customers with private
accounts where it’s possible to check all their previous and current orders.
Every customer who signs up can choose a personal login and
password for further access. Besides, owners of such accounts can receive
special discount offers from the store owners and participate in different
promotions or sales.
If you deal with a large online store that has a wide choice
of goods then the search box is a must-have. This will also prove popular with
customers who demand a specific product that they just need to locate from your
online store to make their order.
11. Payment Systems
Icons
E-Commerce websites deal with many customers from all over
the world and they each have their own preferred payment system. Moreover,
there may be technical limitations to a payment method or option, and that’s
why it would be better to clarify payment options in advance. For instance,
some E-Commerce websites don’t accept international credit cards. Others
require the customer billing address and the delivery address to be in the same
country as the official store’s location.
Online stores commonly use credit and debit cards, gift
vouchers, cash on delivery, PayPal, etc as their main payment system. You can
easily find these payment icons at the footer or on the top right corner of
sites.
12. Social Media
Links
It’s said that almost 20% of online purchases are
accomplished after surfing through social media sites. People are inclined to
take in public opinion. Social media websites, such as Facebook and Twitter,
are the best, if not fastest, source to get the info you need on just about
everything.
Moreover, social media accounts bring excellent
opportunities for self-promotion: online communities can help to identify the
most active and influential customers, or find new ones who are not familiar
with the web store yet. For online shops, it’s a good channel to keep customers
abreast of the latest news, or special deals which are oriented towards
Facebook or Twitter followers only.
13. Phone Numbers and
Online Chats
With online shopping, buyers interact with sellers via
computer networks making
transactions that are no longer geographically bound. When there is a problem
however, customers would more likely prefer to have someone they can talk with.
This is the core of the need for a store support team and live chats are highly
appreciated forms of value-added customer service.
If online purchases can be done all day and all night long,
there is a need to provide 24-hours customer services to solve the majority of
pre-sale and after-sale questions. Moreover, people can go online from their
working places or from home, so a purchase — and any accompanying enquiry — may
come at any time of
the day.
14. Trustmark’s
Trustmark’s are small images or logos that show a security
guarantee by an external party indicating that it is safe to shop on the site. Such
accreditation certificates give customers a sense of security and gives them
confidence in sharing their private information. Visitors would be more
inclined to make a purchase if they know that their payment details are safe
from prying eyes.
It should also be noted that Trustmark’s don’t matter for
big brand stores. They don’t need to pass security and privacy tests to confirm
their reliability because they already have a good reputation.
Apart from Trustmark’s, a clear design, convenient menus,
detailed product descriptions and user reviews are also important for creating
better online reputation. Just note that trust plays an important role in a
customer’s willingness to part with their money.
The above is what Liquid Modules
can do and we want you to realise the potential for your business, whatever
that may be.
