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Improving Your Customer’s eCommerce Experience

Improving Your Customer’s eCommerce Experience

January 17, 2013

With the advent of Internet shopping, we’ve come a long way from the days of bartering for goods and services. eCommerce shopping is an experience that was inconceivable from brick-and-mortar store standards just a few decades ago. Your customers buy products based on a 2-dimensional model displayed in your eCommerce Web site. Their sensory perception is limited. They can see and perhaps even hear your products, but no longer can they feel, smell or taste them. Given contemporary shoppers’ pension for convenience, they are willing to forego the complete shopping experience for expediency. However, eCommerce shopping also offers consumers the instant ability to leave your store and shop around at the click of a mouse.

Stand Out From the Competition

Customers will spend more time on your site if you offer them the best possible browsing experience. Your landing page is your first impression so it needs to be instantly pleasing, free of clutter and easily navigable. Customers want to know what to do to be successful shoppers, so tell them how to start with concise calls to action. Make buttons and links obvious and give them visual feedback that they’re doing it right. Follow the 80/20 rule and display the 20% of your products that garner 80% of your sales prominently. Create the illusion of 3-dimensional images by offering customer interactive options such as zoom and rotate, and even video. Help your customers by installing search functionality aids that will navigate them through filtering and layers in order to refine their search to the product they want.
And don’t let them navigate in the wrong direction. Get them lost and chances are they will navigate away from your site to your competition. A quick view option as they scroll over a product category will allow shoppers the chance to view an expanded category without leaving their original page. Give them options. Allow your customer to compare products with the click of a button. Shoppers appreciate navigation that will easily lead them to their desired product.

The Nuts and Bolts of Shopping Your Site

Know your customers. Do your due diligence by collecting consumer demographics and conducting market research, and, provide the product data your customer wants to make an informed decision. Demonstrate your differentiation by telling your customer why your product is better than the competition. Provide customer reviews for product sales support, and feature product recommendations for add-on sales.
By all means, allow your customers to shop worry-free. Install security measures to prevent identity theft. Put an “add to cart” button on each product. Make your check-out process smooth and simple. Shopping cart abandonment statistics average between 50% – 70%. Check-out is not the time to demand detailed demographic information.
Lastly, make sure to spell out your conditions. Customers want to know their order cost, shipping options and freight costs, when they can expect to receive their purchase, and your return policy. An informed customer is a happy consumer and a repeat customer.
Please contact Net-Craft.com today to improve the eCommerce experience within your web site.