In order to create a great user experience many retailers need to gain an understanding of what it is that consumers want from their online shopping experience and the expectations that consumers have.
While price is massively important in the battle for online sales and leads, for many, shopping online is appealing because of the experience it gives consumers; it’s convenience, uniqueness and it’s ease of use. With so many online shops out there, competition is fierce and getting ahead of the game can be tricky, but what is it that makes the big brands stand out?
The answer lies in the experience that these brands offer and the way that they manage to meet and even exceed consumer expectations. It’s not uncommon for consumers to pay more for great service, meaning that if you offer a service that customers will love, they are not only more likely to pay extra for this, but they’re also more likely to return to your business for future products and services.
Let’s take a look at 5 of the most important ways you can create a great shopping experience that will have your customers coming back for more.
Original Product Descriptions
If you’re looking to offer a great user experience to your audience then it’s a good idea to avoid using the manufacturers product description and instead create your own unique and interesting product descriptions for your products. By creating your own product description you’re distinguishing yourself from your competitors, as well as improving your chances of ranking within search pages, by including relevant keywords in your product descriptions.
Be original with your descriptions and stand out from your competition, giving details of how great your product is, how it can benefit your customers and use your description to answer any questions it’s likely people may have about your product.
Great Quality Photos
Along with your product descriptions, it’s equally as important to include high quality product photos on your ecommerce website, showing off your products in a unique, yet detailed way. Unlike high street shops, where consumers can browse products, allowing them to try on items, touch them and examine the details, with ecommerce websites, your photos need to tell your customers exactly what they’re looking at, showing off all angles and offering the reassurance that your item is great quality.
Using high quality images that are clean, modern and show off all angles of your product, can be a great way to show off what you’re looking to sell, allowing audiences to zoom in on the details and encouraging the notion that your products are the best quality.
Simple Checkout Process
One of the biggest reasons customers leave a site is because the checkout process doesn’t meet the expectations that they have, often leaving them confused or taking too long to get through the process. Your customers want a pleasant checkout experience, not one that is going to leave them frustrated or lost off, which is why you should make your checkout experience as simple as possible, keeping the path clear so that your audience are a lot less likely to abandon their sales at the point of checking out.
By offering a simple, one page process, that doesn’t require a login or account to carry out a purchase, means that your checkout experience becomes much less time consuming, offer customers a more convenient experience.
Search, Filter & Sort
It’s likely that your customers want to be able to conveniently search your website for a specific item or for a range of products, which is why it’s so important that your website includes a search bar within it’s pages, helping customers find exactly what they’re looking for, which is a proven way to help generate more sales. By including your search bar in the top of the page, it means there is always a way for customers to search your site if they can’t find exactly what they want.
It’s also a good idea to include a filter and sort option on your search feature or within results, allowing visitors to narrow down their search by colour, size, style or even price, allowing customers to find the perfect item for them.
Responsive Design
With advances in technology, comes more options for people to shop on their mobile devices, tablet devices and even through TVs and consoles, which is why your website needs to cater for everyone, no matter what device they might be shopping on. If your website is too clunky and slow on a phone or tablet, you’re very likely to be driving those browsing on these devices away from your site and straight to your competition.
While your business doesn’t need to directly invest in an app for the time being, there’s no reason your brand shouldn’t be optimising your website for a multitude of different devices or you could be missing out on vital sales.
Consumer expectations are even higher than ever, with people expecting more from brands than ever before and as customers become even more empowered, it means that the focus on customer shopping experience increases even more. By offering a great experience you can increase customer loyalty and even reach out to more people through word of mouth recommendation, helping you grow your business and increase your sales.
