Nothing cuts an online experience short like an awful website. A bad website can ruin an online experience. Or a just-okay website. Or a website that looks fine but doesn’t offer the features that guarantee a great user experience for shoppers. Selling online can be a challenging experience. It takes less than a second for web users to make a value judgment on a website, and nearly 40% will go elsewhere immediately if the content or layout is unattractive. Bottom line? To be the best ecommerce retailer you can be, you must have the best possible online store. And here are some ways you can achieve this:
Top 13 Best Practices For Ecommerce Stores
- Allow Users to Search for Products
- Enable Guest Checkout
- Send Shopping Cart Abandonment Emails
- Accept Multiple Payment Options
- Take High-Quality Product Photos
- Write Informative Product Descriptions
- Optimize for Mobile
- Feature Customer Reviews
- Create Product Scarcity
- Personalize the Experience
Some ecommerce shoppers have time to browse through pages of products leisurely, but many don’t. A streamlined search feature takes the hassle out of online shopping by giving customers a quick and easy way to evaluate all available products. Not all search options are effective in ecommerce and can even produce results that are frustrating to users. A search function for ecommerce should be focused on product results, rather than keyword matches. Camelbak, for example, places its search bar at the top right of the homepage, not buried in site navigation, making shopping simple.
It’s easy for a shopper to think that the checkout process is not important, especially when they have a cart full of great products, but a frustrating checkout process can kill a sale. A survey found that 9% will abandon a transaction if it is too confusing and long, while 22% will leave if they are required to create an account to make a payment. Offering a guest checkout option doesn’t require any additional steps in the ecommerce setup process.
Around 70% of carts get abandoned before checkout. Cart abandonment emails can be a great way to bring back buyers. A well-crafted subject line, along with images of the abandoned items, can help remind the customer of their interest and encourage them to complete the purchase. Sending the email within 24 to 48 hours is best, with a second follow-up three to four days later.
Around 6% of carts are abandoned due to a lack of ideal payment options. Many shoppers prefer platforms like Amazon Pay or Paypal and are not interested in those that don’t support them. Multiple payment options, including buy-now-pay-later (BNPL), can lead to increased sales, especially among younger people with poor or no credit.
Images matter. Three-quarters of buyers use images to inform a purchase decision. If your images aren’t professional and don’t convey quality, shoppers won’t buy. Skullcandy, for example, does an excellent job with high-quality images, giving customers the information they need to make a purchase decision.
87% of customers make purchasing decisions based on product content. A well-crafted product description should answer the who, what, where, when, why, and how. For example, shoes might be described not just as leather, but as velvety couture leather heels that complement an outfit at formal functions. This can make a big difference in convincing a shopper to hit ‘Add to Cart’.
Nearly 80% of people make purchases on mobile devices, and 75% prefer mobile sites. A lack of mobile optimization can cost you in more ways than one. Google prioritizes mobile-friendly sites, so if your site isn’t optimized, you may be penalized in search rankings. A great example of mobile optimization is Natori’s mobile site, which makes it easy for customers to purchase without a desktop.
90% of customers read reviews before making a purchase. Featuring reviews on your website can make all the difference. Reviews can instill trust in a customer before they even view products. Displaying reviews on category pages, product pages, and even shopping carts can boost customer confidence and reduce cart abandonment.
Creating the illusion of scarcity can compel a customer to make a purchase by making them believe it’s now or never. This technique, when used properly, can increase conversions by over 300%. Using low stock notifications and countdown clocks can create a sense of urgency.
Customers love to feel important, and nothing does that better than a personalized experience. Personalizing pages when customers log in creates a relationship between customers and retailers. 91% of customers are more willing to make a purchase when an ecommerce retailer provides some level of customization, such as a personalized homepage or product recommendations based on past activity.
By following these ecommerce tips, you can create a killer online store that drives sales and keeps customers coming back.