Ecommerce is about simplifying shopping experiences – reducing the need to wait in queues and getting your purchases delivered straight to your door.
But in a world of infinite choice retailers need to deliver more than just the goods. They need to be continually working on better and more convenient ways to shop.
In part two of our guide we look at the ways you can make your customers’ lives easier – the little tricks that don’t just improve the customer experience but also make the buying process slicker, faster and easier.
One-click purchasing
Customers want to buy with just a few clicks of a button. From all the ingredients they need for a recipe or buying a complete ‘look’ from a clothing or beauty retailer – they want to reduce the need to search, find and place multiple items in their basket. With this in mind retailers are offering shoppers the ability to buy it all with just one click – from email, their website or even social media (Business.com, 2017). With one click shoppers can add multiple purchases to the cart without the need to search around finding what they want in different categories.
And it’s not just retailers that have cottoned-on to this method – Google are now offering shoppers the ability to buy items from image searches on their platform, reducing the need to visit individual sites (Search Engine Land, 2016). If you want to increase your conversion rate then make it as easy as possible for your consumers to purchase with just one click.
Omnichannel infrastructures
In a world where the majority of retailers offer an omnichannel experience it’s still shocking when the channels don’t appear to work together. Only last week I purchased a shirt from a well-known UK fashion chain online only to be told I couldn’t return it in-store where I collected it from, because the store couldn’t accept an online refund. And I’m not alone – according to research from last year, 78% say customers do not have a one-brand experience across channels (Digital Donut, 2016).
It’s this kind of disjointed customer experience that leaves a bitter taste in the mouths of customers. So if you’re claiming to be an omnichannel retailer then make sure your systems and structures work together – if you don’t you’ll risk frustrating customers and losing them to another retailer with a more convenient customer experience next time.
Offer video answers
According to Google, nearly 50% of online users look for videos related to a product before they even visit a store to buy it (Google, 2016).
It makes sense – video is a quick way to get all the information you need and can be viewed while you’re on the go. All these searches mean your product videos are a highly effective selling tool and if you’re not investing in good video content for your products, then you’re missing a trick. And it’s not just product information they’re searching for – if you want to be found in Google then it’s time to start offering advice.
‘How to’ videos are constantly searched for (Search Engine Land, 2015) meaning that if you want to offer convenience to your shoppers then it’s time to start providing the answers.
What do all these solutions have in common apart from being convenient? The answer is integration. A retailer can no longer create standalone solutions – consumers want everything in one place with minimal fuss – from shopping on social media to shared logins and faster ways to buy and receive their purchases.
So if you want to be a future online retailer make sure you’re offering your customer the most convenient path-to-purchase. If you make your customers’ lives easier, you’ll guarantee their custom and loyalty regardless of where and how they shop.
