Top 13 eCommerce Tips

Consumers are becoming increasingly comfortable with, and alive to the benefits of, online shopping. Online shopping is generally cheaper (we’re not paying the retail assistants trying to tell us everything we try on looks good), we do not have to battle for the last remaining change-room, and can compare prices across various sites (perfect for the savvy bargain hunter)!  Whilst we are all alive to the benefits… many e-commerce websites fail to get the ‘simple-things’ right, and as a result, compromises the consumer’s online shopping experience. As more and more retail outlets make the switch to online trading, there are a few things that can ensure a smooth online retailing experience.  Here are 13 top tips to ensure a comfortable and successful shopping experience.

With 2013 fast approaching, here are 13 top tips to ensure a comfortable and successful shopping experience.

1. Keep contact information visible – Ensure that all contact information of the company is easy to find. That way if the customer has any questions, they can easily ask using the contact information provided and get in touch with the retailer straight away.
2. Use email login instead of username – An email login is easier to remember than a username, and is always unique. Always ensure that the customer can log in using their email address.
3. Help customers find out where they are – Use breadcrumb links (links on top of the page to determine where people are in the navigation) to help customers locate exactly where they are on the website. Breadcrumb links are also good for SEO.
4. Add a search toolbar – Make searching for items easy. Add a search toolbar in your website to allow customers search for items with ease.
5. Add security badges to boost trust – Make it easy for customers to trust your site. Online shopping can be a daunting and scary experience as customers are often worried that there will be security breaches. Ease the pain of worrying and add relevant security badges to your products, and the bottom of your eCommerce site.
6. Recommend related products – Just like point of sale at a supermarket, you have the opportunity to cross-sell, show best selling, recommended related products as well as items purchased by other shoppers in the eCommerce section of your website. This feature is extremely important for upselling your products, as customers are able to shop for more products they wish for.
7. Build credibility on the order page – Add relevant copy on the order page to eradicate fears and worries of the customer. The copy can be anything about potential questions, shipping costs, order processes and the like.
8. Have strong, clear call-to-actions – Feature strategically placed call-to-actions on your website as this can also increase sales. Examples are deals, promotions and campaigns. Other key call-to-actions must be easy to see and to click on, such as ‘Buy Now, ‘Add to Cart’ or ‘More Details’.
9. Break up the ordering process – Ordering products can be a long process. By breaking up the process, this makes it easier for customers to digest the amount of ‘work’ they have to do to purchase the product, since it’s sectioned into parts so customers know where they are in the process. Preferably though, having a one-page checkout system is better than having multiple pages.
10. Keep the cart and its items visible – Don’t hide them from the customer, as they like to be in control of their purchases and like to know what they have added (or not added) to the cart.
11. No hidden fees – Ensure you feature all fees in the cart. The last thing you want as a customer are surprise fees. If you hide fees, this just complicates the ordering process and may deter the customer from completing the purchase.
12. Offer shipping benefits – If you can, offer free shipping or same day shipping. This definitely boosts sales as the customer doesn’t have to pay for shipping costs and can get their item/s in no time.
13. Allow edits in the confirmation – Finally, feature a strong confirmation page that features all the products and fees, and allows edits and recalculation of fee. This allows the customer to make any necessary changes required.

Hot Tip:  Get a friend or a colleague to take the 5-second test. Get someone who’s never seen your site, and show them your site for 5 seconds. Then close the site, asking them what they think your site is selling. Ask them anything else you think that may benefit the site, such as navigation, products, what they like or don’t like about the site. And finally, ask them if they would want to purchase products from your site!