Design Method

Why You Need to Provide an E-commerce Experience That Consumers Will Love

Anyone who has attended a marketing technology event this year will tell you that the significant trend dominating conversations is that experiences are becoming more important to consumers than products. The fact that more and more online shoppers are subscribing to Amazon’s Prime service for £79 a year highlights how consumers will pay more for a better service or e-commerce experience.

Welcome to a new digital world where trust and transparency are the new currency and a time where the best price is no longer the key differentiator. As household names continue to struggle on the high street and even M&S admits that its online operation is unfit for a digital age, maybe it’s time to upgrade your e-commerce solution too.

The customer relationship is now more important than the transaction. But how can your online stores adapt to the continuously evolving expectations of shoppers in the global marketplace?

Why you need to create an easy-to-use shopping experience

Our smartphones contain a handful of apps that give us whatever our heart desires with a few swipes. Whether it’s Amazon’s one-click ordering, hailing an Uber, or even a date on Tinder, we no longer have time or patience to navigate around cumbersome checkout processes.

These are just a few reasons why an online catalogue that showcases your products and services is no longer enough. A seamless retail experience across a myriad of devices while also tearing down the walls between your physical store and online presence is the new standard.

However, the functionality, reliability, and speed of your e-commerce app or website are equally as important. In an age of digital distraction, consumers have changed how they shop, and holding their attention has never been more critical to businesses.

Driven to digital distraction

Imagine if shopping at the supermarket was the same as shopping online. After filling your shopping basket with essential items, you suddenly become distracted by an intriguing conversation in the frozen veg aisle or something on a TV screen, so you leave your basket on the floor and walk out of the store. Sure, this seldom happens in physical stores, but shopping cart abandonment is one of the most frustrating problems for e-commerce businesses.

An online shopping cart with a reliable and fast payment system where purchases can be completed with minimal touchpoints is no longer a nice-to-have. Customers also expect regular communication such as dispatch notifications, so they know precisely when their order will arrive.

It is also a perfect opportunity to tidy up what goes on behind the scenes. Simplifying your order process to manage all purchases, deliveries, and returns efficiently will also make a massive difference to your business.

Build trust

Through our shopping habits, we are all too aware that a combination of an infinite number of options and comparability at our fingertips has made us difficult to please. But we convince ourselves that it’s ok because companies are not people, right?

Humanising your brand will help earn the trust of your audience. It is relatively easy to add a little personality to the company “about us” page on your website, launch a company blog, or even put a name and a face to the person who manages your social media updates.

Rather than hiding behind your brand, you can also use reviews and testimonials to allow potential customers to see exactly what people are saying about your company. Leading the way with trust and transparency and not being afraid to admit mistakes and show how you resolved them not only makes your brand appear more human, but also trustworthy and likable.

If you build it, they will come

Getting new customers to your online store can be quite challenging, but maybe your approach needs upgrading too. For example, did you know that YouTube is the second- largest search engine? By reviewing your products and services or even providing demos, you can attract more customers to your website and online store via video.

Giving online users the ability to visualise and see how something would work in their world will make their purchasing decision much easier. Sure, online shoppers are fickle-minded at best, but we are equally easily influenced by each other. Customer loyalty is no longer a given, but by investing time and resources into improving the customer experience and earning their trust, building a relationship, and being more human, you can easily be successful in the ever-changing world of e-commerce.