What Makes a Perfect Online Shopping Experience?

If you’re setting up an online business, one of the things you have to consider is user experience. It defines how convenient or pleasing it is for the customers from landing on your website to getting to the actual checkout.

User experience is akin to how a shopper reacts to the store environment and quality of service in a mall, and it could make or break your business.

A lot of things go into what makes a great total user experience that will encourage customers to make a purchase and even come back for repeat business. Here are the three most important:

Engaging website

Your website is a potential customer’s first moment of truth when it comes to the product or service you are offering.

Bereft of actual or physical contact, your website, and how you design it is the only way for customers to gauge if they would be interested in possibly purchasing a product they could not touch or smell.

Your color scheme is more critical than you would think in your website’s overall design and, ultimately, your ability to attract potential customers.

Along with the use of “power words,” these are some of the seemingly minor but actually effective tactics you can leverage to gain a competitive edge.

An intriguing “About Us” page is another way to connect to prospective customers on a personal level and gain a loyal following. This is also where you could welcome comments and testimonials, even the negative ones.

Research has shown that 87% of sites do not respond to customer criticisms and miss out on the opportunity to make this section more credible; when, in fact, 53% of online shoppers look to negative reviews as part of their decision-making process.

By responding to these criticisms, especially valid ones, you are helping other customers find the right product for them and gaining their trust for future business. 

Easy Checkout Experience

One of the main reasons shoppers opt to go online is to save time. And you would be hard-pressed if you waste theirs. The time it takes from browsing your products to checkout is critical in swaying online shoppers one way or the other.

In point of fact, a recent study by Amazon.com found that for every 100 milliseconds of load time, 1% in sales is lost.

Fortunately, you do not have to know code to have an efficient, easy to navigate website.

There are ready-made templates available online, or you can get the services of a third-party provider for a more seamless checkout experience. This will improve your checkout abandonment rate.

Amazing after-sales

One thing that makes most online customers apprehensive about trying a new website or product is difficulty in contacting the seller after the product has been purchased.

Robust online chat support available 24/7, by itself, can increase online conversion by 10% or more.

Add in free shipping and an accessible troubleshooting system after the product purchase, and your chances of converting one-time patrons into loyal customers increase even more.

The difference between a great online shopping experience and a not so great one is night and day when it comes to making actual sales, that is why it is essential to optimize your website the best that you can.

Just put yourself in the shoes of your target customers, and you would be able to think of additional ways to succeed and have a thriving online business.

from Feedster https://www.feedster.com/ecommerce/what-makes-a-perfect-online-shopping-experience/