5 Ways Online Shoppers Mentally Grade Websites
Recent Forrester studies report that online shopping will account for 53 percent of retail sales in 2014. That's a lot of new eyes looking at your website! With traffic increasing to your e-commerce site, it's a great time to review what shoppers are looking for. A well-designed site can create a positive experience, resulting in more sales and repeat visits. Here are our my tips for giving consumers what they want:
1. Simple navigation: Whether a visitor is "window" shopping or digging for something specific, your website should be simple to navigate. A cluttered website with glitches can make a fun experience borderline unbearable. Create a website that's easy to navigate and provides a smooth user experience. The more pages consumers visit, the more opportunities you have to sell to them.
2. Clear visuals and descriptions: Creating an experience as close to the "real thing" as possible is key to closing transactions. Companies like Zappos and ASOS are using video to give online shoppers a better understanding of how products look in motion. Infuse as much of the "try it on" experience as you can, and use lighting that enhances the natural state of the product. Not doing so can lead to poor product reviews and a decrease in sales.
If you're struggling with photography resources, encourage current customers to submit quality photos of themselves wearing or using your products. This way, you'll at least be building a community of like-minded individuals who are providing word-of-mouth marketing for a product they love.
3. Promotional deals: The best designed e-commerce sites make it very clear they're running special promotions when a consumer visits. Make marketing messages clear and up front. If you're running a special, add it to your homepage in the top navigation area so consumers will see it no matter which pages they visit. You can even add specials to individual product pages. Show what the discount will be right next to the "Add it to my cart" button. Since you're not there to motivate them, you want to take every opportunity to sell them via strong design and strategic content placement.
