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Andy
Giving your ecommerce store the edge
July 28, 2011 AndyMost ecommerce retailers appreciate the importance of a good looking user friendly website with a quick simple to use checkout process. However what a lot of ecommerce retailers overlook are the small details that can make the big difference to the success of their online shops.
5-10 years ago the majority of online consumers viewed the internet, as simply a place to save money. Price was king and retailers had to offer a saving from high street store to capture customers. However over the last couple of years we have seen a clear transition away from price being the primary motivation for buying online to the internet being seen as a more convenient alternative to high street shopping; no queuing, no struggling to park and a wider choice more readily available. Now that “who’s cheapest” is no longer the only factor consumers consider it’s the smaller details that are determining which web sites are successful and which sites aren’t. Simple factors such as delivery costs, returns policy, ease of contact that can so easily be overlooked by retailers play a big part in the purchase decision of consumers.
Back in 2008, a survey conducted by PayPal indicated that 43% of online shoppers abandon their shopping carts due to unexpectedly high delivery costs. Meanwhile, according to a separate survey, 61% of online shoppers prefer to shop with retailers that offer free delivery.
So what can etailers do to help make sure they aren’t missing out on customers? Here’s a couple of simple suggestions that we like:
New customer perks
Why not try upgrading every new customer’s first order to next day delivery as a “welcome” gift to ensure their first experience makes them want more.
Free delivery and free returns
Contary to popular belief consumers really don’t want to go through the buying process to then go through the inconvenience of returning their purchase. So promoting free returns isn’t necessarily going to spawn an influx of returns it is simply going to help give the consumer confidence in your products, hopefully making people more likely to buy more products at once, with the understanding that there are no consequences if they aren’t suitable.
Online Chat
If a customer is close to making a purchase but has a simple question you don’t want then clicking off the buying page to try and find the answer. Why not offer them the ability to have their question answered quickly ask without leaving the page their on.
These are are few simple suggestions that can make a big difference, but just because they are small, it doesn’t mean they haven’t been thought through thoroughly. When it comes to free delivery, for example, it’s worth investigating all the options to make sure the benefits stack up.
To make free delivery work, there are a number of things to consider, for example:
- Will people actually buy more knowing they are saving on delivery cost?
- Look into your product margins, is a minimum spend to qualify for free delivery a better option?
- Test a few options, what minimum spend level encourages the most purchases?
- Will offering free delivery but with a longer dispatch time and also offering express delivery at a small additional cost prove more effective?
- What about a sliding scale based on the number of items with free over a certain amount?
It’s vital to try different systems to see what really works for your customers.
Offering free delivery and returns and staffing online chat will clearly have a financial impact but the brand loyalty benefits, the increased conversion and reduced number of abandoned carts should outweigh the costs.
What little things can your business do to improve success?
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