Key To Understanding A Customer’s First Purchase Behaviour
Understanding your customers is crucial, especially first-time purchasers. By monitoring their first purchase behaviour, you can determine when to make necessary changes in the way you run your business. Today, we’ll go through important metrics you should keep track of, plus some aspects that contribute to a better first impression of online stores.
You should consistently check on how your customers behave, if they are acting as you’d like, or if changes are required to make their shopping experience easier. Data driven changes will help you generate more sales, increase your conversion rate, and create long lasting relationships with your first-time buyers, turning them into loyal ones. So, let’s get down to the nitty-gritty: What to monitor and how to calculate it?
Average Order Value Of First Purchases
How to calculate this metric? | Take all first purchases, and divide the total revenue by the number of orders. The higher AOV, the better.
Why it matters? | By checking the AOV of your first purchases you can determine how much a customer spends in your online store for the first time, and whether they buy more expensive and/or multiple items per basket. If these numbers are low, you can try reducing your order execution cost and/or offering volume discounts. You can read more about the AOV and how to increase it here.
Average Amount Of Products Of First Purchases
How to calculate this metric? | Take all first purchases, and divide the total sold products by the number of orders. Again; the higher, the better.
Why it matters? | By monitoring the quantity per first orders, you can make a determination about whether or not to motivate first purchases with timely offers, e.g. if they buy a product bundle, provide them with a discount to encourage them come back.
Average Order Processing Time Of First Purchases
How to calculate this metric? | Take all first purchases, and divide the time from order placement to order fulfillment by the number of orders. This time it’s the other way around, the lower processing time, the better.
Why it matters? | By keeping track of the average order processing time of first orders, you can arrive at decisions about whether it is necessary to speed up dispatching of your orders, adjust shipping and payment methods, or lower fees.
Together, these three metrics will help you better understand your first-time purchaser and the effect your eCommerce website has on them. The success equation is: more expensive and/or multiple items per basket plus low order processing time. But of course, this doesn’t just apply to first purchasers; keep these variables in mind when dealing with repeat buyers as well!
We picked se7en crucial aspects that significantly contribute to a better first impression of a webshop and it would be a sin to ignore them. But don’t worry, there’s nothing grim about these factors. On the contrary, this is your ‘lucky’ seven!
1. OVERALL CLARITY OF CONTENT
Your online site is your storefront and business card all in one. It’s often the only way your customers can meet you. This interaction is very important and once it happens, it’s your chance to make an unforgettable impression. Your goal should be to make your website informational and conversational, instead of promotional.
- stuff keywords in the showcase
- use “meta descriptions” to introduce your store (SEO)
- show off via references and testimonials
- create a helpful guide and self-service materials (FAQs)
2. DESIGN & UX
According to CXL, first impressions are 94% design related. This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. There are many elements that can influence the appeal and effectiveness of your design, such as structure, colors, spacing, symmetry, amount of text, fonts, graphics, and more.
- the design needs to be up to date in terms of seasonality, trends, and news
- change it often so that it acts as a ‘live’ platform for your brand
- keep in mind that a responsive website is a must — customers want interaction
3. BRAND CREDIBILITY
Trust is also important, especially when it comes to money. Reassure your customers with a clear and convenient product return policies and increase their trust by placing payment security badges on your site.
- go through your store and the whole buying process
- apply your own experience and make your store trustworthy, friendly, and unique
4. PRICING & DISCOUNTS
Your pricing should be reasonable. Offer your products in a way that demonstrates their high quality, but don’t forget to make your customers feel good with occasional discounts. Just keep in mind one thing: ensure profitability when you offer discount pricing.
- try bundled, volume, and prepayment discounts
- offer one and get one free deals, etc.
- give free shipping for higher AOV
- use clear call-to-action buttons
5. AVAILABILITY OF PRODUCTS
Ensure adequate inventory of your best selling products and always be prepared with the best offer for your customers. Having your stock full of items nobody wants and neglecting to promote the products that are in demand can all hurt your online store and weaken effectiveness as a business.
6. SHIPPING OPTIONS
Check which shipping types are the most frequently used and make decisions about deleting or adding more to accommodate your customers’ preferences. Free shipping options and next day delivery should be your strongest weapons if you want to draw your leads’ attention. Read more about shipping here.
7. PAYMENT METHODS
Make sure you offer enough payment options to satisfy all types of customers. What is absolutely essential is that your payment is secure, so having reputable options such as PayPal available will go a long way towards ensuring that your customers are comfortable with making transactions on your site.
Now you know that having information is crucial for understanding the first purchase behaviour, let’s look at how to get that information. It’s good to have an analytical tool that is capable of data combination from all the possible sources you might rely on. Store Lab from MonkeyData allows you to filter metrics you’re interested in, combine multiple views, and gather more accurate information. Just pick which insights you want and export the results. You’ll also find First Purchase Behaviour graphs in MonkeyData. Pretty cool, right?
