UX in Fashion: 6 Tips on Positive Product Page Experience in Clothes and Accessories Store
No matter how quick the checkout and how convenient the delivery options, customers won’t reach that phase unless they feel encouraged on the earlier stages of their ecommerce journey. Since the purchase decision is made on the product page, this is where providing positive experience is the most crucial. One of the main factors responsible for positive product page experience, especially in the case of an apparel store, is a comprehensive presentation of the item sold. Below you’ll find 6 elements that make a user-friendly product presentation in clothes and accessories ecommerce.
1. Detailed and straightforward product description
The more information about the product, the better — that advice for positive product page experience is given to most ecommerce owners. It’s a good one, of course, but what you should pay more attention to is quality of information, not quantity. Long, ornate descriptions filled with advertising slogans aren’t what customers expect on the product page. Instead of adjectives praising the product and long paragraphs which some customers won’t read anyway, focus on facts. The best practice is to follow a sentence briefly describing the main characteristics of the product with a bulleted list of its most important features: dominant fabric, brand or collection and information about details such as lace cuffs or zipper at the back. Such informative and at the same time crisp description will help customer assess quickly whether the product suits him or her.
Product description on Asos is a good example. Customers don’t need to look for information in long paragraphs: all important product details are at hand in a neat list which can be scanned in less than a minute.
2. Precise composition and care information
Detailed information about the composition and care is crucial for positive product page experience. Customers need to know what they pay for. It’s not only about the quality, you also have to take into account that people may have allergic reactions to some fabrics, not wear those of animal origin or don’t have time to take care of the item the way it requires. If you don’t inform your customers that the woolen cardigan also contains 30% of polyester or that the blouse requires hand washing, you run the risk they won’t purchase or return the product after realizing the facts. Providing the section with detailed fabric and material information, you help your customers make a purchase decision they won’t regret.
What’s great about Zara product page is that it provides composition information of all elements of the item. It’s also a nice trick to support textual care information with typical icons customers recognize from the inside tags.
3. Adequate product pictures
Nobody likes buying pig in a poke. Since the customer can’t see the product he or she is buying, the pictures on the product page have to offer as many information as possible. First of all, provide multiple images each showing the product from a different angle and in a different way. Show the product on the model (back, front and side) and without a model, provide pictures of the details such as pattern of the fabric, buttons or lace and, if possible, don’t forget to show the product from the inside as well. It’s especially important in the case of bags and wallets since it helps customers to assess how functional the product will be for them. And even if your images are very detailed, provide the zoom option as well: the better the customer will see the product, the higher the purchase chance is. That’s why 360 degree images or product videos are also worth considering.
When it comes to presenting the product, Zappos does a really good job: sufficient number of images, product shown form the inside and also on the model (which helps to visualize the size) and additionally a quick product video.
4. Size table
Telling your customer that the sizes available are XS-L is not enough. S in one shop doesn’t equal S in another and customers are aware of it. That’s why providing a table with measurements for each size is a common practice. But if you want it to be truly useful, make the table precise. Firstly, if you sell clothes with different size types (numbers, letters, inches, etc.) make sure the customer can find them in the table. Secondly, organize the table according to different clothes categories and show on the product page only the measurements relevant to a given item. If you provide all details at the same time, the table will be difficult to read and you’ll force your customers to waste their time on looking for information they need.
Frank + Oak provides a comprehensive size table for each category of products. It’s also very useful that they table is accompanied by a visual size guide showing on the model where to take the measurements.
5. Models’ measurements
Even detailed pictures and comprehensive size table may sometimes not resolve customers’ doubts regarding the product’s actual size and look. There’s one simple thing you can do to help your customers make sure the piece will be in the right size and will suit their body type — add the model’s height and measurements together with the product size they wear below the picture. This information will make it much easier for the customer to choose the right size and assess the length of a dress or trousers.
An alternative to providing models measurement below each picture is placing that information in the size guide as Hot Lava did. If ecommerce is small and employs only a few models this may work well.
6. Accessories sizes/dimensions
Ecommerce stores that focus mainly on selling clothes often treat accessories only as an additional category and neglect to provide decent information about them. While in the case of clothes, the size table solves the problem of providing separate measurements for each item, it’s useless with accessories. And no matter how time consuming it could be, each accessory really needs to be accompanied with the size/dimensions information. You can’t expect the customer to buy a bag not knowing if she’ll be able to put a bottle of perfume inside or a scarf that may not cover her neck. To facilitate the purchase decision provide all possible size-related information. In the case of bags, for example, it should be height, width, depth and strap length (if adjustable, the whole range) and since not every customer has a ruler or measuring tape right at hand, it’s also useful to add the information whether A4 file fits in the bag — this way it will be easy for the customer to visualize the actual size.
Apart from the general information that the bag is medium size, Romwe provides all the necessary details about its width, height and length.
Customers’ doubts regarding the product size, look and quality are inseparable part of online shopping for clothes and accessories. Probably it’s not possible to resolve them completely, but including these 6 aspects of a comprehensive presentation will definitely contribute to a positive product page experience in clothes and accessories ecommerce store.
