How to Design a Successful eCommerce Business

By the end of 2019 there will be 1.92 billion digital buyers. That’s roughly 25% of the world’s population. For big players or local businesses, it’s becoming more and more essential to take advantage of this growing market.

Regardless of the high expectations and the encouraging statistics, not all the potential of eCommerce is being tapped into. 69% of online shopping carts are abandoned and only 2,8% of eCommerce visits reach conversion.

When done right, eCommerce as a business model can help your company grow faster. Here we offer five recommendations to help you get to it.

The Status of eCommerce

eCommerce is changing the way people shop. On one hand we have “Pure Players” who started out as online retailers and on the other hand we have Big Retailers with the need to enter a market that represents a new income. Fair warning, it comes with many challenges.

It’s a fact that eCommerce is changing the way people buy, 85% of consumers conduct online research before buying. Yes, sometimes they finish the purchase in a brick and mortar store, but the research process is where a new customer can be engaged.

Never forget that the main reason for buyers to shop online is convenience: being able to shop 24/7 from their bedroom, from mobile devices on the go, and receiving their products promptly at their doorstep.

Lots of factors make an eCommerce business successful. Here’s how to achieve it from a design perspective.

Fulfill Customers’ Needs

The main goal of eCommerce is to create new paths for users to purchase your products or services. When offering a product or service you must take your customers’ needs into consideration, everything from on time delivery to the post-sale experience.

Let’s say you sell a perishable product, such as groceries. You will need to be aware of how much time it takes for your product to be delivered, the attention needed for the product to remain fresh, and make sure your customers have the feeling that the vegetables they receive are the one they would have chosen.

• Adapt the logistical process in a way that can fulfill customers’ expectations and needs.
• Search for a way to have a unique Value Proposal and stick to it in every strategic decision.
• Understand your users’ needs and align them to your business goals.

Build for the Consumer

Focusing on addressing your customers’ needs will drive you to develop the right tools to improve their shopping experience. It’s not wrong to leverage state of the art technology or design trends if they have clear business objectives. And remember that all e features must be designed and tested before launch.

• Do not overwhelm users with unnecessary features or tools that may only keep them away from checkout.
• Be aware of new trends, but search for the ones that fit your business goals and can add value to your customers.
• Use technology to grab data from customers and use those findings to build the next steps of your site.

Keep It Simple

The easier a feature is to use the faster customers will be able to understand them and engage with them. It’s important to make the path to purchasing as simple as possible. The information requested of your users in the onboarding process should be chosen carefully. Consider if it’s really necessary to gather information every step of the way.

• Ask customers only for the information that’s needed at the right time. Simplify Registration, Profile Management and Payment. These three sections are key to offering the best user experience.
• Display the necessary product information in a way that allows consumers to see it at a glance. Customers will better trust your site if the information they need is easy to find.
• Making the shopping path easier will encourage conversion. Avoid paid advertisement, sometimes distractions can turn into bounce rate or an abandoned cart. Be careful with interfering with the shopping process.
• Pay attention to mobile. Shoppers’ habits include a high interaction with mobile devices. Be prepared to offer a satisfactory mobile experience or customers will no longer take you seriously.

Omnichannel Experience

65% of shoppers look to compare prices online vs a physical store. This proves that users don’t necessarily prefer an online or an in-store purchase over the other. What they do want is a seamless experience no matter what stage of the purchase they are in. Shoppers should be able to search online, buy in-store or be able to have their product arrive to their homes, and they should be able to modify this process at will. Even if logistics are complicated and you are in need of using a third-party service, whether it be for shipping or payment, such inconveniences shouldn’t affect the customer’s journey at all.

• Don’t confuse a seamless experience with replicating a physical purchase online. Buyers expect to make their purchase by taking advantage of what they find to be convenient about your business, no matter if it’s online or offline.
• Consistent information can be the key to achieving conversion. For example, showing customers that in-store and online they can find the same prices and options builds trust.
• If you have previous knowledge of how your customers shop in-store, don’t take it as a rule for how things should work on eCommerce. Use the knowledge as a basis for building a richer experience that covers your customers’ expectations.

People Trust Other People

Even if they are shopping online, people will always feel engaged when they receive a personalized experience. Let’s not forget that 80% of customers stop doing business with a company because of poor customer experience, and 60% of them won’t ever come back.

• Speak their language, pay attention to content strategy to address them accurately. Sometimes a CTA can make the difference when online shopping.
• Tools like Bots, Chats or follow up emails will make customers feel like you are listening to their needs and they will reward your interest with their loyalty.

Finally…

I invite you to read more about our thoughts. You can find other UX material you may also like here.

Let me know what you think! You can reach me at framirez@nearsoft.com.

Originally published at https://ux.nearsoft.com on May 24, 2019.