Convenience is one of the key features of buying online. Being able to purchase at a single click from the comfort of their own home, without having to deal with any clerks is very much a modern luxury. However, there are mistakes that a lot of eCommerce sites and online business owners make that can get in the way of that convenience and, thus, get in the way of your sales. Your customers are only so patient, and you need to make sure you don’t test that patience.
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Not using responsive design
When you’re running a business, you need to pay attention to how your customers tend to shop and make the user experience much better suited to their habits. When it comes to online business, often this means ensuring that customers who use tablets and other mobile devices aren’t left behind. Investing in responsive design for your website could be the key to making sure that a significant portion of your customer base has the smooth journey they need.
Don’t let them get lost in the process
Consider every click it takes a customer to make their way from the product page to a successful purchase to be an additional barrier they have to get over. The more clicks, the greater the risk of shopping cart abandonment. In order to stop this from happening, you can cut down some of the steps, such as allowing them to sign out as guests. However, you can also use design tips like breadcrumb navigation so they at least see how close they’re getting to checking out, making them more likely to go the distance.
Make sure they can pay without issue
As mentioned, buying online is all about convenience. However, if the customer gets to the end of their journey and is at the checkout, only to find out you don’t accept their preferred method of payment, you can be assured it’s going to severely test their patience. Check out the credit card terminals and online POS services available here to make sure that you’re giving the customers the means that they need to pay. Otherwise, you could be sending them off to a competitor who will accept their money, instead.
Make sure the delivery process is tight
The shopping experience might go just fine for your customers, but what about what comes after it? You need to ensure that your product deliveries are timely but that, more importantly, you are able to accurately estimate the date of arrival. Outsourcing parts of your sales process to fulfillment companies that offer package tracking could help you gain cost-effective access to that kind of accuracy and transparency, ensuring customers don’t lose patience waiting for their products.
Your customer’s time should be considered a precious commodity. As such, you should try to keep the process of purchasing as quick and simple as possible or watch them go to competitors who will. For all the benefits of online shopping, there’s no doubt it has created a more fickle customer. However, appeasing that side of them is just the cost of the extra profit potential.
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