eCommerce is quickly growing into the most common way to purchase new things. In fact, according to statistics, in 2020 over 2 billion people purchased goods or services online, and global eCommerce sales exceeded 4,2 trillion US dollars. And the number of internet sales is likely to continue to rise in the future.
This is great news for those of you in the eCommerce business. However, just because more sales are expected to happen online doesn’t mean they will take place on your site. As eCommerce grows in popularity, so does the number of competitors. To stay ahead and grab your share of the eCommerce sales, look to add the following features to your eCommerce business by hiring professionals like Kasandz as soon as you can.
An Optimized Mobile Experience
Almost half of all web traffic comes through a mobile device. This means that about half of all eCommerce browsing comes through mobile devices as well. You need to ensure that your website is optimized for smaller devices. You have a few options for how you can do this.
To start, you can design your website in a way that adjusts based on the screen size it’s on. This type of web design is known as responsive design. You’ll also want to consider how users will navigate through your website, as small menus or links may be hard to click on a smaller touchscreen. Your website should be just as easy to use on a desktop computer as it is on a cell phone or tablet.
The other option is to develop your own mobile app. With a mobile app, you can give your customers a better eCommerce experience that is specifically designed for smart devices. You can also use an app to send notifications to your users or learn more about your audience.
If you’re unfamiliar with app development, you may want to hire a service to do this for you. You can also learn how to create an app for your business, as this process is actually simpler than you may think. Developing a simple app that allows customers to browse your inventory is a great investment and one that will help to drive sales for a long time to come.
A Fast Checkout Process
The next thing to focus on is a fast checkout process. The longer your checkout process takes, and the more steps it has, the more likely it is that someone will give up and leave your site. You’ve worked hard to bring in that customer and you don’t want to lose them at the last second.
Try to remove as many steps from the checkout process as you can. Also try to provide fast payment options, such as PayPal or Apple Pay, to improve the process even further.
Customer Retention
Once you’ve converted someone into a customer, your next goal is to turn them into repeat customers. It’s a much better use of your resources to convert old customers into repeat customers than it is to generate new ones. You’ll want to focus on adding in some customer retention features.
One way you can do this is through a failed payment recovery system. If you have a product where customers pay monthly, you may lose out on a customer if their payment fails. They won’t be aware of it and will just let their product subscription lapse, which results in you losing a customer. Make sure you have a plan to recover any failed payments and you’ll keep a lot more customers around.
An Email Capture System
Another great way to generate repeat customers is through an email capture system. An email capture system is when you request the customer’s email address, then use this to send them promotional materials in the future. For example, you may request the customer’s email address in exchange for a discount or as a part of the checkout process.
Then, you can use their previous purchase history to send them targeted emails designed to bring them back. Email remains one of the most effective ways to reach people so be sure you have a system in place to gather as many email addresses as you can.
Visitor Tracking and Data Analysis
Finally, you should have a system in place to track visitor activity. You want to know which pages on your site are the most popular, which pages people spend the most time on, and which pages people leave the quickest. With this information, you can make important decisions regarding your eCommerce business.
For example, let’s say one of your products brings in the most visitors to your website. However, it also has a high bounce rate, meaning visitors are leaving without converting into customers. With this information, you may determine that your price is too high. This is just one example of the importance of visitor tracking and analyzing the data you gather.
Improving Your eCommerce Site
To make the most of the rise in popularity of eCommerce businesses, you need a site that appeals to customers. The above suggestions are a good place to start but there are many more. The best thing you can do is always be on the lookout for the types of features your customers are looking for. If you can do this, you should ultimately see a rise in your sales.