Growth in ecommerce is challenging brands, as well as ecommerce innovation and competition. As a result, websites continue to enhance and rework their customer experience to stand out from the competition. As a result, customers have higher expectations of the ecommerce experience.
This simultaneous growth of challenge and opportunity begs the question: how do you stay ahead of the competition? Keep reading as we will show you some insights about it. You can also check out The State of Ecommerce 2021 report from UserReplay.
Start from the beginning
At first, think about “hygiene factors”.” They include store locators, contact details, and so on. These things add up to make clients more likely to buy. Also, it’s essential to provide live support and keep an eye on customers reviews. Consider increasing engagement with videos, too, because the customer who watches a video is 144% more likely to add that product to their cart.
Source: The state of ecommerce, UserReplay report.
From the report, we know that 76% of websites list a phone number on their website, but only 53% list an email address, as they believe the immediacy of a phone call gets the job done faster and gives the brand a chance to encourage the sale more directly. In addition, 100% of High-End Fashion brands offer store locators on their websites. Less than a quarter of the websites examined offer store locators and addresses for on-site customers. The Health and Electronics sectors are leading the way in chatbot usage. 88% of Health sites host chat support and 75% of Electronics sites do the same. It’s hardly surprising that 100% of the product pages explored in the report had photos and images, but also… videos. On average, only 11% of the sample hosted videos on their product page. Coming in slightly higher than the rest, at 13%: Automotive, Beauty, Health and Pet Supplies.
Encourage to purchase today and in the future
The goal of this stage of the funnel is to pull the customer in and reduce friction. The fact that someone has decided to complete a purchase doesn’t mean the sale is guaranteed, and losing the deal can easily result from a friction-filled payment process, too high shipping costs, or an extended delivery time. The pull is also about upselling and offering loyalty discounts at this stage. Why wouldn’t someone buy another item if they’ve already bought one? Maybe they will be interested in some kind of membership if they buy again? See? It’s valuable for you to encourage your clients to purchase.
If you want to be better than the rest of the competition, use what they don’t have. For example, half of the responded websites used loyalty as a sales level. And interestingly, despite assumptions, just 41% of Fast Fashion brands had an active loyalty scheme. Additionally, next-day delivery is fast becoming the standard, with 62% of ecommerce businesses now able to achieve this. Furthermore, 27% of websites offer the choice to “buy now, pay later,” and it’s most common in Home/Furniture with 82% penetration. Finally, upsells are common, but not that common: fewer than 50% of websites actively try upselling at checkouts.
Source: The state of ecommerce, UserReplay report.
Provide post-purchase support
Remember about returns as well, as they are an integral part of the ecommerce business, and every brand must account for them. If they don’t, they can probably say goodbye to repeat customers. In fact, 30% of goods bought online are returned compared to just 9% in bricks-and-mortar. Many brands extend their return windows to encourage new sales and assure customers that refunds are still available.
Ecommerce shoppers have a degree of legal protection when it comes to returns in the UK and the US. Online sellers have to honor a cooling-off period of 14 days. So flexible returns will continue to be an essential competitive advantage. If your company can manage it financially, the longer you can offer, the better.
Source: The state of ecommerce, UserReplay report.
Over to you
It’s essential to reassure shoppers who come to your site for the first time that your business is legitimate, trustworthy, and worthy of further consideration. Only then will they consider making a purchase. So, when you’ve got the consumer’s attention, you’ve reassured them that your brand is legitimate, and you’ve got them thinking about making a purchase, try to increase conversion. Also, keep an eye on post-purchase support because whichever sector you’re in, these insights may be helpful for your ecommerce plans today and in the future. And, of course, being the best in your field is not intended to cause deterioration of your customers’ experience or their service!
