The effectiveness of your online product sales depends on the efficiency of your eCommerce website. So it is more than just displaying your products and expecting to get orders. In highly competitive markets, eCommerce is one of the best ways to collect orders remotely, but its effectiveness depends on how well you use it.
Many things matter when it comes to increasing conversion rates from your website. It includes:
- The website’s design
- Layout
- Product Description
- Customer reviews
- Loading time
- Number of available SKUs
Nearly 48% of online shoppers say that website design plays a significant role in determining the seller’s credibility. Over 38% of shoppers would not engage with an unattractive website. These elements directly link with the customer’s purchase decision. If they do not find your website attractive, they will spend less time browsing it, with even lesser chances of deciding to buy something.
Therefore, take advantage of this highly lucrative selling platform expected to reach over $5 trillion this year in the US, according to Shopify. Let us see how you can optimize your eCommerce website and make certain tweaks to your current website to boost sales and increase profits.
1. Categorize Your Products Wisely
The last thing you need is a jumbled-up display of products. If you sell products from multiple categories, consider using product information management software to automate product categorization. The software integrates Artificial Intelligence to make it easier for you to fit hundreds of products in the proper categories, reducing human error. Moreover, it would help you manage your product catalog faster than manual labor.
It will enable your customers to find what they want with the correct product information quickly. Make sure the customers can easily skim through the products to compare and go back and forth before buying.
If you only sell one kind of product, then divide it into multiple categories. For example, an apparel brand owner can categorize products by design, style, and gender. Additionally, introduce price and size filters categorized by availability to make it easier for site visitors to find what they are looking for.
2. Ensure Consistent Branding
Selecting a website layout design that matches your brand image is essential. The colors, sliders, theme, and language must match your brand identity. Similarly, if your customers visit your physical store or outlet (if you have one), it must send a consistent brand message with the same layout and theme.
Over 85% of online customers begin their purchase journey on one device and end it on another. Therefore, the customer experience and branding must remain consistent on all devices. In addition, many customers may also browse products on your Instagram or Facebook profile. Therefore, ensure your website design and layout remain the same for all online shopping channels.
The same goes for language and content. Whatever content you use on your website must align with the tone and language of the customer representative available in the chat box on the website.
A consistent brand image sends a clear message and ensures the company’s credibility. Therefore, it is crucial to build trust to get higher conversion rates.
3. Optimize Your Product Imagery
Images and videos are worth a thousand clicks. It is what entices and attracts your potential customers to the website. Since people cannot physically touch the product like in a physical store, enhanced images with attention to detail are the key.
Therefore, use high-quality, high-resolution, clear photos and videos with small file sizes that do not pixelate when loaded, zoomed in, or copied. Additionally, use multiple images and show every aspect of the product. If you sell t-shirts, post photos and videos of someone wearing them so that viewers can see what it could look like on them.
Get professional product shoots and use professional design software to edit the photos and videos. Take your time taking the best photos and ensure that the colors and shadows do not depict a different image of the product. Try to make it look as close to the actual product as possible. Use ample lighting and pay attention to detail.
It will help enhance your web page’s performance and improve customer experience.
4. Optimize for Different Devices
As mentioned earlier, customers will likely switch between devices during their purchase journey. Therefore, making your website mobile-friendly and tablet, laptop, and PC friendly is equally important. According to sales lion, 79% of online shoppers buy using mobile devices.
Therefore, test and optimize your website for different devices. Also, ensure that the website does not take too long to load. It could easily make a first-time visitor lose interest. Finally, ensure your eCommerce website development is on-point with constant developer checks on the back end.
Ensure that you use the right plug-ins and place them strategically according to the devices you’re designing your platform for.
5. Add a Customer Reviews Section
Customer reviews and feedback can play a significant role in driving sales. First, it shows the credibility of the company. Moreover, other buyers’ experiences can influence future customers’ purchase decisions. Therefore, ask to leave a review on the website once a customer purchases.
You can feature these reviews on your website and social media pages to highlight the positive aspects of your customer service and products. It also helps build customer trust, considering you must maintain a positive customer rating.
If you receive a negative review or rating, take it constructively and reach out to the customer to solve their issue. It helps build a positive brand image.
6. Enable Multiple Payment Options
Every website visitor would have a preferred payment mode that may differ from others. Make sure that you can entertain them all by introducing multiple payment options like:
- Cash on delivery
- Card payment
- Online bank transfer
- International payment
Many online stores also offer the Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) feature. It allows customers to pay later with minimal interest and fees. The BNPL options include Sezzle, Klarna, and Pay, that boost eCommerce sales. In addition, it results in reduced cart abandonment and quicker checkouts.
However, do not just include multiple payment options during checkout. Instead, advertise them in your website banners and social media posts to get the best out of them and speed up the buying cycle.
Conclusion
Certain tweaks and improvements to your eCommerce website can boost sales, resulting in increased revenue for your business. The key is to make the buying process enticing and as seamless as possible.
You can do that by categorizing your products wisely. Ensure consistent branding across all channels and platforms. Optimize your product imagery by using high-quality photos and videos. Optimize for different devices and add a customer reviews section to ensure authenticity.
Lastly, enable multiple payment options to reduce the chances of cart abandonment and entertain all kinds of customers with their preferred payment mode.