How can you deliver a superior e-commerce experience with data?
There are many factors that contribute to the success of an e-commerce business. Product quality, relevant content, well-functioning social media, smart advertising and pricing strategies, among others, all make a difference, but the success of your hard work depends largely on how your customers respond to all of these. And that depends on how well you know your customers. How can you change the customer experience from good to excellent? Let's look at some examples!
Research shows that 80% of consumers are more likely to purchase when brands offer personalized experiences. This requires businesses to make smart use of available data on customer behavior. This is a solid foundation on which to build both personalized communications and improved customer experience.
PERSONALISATION OF ADVERTISING
Today, personalizing the e-commerce customer experience is essential for success. Even Generation X and Millennial consumers say they prefer to share their personal data if they receive personalized offers in return.
Personalization in e-commerce means providing unique content and promotions to visitors based on their behavior during their shopping journey. You can use insights such as their demographics, interests, life events, and behavioral patterns.
It's also worth paying attention to message alignment. Aligning the messages of the ads and the landing page will reinforce the relevance and the overall message in people's minds, making them more open to purchase.
This is especially important for retargeting campaigns. According to Merketo's survey, 96% of users leave a website without converting and it can take up to four re-visits to make a purchase. That's why it's very useful to take advantage of personalized retargeting: for example, if a user logs in, browses, and then leaves the site, you can follow up with a retargeting campaign. This campaign/ad can include products that are similar to what they were looking at, or an email offering a discount code.
A USER-FRIENDLY WEBSITE
In e-commerce, online shoppers generally fall into three categories: those who know what they want; those who browse; those who need help to filter products.
What they all have in common is the need to provide them with an easy-to-navigate interface. A website that allows them to browse products smoothly and find exactly what they need. To best meet this need, your website should be organized by category, just like a physical store. Fortunately, there are some simple tactics you can employ, for example; make the search button clear and visible; label your products appropriately; and make sure you have categorized each one appropriately. Also, make sure your site isn't too cluttered.
Personalization of your website is also extremely important, it also improves the user experience by responding to your customers' needs and desires before they are even mentioned. According to Hubspot, 91% of consumers prefer to shop with brands that show them personalized recommendations. This can improve traffic, sales, and customer retention.
To create a personalized web experience for every customer, use the data you've been given permission to collect. This can include their behavior, demographics, previous purchases, interests, time spent on site, device type, geographic location, etc. Of course, it is also very useful, and even a priority, to define your buyer persona!
PRICE OPTIMISATION
Research by Globalwebindex.com reveals that 53% of people worldwide shop online for free delivery, and the most common reason for shopping cart abandonment is the appearance of extra costs such as shipping.
An obvious solution to this is for retailers and brands to cover extra costs such as delivery by raising their prices. However, it is not recommended to raise prices without understanding the competitors, as this will have an immediate impact on market position, customer experience, and sales.
But there is no getting around the fact that free shipping is incredibly important to consumers when they shop online. And even more so in Google Shopping. So it's one of the first things you should address if you want to deliver the best customer experience.
To do this, you may want to consider adding shipping costs to the price of your products. But as mentioned above: it's important to make this decision based on monitoring your competitors!
Google Shopping displays shipping costs on its platform alongside the price of products, and also allows consumers to filter items by "free shipping". This means that even though you may have the cheapest product, the shipping costs may mean that they won't buy it from you. This in itself underlines the importance of having access to the right market data, as well as to your competitor's product and delivery prices. However, it is essential to remember that success does not lie in being the cheapest. Rather, it's about staying competitive by offering the best experience to your online shop visitors, and that includes the optimal price. To determine this, you need accurate and real market knowledge and to monitor your competitors - this is where PriceKit's pricing support software can help you tremendously!
MAKE YOUR PURCHASE A SMOOTH ONE
Improving the e-commerce experience involves many different areas, including the checkout process. By creating a smoother shopping experience for your customers, you can reduce cart abandonment. For example:
Make the cart visible on all pages and allow cart previews. Also, it's worth giving users the option to shop without registering. According to a Baymard survey, 24% of shoppers abandon their cart when the site asks them to create an account.
Digital wallets, such as PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, accounted for nearly 45% of global e-commerce transactions in 2020, and this is expected to rise to 51.7% by 2024.
SURPRISE IN STORE?
Online shoppers like surprises, as long as they are good surprises and they work for them.
One of the super surprises you can offer your visitors is the already-mentioned free shipping (research shows that more than half of people shop online because of free shipping). Also, a popular gift is the discount coupon code you provide for packages. In addition, personalizing your customer's purchase confirmation email with related products, seasonal favorites, your most popular products, etc..
TURBOCHARGE YOUR EMAIL MARKETING
Personalization in emails goes far beyond simply including the customer's name in the email. Personalization, when done right, helps to encourage impulse buying and increase loyalty, among other things.
Pre-purchase
When someone signs up/creates an account, send them a welcome email with a personal coupon code. If he or she goes to browse some products but doesn't purchase, remind him or her when those products will be on sale or lure him or her back with free shipping, for example. You can also launch a retargeting campaign for them, featuring similar items to those they have previously saved or searched for.
After purchase
Follow up with the customer to check that everything went smoothly. You can offer discounts on future purchases or even free delivery. Inform the buyer about special offers, the status of saved items, and new products and services.
If the purchase has not been made
Send "abandoned cart" emails, perhaps even with a "related products" section at the bottom of the email. According to a Moosend study, the average open rate of abandoned cart emails is 45%. In addition, the click-through rate is 21%, while half of the clicks tracked in the study resulted in a purchase.
Such emails may also contain a surprise, such as free delivery for a limited period or a discount code.
Remember, PriceKit can help your online business increase profits with a number of useful features, including monitoring competitor prices, automatic pricing functionality, or dynamic stock change tracking. To find out more about how our pricing support software can help your business, contact us!
