Sandra Wrobel-Konior — December 3, 2018 — December 3, 2018
It’s the time of a year when customers feel fuzzy when they think about shopping. This is why online businesses start to prepare for a holiday season even from June in order to make the shopping experience as smooth as possible. So, if you’ve overslept, here are several quick fixes to implement in your online store right away.
The time of year that is packed with holidays comes with a hectic pace when the traffic grows exponentially and sales increase. Are you ready for that?
Mobile-optimized shopping experience
According to Salesforce, more purchases will be made with smartphones than other devices during 2018 holiday season.
Mobile is taking on and shoppers change the way they use technology to shop over the Internet. I bet you’re already providing mobile-friendly solutions for your customers but if not, implement it as soon as you can. If you don’t offer a mobile app, make sure that your website is well-optimized for mobile devices.
Keep in mind that mobile users expect a different experience. They want to go through the entire purchasing process within a few taps, so make sure that your store’s navigation meets their growing needs.
Also, focus on the amount of content on the page, button sizes, and the number of extra elements. Keep it simple and remember that less is more. Make it all readable and functional, without your customers having to zoom in to find all the information they need. The same goes with the payment form — make sure that it’s easy to enter data into the fields.
Choose a payment platform that offers one-click checkout and “Remember me” option, so customers won’t have to re-enter their shopping information every time they want to buy on your store. When the mobile checkout is not optimized, the payment process can end up with typos and errors, which then may result in customer frustration.
Checkout friction reduced
According to the Baymard Institute, almost ? of online shoppers abandon their cart due to a long and complicated checkout process. You should know that every added step is an incentive for customers to consider your competitors. This is why you need to provide a superior user experience that will keep customers coming back.
Do everything in your power to avoid customer frustration. Even if your product pages are in tip-top condition, you can lose customers at some stage of a lengthy checkout process. To make it more user-friendly, you can add a progress bar to show customers how far they are in the checkout process.
Overall, the checkout process should be as convenient as possible. If you optimize it well, you’ll bring in a number of sales. Also, take note that a streamlined shopping process that always ends up with successful sales improves customer satisfaction and builds loyalty.
You can also increase your conversion by letting customers buy directly from a product page. Remember that the fewer steps in the checkout process, the better. Also, keep payments on your e-commerce website, without redirecting customers to an external website to pay. Ask only for relevant information to keep the customer’s attention and make them complete the purchase.
Moreover, keep your terms and conditions visible on the checkout page, as it enhances the level of your business transparency in the customer’s eyes.
Strong focus on customer experience and personalization
It’s not always the lowest price that wins out. It is one of the most important factors, but you should also remember that customer experience is what mostly determines shoppers’ choices. Customers always want value, so provide it in everything you do.
The Salesforce report mentioned before predicts that 35% of e-commerce revenue will be driven by AI-based recommendations. This shows how personalization enhances the shopping experience, especially when you use AI-driven product recommendations based on customer behaviors. You can also use machine learning in chatbots for customer service, but also during the payment process.
Personalize every step of the buying process, also when it comes to payments. With that being said, it’s good to have a payment solution in place that allows a “Remember me” option or cross-sales feature that lets you display extra products based on customer choices, etc.
Getting ready for fraud
Not having effective payment security is another thing that can scare customers away. They need to be sure that the payment system you use follows restricted requirements. It’s your responsibility, as a merchant, to protect your business, so make sure that you have highly secure solutions that spot fraud.
Again, it’s about the payment platform you use to accept payments on your store. Make your customers shop with confidence by choosing a solution that offers highly-effective security with AI-based tools, non-invasive 3D Secure and several other solutions that give you multi-layered security.
You need a secure payment system that is ready to scale and detect anomalies as soon as they occur, especially during this busy season.
Localized experience for global customers
Perhaps it’s time to expand your business to other markets? With an e-commerce store, you can simply expand your customer base and offer your products and services to people from other countries. It’s easy when you work with a payment gateway that offers multi-currency payments, so you can provide global customers with a local experience.
When you decide for this move, think about displaying prices on your website in customers’ local currency. They don’t have to wonder what’s the real price and are more confident to buy from you.
Have you started prepping up for the last minute rush?
The holiday season 2018 is here so if you haven’t prepared yet, it’s your last chance to make this buying-intensive time of the year an opportunity for your online business.
The clock is ticking, so here’s a handy list to take a look at at the last minute.
Remember that nowadays customers buy on the go, so make your e-commerce store ready for smartphone users.
Optimize your website and make it ready for the traffic peak, make some UX and performance fixes. Stop losing your customers because of a website that loads too slow.
Remove all the checkout pain points and provide a rapid checkout that enables to close the transaction as quickly as possible.
Get rid of any broken links or elements that can distract customers while they are about to pay.
Choose a reliable payment solution to keep your customers data safe during payments.
Find areas for improvement, but don’t make too many changes right before the season.
Good luck!
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