During the sale period, the Web is filled with a lot of bargains and offers; often choosing what to buy and from whom is not easy, especially if you are not clear in your mind and maybe you are just looking for “something nice” or a of a gift or perhaps the best bargain.
How do we start? We generally find ourselves on the Google Search Engine page and type in a few words, for example, “travel deals”; Google returns a list of results by combining the Advertising section with Organic Search. We choose two, maybe three sites from this list, and start browsing the inner pages. If I buy the product, where will I buy it? As a consumer, generally, one possible path within an ecommerce portal might be this.
Let’s reverse the positions: having an e-Shop or an online shopping section, how to succeed in getting people after entering my site to conclude the purchase? On what does their choice depend? What could be the mistakes or actions I could take to improve it?
Optimize your online store and increase your conversion rate
Entering a site e-Commerce, trivially, the user will expect to enter a store; the navigability of the pages should respect this perception to increase the sense of recognizability of the place where they are and make interaction more intuitive.
Organize your site as you would a physical store:
- Creates a pleasant environment;
- Presents products divided into reasoned categories;
- creates previews of the product with a few details such as title, brief description, price, and ability to add it to your cart;
- Draft for each product an accurate sheet with all the details and the possibility of displaying (in case of sale of goods or objects) enlarged images
- the shopping cart must always be visible so that the buyer can check it at any time, modify it or complete purchases;
- write clearly and simply how data will be handled, privacy policy and payment method security: a site that does not inspire trust will never be chosen!
John Siebert recently published a useful guide to how best to structure an eCommerce site by identifying a check list to always keep in mind. We repost some of these points with some considerations.
- Know the target audience you are targeting: selling boats, for example, is not only different from selling cars or jewelry, but also from selling luxury boats, rather than those intended for a specific use, rather than those tied to a certain market;
- Ease of navigation: the user must be able to move easily and intuitively from one section of the site to another; pages must load quickly;
- High-resolution product images: shoppers, especially from a distance, want to see what they are buying; the greater the number of different images, details, angles, and perspectives, the greater the likelihood that it will be preferred over another;
- Video Insertion: if possible, also insert illustrative or demonstration videos;
- Prefer very detailed and information-rich product sheets to make them more inviting and appealing;
- A Call to Action made with an image converts more than a text-based one;
- The Shopping Cart, Contacts and accepted payment systems should always be visible and in the foreground;
- Propose, if possible, free shipping psychologically preferred to an equal-price product discount!
- Include featured products and create a promotions and discount area.
Free shipping vs Paid shipping, what’s the difference?
The cost of shipping a product can consistently affect its likelihood of purchase.
More than half of eCommerce offers a free shipping service by including in this list both those who always offer it and companies that provide it under certain conditions (usually exceeded a purchase threshold or related to the shipping address). But to what extent does free/paid shipping actually constitute a factor in a consumer’s decision to purchase online? According to a survey conducted by e-Tailing, it not only weighs in on whether or not a purchase is concluded ( 73 percent of respondents say it is a critical factor in choice), but also has a significant impact on consumer satisfaction. In fact, according to a second study, 93% of those indicated that free shipping would increase the likelihood of buying online. Satisfaction plummets by as much as 10 percentage points for those who paid for shipping of the product they ordered.
While free shipping could be a major boost to sales, it is a paid service (for the retailer) and, without a doubt, eliminating shipping charges all of a sudden can become too much of a commitment. In any case, it is good to keep in mind that nothing kills conversions like a transportation fee revealed at the last. In fact, according to this study, 47 percent of people say they abandoned their shopping cart if they found out at checkout that free shipping was not included.
For whatever reason, a free shipping offer that saves a customer $6.99 is more appealing to many than a discount that cuts the purchase price by $10.
David Bell, Wharton
How to manage the shipping cost for an eCommerce?
For many merchants, free shipping is an effective marketing tool. So how do you succeed in offering your customers solutions that increase engagement and conversion rates but do not collapse Return On Investment(ROI)? Here is how some companies have managed the difficult combination:
- Shipping charges included in the cost of the product: each product has a slight surcharge (making sure it is always competitive) that, in the aggregate, will go toward shipping costs;
- Free shipping charges upon reaching a certain purchase threshold, set by the retailer based on a number of factors such as the average cost of its products, sales volumes;
- “Unlimited freeshipping” club membership: shipping charges are always free to those who join an unlimited free shipping club upon payment of an annual fee (e.g., Amazon, ShopRunner);
- Propose only certain products with free shipping on a rotating basis to encourage sales;
- Adopt “Flat” shipping: the shipping cost varies as the cart increases;
- Offer sponsored shipping: a sponsor (many sites do this, such as on weekends) offers shipping in exchange for advertising.
Certainly there are many other systems and strategies to succeed in optimizing one’s sales. On the other hand, with the hundreds of e-shopping sites that allow customers to compare prices, including shipping and any taxes (credit cards or purchases from abroad), the right marketing strategy related to shipping cost is a factor really important that every retailer should carefully consider in order to increase their business.
