Delivering a seamless customer experience across multiple channels requires an e-commerce solution with omnichannel capabilities to ensure a consistent brand experience across all channels. Whether customers are interacting with your business through a website, mobile app, social media or physical store, this consistency builds trust, strengthens brand loyalty, and reinforces the brand image.
In addition to consistency, customers expect a simple and streamlined path to finding the products they want and completing transactions with ease.
When your customers experience friction during the purchase cycle, conversion rates decrease. Furthermore, a PwC survey shows that more than half of respondents said that they’re less likely to be loyal to a brand if its online shopping experience isn’t as easy or enjoyable as buying in person.
Creating Best-in-Class E-Commerce Experiences
A positive customer e-commerce experience starts with an intuitive interface and user-friendly design. Fast loading speed, clear navigation, prominent search functionality, and well-organized product categories help customers find what they need quickly and easily.
If any of these elements don’t perform up to a customer’s expectations, it could hurt the customer experience. For example, when it comes to e-commerce site search, if a company’s product search results display discontinued or out-of-stock merchandise, consumers will be frustrated when they discover that the items they want aren’t actually purchasable.
That’s why real-time inventory management is so important. You’ll want an order management system that’s capable of network-wide inventory visibility so you always show in-stock merchandise. It should work hand-in-hand with your search so that shoppers only view merchandise that’s in stock and available for purchase.
Based on browsing and purchase history, e-commerce sites can customize the experience for individual customers. Upselling and cross-selling related products enhances the customer shopping experience and increases the likelihood of incremental purchases.
Providing accurate and detailed product descriptions, specifications and dimensions allows customers to verify that the product meets their expectations. Including high-resolution product images from different angles and enabling customers to zoom in for a closer look builds confidence in the purchase.
Displaying customer reviews and ratings helps build trust and confidence when a customer is making a purchase decision. Customers should be encouraged to provide a review after purchasing a product, and e-commerce sites should have a system in place to manage and respond to feedback.
With consumers more reliant on their digital devices than ever before, mobile will inch closer to becoming the preferred channel for e-commerce within the next five years. Customers’ increased use of mobile devices to complete transactions underscores the imperative for e-commerce sites to create well-designed, efficient experiences for both their mobile websites and apps.
Simplifying Transaction Completion and Customer Service
Streamlining the checkout process minimizes cart abandonment. Customers appreciate options to avoid mandatory account creation, minimal forms to complete, progress indicators that keep them informed of their next steps, and multiple secure payment options.
Implementing robust security measures to protect customer data and provide a secure shopping experience reinforces the perception of a trustworthy and reliable e-commerce environment. When sites display trust seals and security badges, customers are reminded that their information is safe.
Similarly, return and refund policies should be transparent, simple and easily accessible. Customers should be aware of their options, and e-commerce sites should provide a straightforward process for returns and exchanges.
Providing accessible and responsive customer support options — such as live chat, email or phone — empowers customer support staff to address customer queries and concerns in a timely manner. Contact information and links to support channels should be displayed throughout your website.
To ensure continuous improvement, e-commerce sites should review website analytics on a regular basis and conduct A/B testing to optimize the shopping experience based on data-driven insights and user behavior.
Meagan White is the head of marketing at Kibo, a composable commerce platform designed to simplify the complexities of delivering modern customer experiences that span order management, e-commerce, and subscription services.
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