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Ecommerce Best Practices|Shoppable Content

3 Tips For a Rich Ecommerce Customer Experience

August 31st, 2017 | 4 min. read

3 Tips For a Rich Ecommerce Customer Experience Blog Feature

Zmags Blog Author

Sharing perspectives on the latest trends and tips to help eCommerce brands stay ahead to engage and drive revenue.

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It’s a widely accepted fact that a frustrating ecommerce customer experience can lead to page abandonment. But new research shows it may lead to a complete rejection of the brand itself. When faced with a frustrating experience, Retail TouchPoints reports “47% [of shoppers] will stop doing business with a brand altogether,” and “29% will tell family and friends.” [1] In short, a frustrating experience does more than extend the path to purchase. It could effectively end any customer goodwill completely, cutting the brand relationship short. And because almost a third of shoppers reported sharing their disappointing experience with others, retailers are risking more than just a single purchase. They’re risking their reputation. Below, we break down three of the most common causes of a frustrating shopper experience, and the solutions brands can use to combat them.

1. Convoluted path to purchase

A confusing purchase process is a surefire way to alienate customers. Shoppers should be able to add a product to their cart the instant they reach that “gotta have it” moment. And they should be able to do so in as few clicks as possible. The best way to accomplish this is through integrated quickviews. Shoppers simply click a product to activate an ecommerce-enabled lightbox. After adding the item to their shopping cart, the consumer remains in the original experience. There’s no back and forth between product grids and product pages, and because they never leave the page they can continue exploring. Quickviews make the path to purchase streamlined, simple, and enjoyable.

2. Too many choices

The phrase “too much of a good thing” is especially relevant when discussing online shopping. When faced with 20 pages of product grids, customers can be paralyzed with choices. As a shopper, it can be difficult to know where to start, and if they can’t sort their way through, they’re likely to leave altogether. Make it easy for shoppers to select a product by presenting them with a highly curated collection of items, served up in a helpful buying guide. For instance, instead of scrolling through pages of similar blouses with no clear differences, customers are given five tops featured in five fully shoppable outfits. By narrowing down the options, shoppers make their decision quickly and confidently.

3. Ineffective mobile design

Online shoppers are more likely than ever to access your site through a mobile device, and when they do, a poorly designed mobile experience is an instant turn-off. Mobile users expect the same intuitive and engaging experiences they enjoy on the desktop, so it’s up to retailers to deliver this experience. Using responsive design is the best way to do so. Through responsive design, the layout of the page is driven by CSS and media queries, meaning page elements adjust automatically as the width of the screen changes. Brands can feel confident that their web pages translate beautifully to a mobile device, and mobile users are spared a frustrating and cramped mobile experience. [1] Retail Touchpoints