People like a nice shopping experience. That’s why high end stores cater to the shopper’s experience. Coffee, nice aromas, pleasant music, and other things are done to enhance a shopping experience.
These types of things make people want to come to your shop, make people who do come stay longer, and can entice people to spend money.
It’s not as easy online as you can’t hand out warm towels after the meal or offer a complimentary beverage but there are some things you can do to make your customers online shopping experience a pleasant one:
• Easy on the eyes. Does your website look like a nice place to visit? The theme of the site can have a big impact on your customer. Colour psychology and the right font can have an appeal on your target audience. Do some research and maybe some split testing, too.
• Offer a virtual sales person. There are online programs that guide people through each page. Make sure this is optional as some people don’t appreciate the intrusion. Some people are more attracted to the visual appeal of a video rather than having to read about your product. If you don’t want a virtual sales person, consider putting a video done by you on the site to help the customers learn more about your product and more about you. Many people like buying from a person and if you can connect with them, this can be helpful.
• Chat window. Give people the option to interact with you, your virtual assistant, or your support desk.
• Offer a phone mumber. If possible, give people the opportunity to pick up the phone and ask questions. If you prefer to do it via email be sure that you answer emails promptly.
• Easy navigation. Make your site easy to navigate. Visit it now and look at it from the eyes of a shopper. Is everything easy to find and use? Is anything annoying?
• Offer a bonus. Bonuses entice people to buy. Free shipping, two-for-one and other special discounts are all factors that could help people buy.
• Don’t forget the opt-in! Get their name and address and permission to contact them in the future. That way you can work on building a rapport and brand loyalty.
• Make sure your products are top notch. Have a good returns policy that supports customer satisfaction and do your best to provide high quality products. People want a bargain but they also want value for their money.
A good online shopping experience will have people buying, coming back for more, and sending their friends.
About Sean Rasmussen
Would all this apply to a site selling affiliate products or only an ecommerce site?
I always find myself going back to wishlist.com.au and rosesonly.com.au. I love the buying experience there. Always quick – in and out – just the way I love to do my shopping. And yes, I am female
(Thought I’d mention, I have no affiliate with them – Just a satisfied customer sharing what I think are examples of websites providing great online shopping experiences.)
Those sites are obviously doing all the right things Lina, and their reward for that is repeat business.
Hi Sean,
These are all great ideas. I didn’t know you could even get a virtual sales person or have chat windows.
I’m going to pay more attention to sites that I think do a excellent job of creating a great online shopping experience. This is one of those times when it will help to emulate what the best in the business are doing.
Hi Sean,
A colour scheme and different fonts would probably be used for target different audiences. Is this true? If so, is there any rules on this? Somethings would be the same. For instance, everyone wants a site that is easy to navigate and is easy on the eye.
Great tips on offering free shipping, two for one and a good returns policy. Also offering a virtual sales person would help a lot to improve the online shopping experience.