Seven Steps to Creating a Good eCommerce Experience

How Can I Create a Good eCommerce Experience?

Setting up an online store might seem easy, but companies should consider several factors when creating a good eCommerce experience for their customers. Annually, shopping cart abandonment costs retailers $18 billion in sales revenue, according to Forrester Research. That figure also doesn’t include potential revenue lost by website visitors who got frustrated by a poor customer experience and left before putting items in their cart. Creating a good website and providing a good eCommerce experience is a key part of creating and retaining customers. It generates customer loyalty.

Convivence should be your guiding principle when creating a website and a good eCommerce experience. Customers want an eCommerce experience that is simple and easy. This is important for both business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) customers. While B2B customers may previously have been willing to tolerate a clunky user experience, customers today have much higher expectations. The same people are placing B2C and B2C orders, and people who are used to a seamless B2C customer experience now have similar expectations for B2B experiences as well.

Customer expectations are higher than ever and evolving by the minute, so retailers have to evolve with them, or risk being left behind.

The Seven Principles of Good eCommerce

1. Enhanced Website Navigation – Customers need to be able to find your products. Your website should have a logical menu structure and an easy-to-find search bar. You might also want to consider implementing autocorrect to help customers find your products. In addition, you should also consider what terms people are likely to use when searching for your products, including misspellings or common product nicknames. You should also include product features, like size or color, as sorting options on a single product listing as opposed to listing them separately.

2. Easy Checkout Process – Customers expect a smooth and easy checkout process. This includes having an option to easily view the shopping cart on every screen; making it easy for customers to add, remove, or modify products in the shopping cart; and including all taxes, fees, and special offers in the shopping cart. Customers should be able to view inventory and recommended products, and the checkout process should offer multiple payment options. The checkout process should also include a sign-up option to make it easier for customers to make future orders.

3. Better Customer Service – Customer service is important regardless of the channel. On a website, good customer service includes having easily visible contact information. Retailers should also include a well-organized FAQ section with the most frequently asked questions. Customers sometimes also enjoy the option of using self-service customer service options such as chatbots, virtual customer assistants, and smart agents.

4. Include Reviews – Retailers should provide customers with information to help them make their purchasing decisions. This includes posting user reviewers, ideally both a ranking system with a numeric scale or stars, as well as a section for written reviews. Reading about other customers’ experiences can help people who are still on the fence make purchasing decisions.

5. Personalized Transaction Emails – Retailers should send automatic transaction emails to clients. These emails should include an initial purchase confirmation, as well as order or shipping updates. The tone of these emails is also important and should match the branding for your business. If your tone as a business is fun and playful, the emails should reflect that.

6. High-Quality Content – All websites, even eCommerce stores, should offer high-quality content. That doesn’t necessarily mean blogs. Product descriptions should be clear and well-written and quickly present customers with the information they want to know. Retailers should also use high-quality product photos with good lighting. The goal is to present customers with the information they need to be confident in their purchasing decisions. The information you provide should be able to answer any question your customers might have about your products.

7. Integration – Integration is one of the most important (and often overlooked) aspects of creating a good webstore and a good eCommerce experience. Integration means connecting your web store to your backend or enterprise resource planning systems (ERPs) so that information like available inventory, customer information, and past orders are available on the website. In addition, retailers should make it easy for customers to re-order previously purchased items. This is particularly important for B2B customers who may need to place large repeat orders consisting of multiple different types of items. Integration helps ensure that all customer information is stored in one place regardless of channel, which allows customers to enjoy a smooth omnichannel experience.

Following these principles should help retailers set up web stores that provide the type of eCommerce experience their customers expect. Providing a good eCommerce experience is a critical part of building customer loyalty and attracting valuable repeat customers.

About Us

CertiPro is a technology solutions provider for businesses. We provide a seamless two-way integration between Sage ERP and Magento eCommerce that handles all data connection points for business partner portals and other B2B/B2C eCommerce needs. Click here to learn more about E-Link, our two-way Sage Magento integration, or to schedule a demo.