Online shopping isn’t a new trend that’s just becoming popular, and it’s no longer solely the domain of the millennial. eCommerce is becoming more prevalent, and everyone is shopping online to some degree. This means anything from checking out on a company’s website and heading to the store to pick up your products or shopping on Amazon from the comfort of your couch. It’s important to remember though that merely because something is prevalent doesn’t mean it’s an easy world to break into. Shopify does a lot to make it easier though.
Having your site be the one that consumers complete their purchases on though requires a lot of thought and dedication to ensure that you are inspiring buyer trust.
Today we’re going to cover a few ways that you can set your online store up for success and ensure that your digital presence is inspiring trust.
Make Your Site Easy to Use
Naturally, a website that looks unprofessional or spammy is not going to perform well. Poor layouts, spelling and grammar errors, and functionality issues can all raise red flags for your potential customers and keep them from converting.
It is imperative as an eCommerce store to put in the effort and learn the skills you need to build a website that is both user-friendly and visually appealing. But even that’s not enough; it’s crucial your site loads quickly, is free from issues and routinely updated. Beyond presenting a great first impression for your potential customers, an excellent site also conveys that your products are also of high quality.
With the risks of shopping online regularly in the news, the modern consumer is already hyper-aware and overly cautious about taking a chance on a new online business. A poor site will lose their trust before they’ve even had the opportunity to browse your items and consider making a purchase.
Shopify does more than most other online platforms to aid in inspiring that buyer trust. By maintaining the highest level of PCI compliance and offering SSL certificates to all stores hosted on the platform, they’ve already done 40% of the work for you, but it’s essential for you to make sure you’re not missing out on the other 60%.
Create a Positive Digital Presence
Your online presence is absolutely critical to today’s business, especially in an eCommerce store. Creating a professional and highly functional online store goes a long way but if you’re not able to back that up with a positive perception of your online brand, conversions won’t be where you need them to be successful. Having positive reviews on a number of third-party sites such as Google My Business and Facebook will further enforce a potential buyer’s trust in your website and brand. It will also increase the likelihood of conversions on your site. Make sure to monitor reviews across the web and respond to any buyer feedback positive or negative promptly. You can also leverage social media to build a relationship with your customers and prospective customers.
Sell Products You Can Be Proud Of
While it may seem that the only point of consideration for today’s online shopper is who has the lowest price, that’s far from the whole truth. Selling low-quality products, or worse still, products, where you have no idea of the quality, can severely damage your online reputation. Vetting suppliers and ordering sample products is a great way to ensure that the products you list on your site are ones that you are comfortable standing behind. Inferior quality products or ones that routinely come damaged from the manufacturer will negatively impact your success.
Wrapping it Up
The successful big brand retailers keep their customers coming back through a great track record, quality products and established brand loyalty. As a smaller brand or a startup, you aren’t starting with the same advantages, and so it’s important that you stay aware of the above elements to make sure that you’re building buyer trust at every stage online.
Shop Style Design are Experts in building a professional online presence and a high functioning eCommerce website. If you would like some help getting started online, or even just increasing sales, reach out to us today to schedule your free consultation call.
