TL:DR – absolutely everything online and off-line has the potential to impact prospective buyers
It can be a daunting task to take stock of the various elements that potentially influence your prospective buyers. There are countless factors that can exert influence an online chopper, perhaps none more so than the users experience while on your website. From general design to the number of clicks required to check out, everything will have some level of impact.
Be sure to read below to help identify and action some of the higher impact, lower effort elements on your site.
Number 1 – Shipping
Shipping rates can make or break a potential buyer’s decision to complete their checkout. Arguably there is no greater factor leading to those abandoned checkouts you see every day in your online store. comScore has done a number of studies on the impact of shipping and online shopping, and they’ve been able to draw some interesting conclusions as outlined below.
- Only 30% of online buyers are prepared to pay $4.99 or more in shipping costs
- 47% are expecting to pay less than $4.99 in shipping costs
- Incredibly, 23% of online buyers will only complete their purchase if the shipping is free
When considering how best to action this information, it’s important to take stock of the products that you’re selling and their price points as well as the true cost of shipping to you as the seller. While it might make sense at a high level to keep your prices low and have realistic shipping rates, studies have found that buyers are more willing to pay a premium for a product than they are to pay for shipping. This likely stems from shipping being viewed as having no monetary value to the prospective customer. Remember like all humans; your potential customers want to believe that they found a once-in-a-lifetime deal and nothing backs up that feeling more than flat-rate or free shipping.
Number 2- Product Pricing
This may seem too in-your-face to require being said, but pricing is something that needs to be examined at least once a quarter. Nobody has ever been in a buying cycle where the price has not been a contributing factor to the decision they’ve made. It’s important to note that it’s not always the lowest price that wins out though, people do genuinely believe in the notion that you “get what you pay for.”
When deciding on your pricing, be sure to research your competition and assess where your pricing falls in comparison to your top three competitors. This is not about being a race to the bottom but with the increase in the availability of comparison-shopping engines designed to show an informed consumer where they can get the best deal, it’s important that you don’t price yourself drastically above or below the going market rate. Coupling free shipping and competitive pricing with the other strategies in place to make your brand stand out gives you an edge in a crowded marketplace.
Number 3 – Product Listings
Gone are the days where a picture, little description, and option dropdowns were sufficient to draw in potential customers. The reality is that e-commerce has become a crowded market with many businesses selling the same products that you are selling and standing out requires a touch more than it did even 12 months ago.
It’s time to step up your game and make sure that above and beyond having a selection of photos, and in-depth product description that tells the story of your products rather than just the specifications you include other content that draws people in. When you consider that potential buyers are 64% more likely to complete a checkout and will spend up to an additional two minutes on the site just because of video content, it becomes clear that a more interactive shopping experience is what lies ahead for successful businesses.
The added advantage of including video content that you host on YouTube is it gives you visibility in a channel that would otherwise remain unengaged with your brand and your products.
The above are changes that you can start to make on your site today! Don’t miss out on this opportunity to boost your business’ success in the second half of 2018!
