5 Must-Haves For Your eCommerce Online Shop
Gone are the days when purchasing goods and getting them delivered to your door only happened via catalogue, television shopping channels, and ads in the back of printed publications. Today’s shopping scene is e-fabulous, with more companies opting for eCommerce websites than ever.
Does your online shopping platform have what it takes to compete in the dog-eat-digi-dog world of eCommerce? We compiled five essential elements for every eCommerce website that will fill your customers’ carts and make your margins go up, up, and away.
- Sales and Special Offers
All the big-name eCommerce websites out there today have one thing in common: there is always something on sale. To offer a competitive edge to your product line, you have to make consumers think they are getting the best deal available, and tell them about those deals by advertising them on your homepage. Consumers these days have a huge amount of choice when it comes to online shopping, so if you want to make your products fly off the e-shelves, give the consumers a decent bargain, and don’t be afraid to tell them about it in a big way as soon as they land at your site. With every green light special you’ll get a happy customer, and a happy customer is more likely to be a returning customer.
- Easy Navigation
Large retail stores are specifically designed to have a certain flow to them so that as soon as you walk in the door you are taken on a journey through the store which shows you as much of the available product as possible – all while never being too far from a checkout. Your eCommerce store should be just as easy to navigate, with customers never having to search for the checkout page or look for where they can log in. Common practice for e-commerce websites these days is to put shopping cart, search, and login icons at the top of the page so that customers always have easy access to them.
- Readily Available Customer Service
We hope that nothing ever goes wrong with your eCommerce site, but mistakes do happen – in fact, we’re sorry to say that they’re inevitable. But it is how your company handles those mistakes that can keep a customer coming back. Building trust that your company solves problems quickly and always favours the customer is essential to having an eCommerce site, and the way to start that is by making your customer service both robust and easy to find. Instant chat is a recent trend that has become very popular due to its quick and easy access. Although email has been popular with many eCommerce sites, the time delay is a huge drawback to solving a customer’s problem. Always make sure you have a phone number that’s easy to find, with a dedicated customer service team on the other side, ready to handle any query that comes in.
- Security
It’s hard to turn on the news these days without hearing about another online security breach. Put your customers at ease by equipping your eCommerce website with state-of-the-art security. You’re dealing with credit cards and bank accounts, so you can’t be too careful. Give your customers the highest level of online protection and they will have the security to know they can trust that your business, and that you will take good care of their valuable information.
- User Reviews
Although you may experience and begrudge the occasional grumpy Gus, authentic reviews from real customers will give other customers a valuable tool to find information that they aren’t able to get from your site. What’s more, if you notice consistent problems with a product, you have been given a free quality control department! If you truly stand behind the products you sell – and you should! – then you shouldn’t be afraid to let your customers talk about them openly on your site.
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