Like most things in life, building a successful eCommerce site can be a bit of trial and error. Essentially, shopping habits are all about human psychology so to have the gift of the gab, you really need to be a mind reader. Luckily, for those of us who don’t have ESP, there are other strategies to utilise.
There’s no doubt that the growth of the eCommerce industry has been very rapid. Competition is only getting fiercer as everyone is fighting for customers’ attention. From attracting a potential customer to growing their interest and finally convincing them to buy your product, everything about your eCommerce site is part of the process. It is the physical store, the sales rep, the customer service agent and more.
Certain eCommerce website mistakes are very common, and they can have huge effects on revenue numbers. Just as a store’s salesperson can be uninformative, so can a website. Let’s take a look at the 7 most common eCommerce website mistakes and how you can avoid them…
1 – Poor Mobile Design
These days, 60% of internet users are on a mobile device and as a result, 40% of people will choose an alternative search result if their first experience is not mobile-friendly. Lucky for you, if a user has a positive experience with a mobile-friendly website they are 67% more likely to buy a product or use a service so always ensure your website is mobile-optimised.
2 – Slow Load Time
If your site doesn’t load within 4 seconds, it’s considered a bad user experience. Worse, if your site takes longer than 5 seconds to load you’re losing nearly 50% of your visitors. Time is money people!
3 – No Sense of Urgency
Are you creating urgency? If not, you really should be. By telling your customers that they have a limited time to act or by only giving them a small amount of options, you’re helping them to make a purchasing decision.
4 – Lack Of Customer Value Proposition
Why should a customer buy from you? It is essential to define the value of your product or service. A carefully crafted customer value proposition will swiftly move your customers down the sales funnel and lead to a higher conversion rate.
5 – Over-Complicated Language
Never confuse the customer. Use simple language to describe your product. Over-complicating the terminology will only serve to deter sales. Get straight to the point and use a message that is easy to comprehend and concise.
6 – Poor Checkout Experience
On average, 69% of shopping carts are abandoned at checkout. Fact. But never fear, most checkouts can be optimised to significantly reduce this rate. Did you know most websites have 39 potential areas for checkout improvement? The largest contributing factors to abandonment are: high additional costs, no guest checkout option and a lengthy or over-complicated process.
7 – No Clear Call To Action (CTA)
A lack of CTAs is a blatant missed opportunity. Good CTAs can dramatically increase conversion rates as it helps visitors take action. Ensure your CTA is optimised by testing its colour and location. It needs to be engaging to encourage action. But remember, bigger is not always better. Test and optimise.