E-commerce, the ability to perform major commerce transactions electronically, has become an important element in today’s business world. As the eCommerce option becomes a more viable alternative to a traditional retail model, companies are increasingly encouraging their potential customers to buy more products from their cost-effective, self-serve online stores. Amazon is a classic example of a benchmark E-commerce model that is being religiously followed by the likes of major retailers around the world including Walmart, Costco, Tesco, Alibaba, Argos, Flipkart and many more. According to researchers at eMarketer, Amazon is set to take 49.1% of all U.S. e-commerce sales in 2018—that works out to 5% of all retail sales in the country. In 2020, Amazon exceeded the expectations and clocked earnings growth in the holiday quarter with more than $3 billion in profit, sending shares soaring toward a $1 trillion valuation. While Amazon may be a big threat to Large Retailers, Small to medium size retailers or businesses can effectively fend off the Goliath with their innovative eCommerce best practices. Amazon will never be able to connect with small communities and push forward social ideals, give shoppers personalized, memorable experiences, or sell unique, quality goods.
Always be accessible to any online customer. For instance, adding a telephone number to the website header will make your customers more comfortable. Databox an Ecommerce Research company showed in an a/b test that adding a phone number to their homepage increases their conversion rate by +.5%, even though the test was not statistically significant it did show a positive trend.
Show standard shipping costs on every page. Adding Free shipping can be a game-changer. You can mark up the price in the product but making it free can increase your conversion. According to one of the online Survey report, free shipping was the number one reason for making a purchase, with more than 70% of people identifying it as ‘critical’ to the purchase. Amazon Prime is a Classic example where people love to pay a fixed fee rather than paying shipping fee on every order. Although they tend to order much more, this is indeed a clever strategy by Amazon.
Make your eCommerce Mobile friendly. Mobile continues to play an increasing role in the success of eCommerce. By 2021, mobile eCommerce sales are expected to account for 54% of total e-commerce sales. The e-commerce site should be well optimized for mobile users. Live chat and one-click calling really benefit your customers as they can reach you as and when they like, even on the move. This gives good customer experience and allows your buyer to make a purchase decision quickly and simply. You can connect with a Professional E-commerce web design company that has the skills and know-how to the Ecommerce industry and trends.
Businesses should not engage in deceptive practices related to the collection and use of consumers’ personal data. Be honest and candid with your customers.
Finally, get your website SEO optimized. SEO can help your ecommerce website rank higher, engage users, drive more traffic, and convert more leads. Optimize your product for promotional keywords like “gift,” “coupon,” and “discount” in your product pages. Place the most important keywords in page titles, headers, paragraph copy, product descriptions, image file names and alt text, meta title and description, and URLs. Add reviews, videos and other relevant product info to make your page more informative and enticing. Don’t try to overcrowd your page though. Focus on your readability and declutter your interface. This will optimize your website and make for a great first impression.
Always keep working on your website and add relevant content and product information to make it move lively. Consider each exercise if you desire to succeed in eCommerce.
