Top Turn-Offs When Using E-Commerce Sites
Top Turn-Offs When Using E-Commerce Sites
Recession, reshmession at least when it comes to online shopping, it seems.
Though total retail sales have fallen in the last year, e-commerce is growing, at a rather astounding rate. Predictions in 2007 that online commerce by 2009 would have reached 28 billion have already been surpassed totting up a staggering total worth of 38 billion last year instead. The Forrester UK eCommerce Forecast for 2011 of 50 billion looks like it may well be exceeded too.
There are approximately 40 million internet users in the UK alone, and the online retail business is increasing steadily each year, even while traditional "face to face" retail statistics are falling. Consumers are using the web to find bargains to help save pennies during this tough financial time, and for speed and convenience rather than going to the shops. This includes shopping for basic necessities, like online supermarket delivery. The shift has been made, it seems, since most research for products is done online, it's an obvious step to order it there and then, rather than make a trip out to a store. Last year, Amazon.com's sales increased by $7.11 billion, regardless of the difficult economic climate we're facing.
If you run an e-commerce site, then you should be rather happy about all of this, but there are still important aspects to be mindful of when running an online retail company. Given the massive range of choices and options available to internet consumers, we are becoming far more discernable about the sites we use. Having a firm brand reputation and good SERP ranking is a great start (check out our summary of Matt Cutts' site review at Google I/O for tips on optimising your site), but there are also plenty of "turn-offs" to try to avoid when creating or developing your site. Here's Ikroh's list of the top bugbears which put people off using an e-commerce site, and what you can do to help your site be accessible, usable and effective:
Bad Navigation Getting lost, confused or frustrated while navigating a website is a top turn-off when trying to purchase something online. Make your navigation logical, helpful and easy to use. Users rarely want to click more than twice to get anywhere they want to go. Make things obvious for them.
Inaccurate Representation of Products Provide large (or enlargeable), clear, accurate photos of your products. What they see is what they want to get. Relevant close ups and options for different views or varieties are always a bonus too. Let's face it, people don't want to have to imagine what their shoes are going to look like in bright orange they want to see it for real. You'll also avoid disgruntled customers complaining what they've received looks nothing like the descriptive picture.
Unclear/Misleading Shipping Charges Display your shipping costs and methods on your homepage or header whatever you do, make it easy to find. Unless you're charging extortionate amounts for flying products in on the back of a golden eagle, you should have nothing to hide. It's a pain to have to search for shipping costs, or get to the checkout to discover you could have got cheaper postage elsewhere. And the WORST one is claiming "Free P+P!" when really there are catches involved, eg: "Psyche! It's only free P+P when you spend 50 or more" or similar tricks. Don't lie. Your pants will catch fire.
Crappy/Elusive Customer Services This goes hand in hand with the shipping issues. Important things to display prominently on your site are: Shipping and Returns Info, Privacy Policy and Contact Details. Respond to feedback/questions/complaints PROMPTLY, by email or phone. Don't send people round and round with automated responses allow them to get in touch with a real person. Bad or good, customer service reputation is one of the main aspects of your company that is guaranteed to be discussed through make-or-break word of mouth .
Registration Sites which require registration before placing an order may well lose customers who can't be bothered/don't want to give out their information. Don't make it difficult for your consumers to get what they want. If they enjoy the service you provide, they'll use you again. You will generally take contact details anyway during checkout for returns/queries, so people don't want to have to remember a password or feel like they're being tied into a company when they just want to buy a DVD. Back in 2008, a scam' registration subscription ona website called Redsaveended up taking 19.95/month from registered users' accounts because the clause was hidden misleadingly within the T&C registration requests don't inspire trust in customers after all, you don't have to sign up your details to shop in a regular store, do you?
Longwinded/Complicated/Unsecure Payment Processes Preferably, make customers able to complete the payment process in one or two pages simple as possible. Make the details of sale clear, and give options on how to pay not everyone trusts Paypal and most of all, make sure it's SECURE. Stalling pages with further recommendations are annoying, as are separate credit card number fields that you have to tab through after every 4 numbers, grrrr. Enable cart tracking every step of the way, and make it easy to change options and deselect/add additional items.
Cluttered, Disorganised Layout Get your grandma to test out your site. Or your three year old. Or that hermit who thinks he's Napoleon. Usability is paramount make it perfectly acceptable for an utterly un-web-savvy consumer to make short work of ordering something from you. Even things like making sure your product picture, info and all relevant links ("add to cart" etc) are above the fold, so the customer doesn't even need to scroll down an inch. Cluttered pages full of recommended products, offers and random info distracts from the main aim of accessing that page to PURCHASE.
Slooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooow Response and Shipping The purpose of using an e-commerce site is usually for speed and value for money. To go through the whole sequence only to discover it's going to be 2 weeks until you see your item arrrghhhhhh! Here's to Fast Shipping we all love it; it could be the reason your site is chosen over another. Similarly, regular, prompt updates on how your order is processing and when it will be shipped keeps customers happy and reassured.
Rubbish Promos Like the point about fake free postage and scammy registrations be honest about what you're really offering. Hooking someone in by promising technically untrue promotions leaves a bad taste in the customer's mouth, and they're likely to drop off your site then and there. Think carefully about what you want to offer genuinely (or even a limited period of) free shipping, money off vouchers, half price sales, BOGOF offers you don't have to completely cripple yourself, but it's worth offering a decent, honest promotion now and again, with no strings attached.
Badly Writton/Spelld Content Ahem. Spot the deliberate mistakes. Proofread. Several times. Read it aloud, check spelling and grammar, make sure what you're claiming is true. At the very least, it looks rushed, shoddy and unprofessional to have mistakes and typos on an apparently professional site, and doesn't promote trust in your brand.
No Reviews/Feedback Anyone can write a fake testimonial and publish it on-page. I don't know of many people who take quotes like that as absolute truth, even if they are. Comment and review forms for products and services allow customers or site viewers to insert their own opinions, which are not only extremely helpful for the potential consumer, but give you, as the host, an insight into which items are popular, and which are perhaps not worth stocking in the future. It shows that people have bought from you, have been pleased with your service (hopefully) and want to share their experience.
Take advantage of the change in the consumer climate and make your site as easy to use as possible. Many, many people find shopping, even online, a pleasurable experience. Giving customers what they want, along the simplest route possible, will increase your sales. Along with your SEO plan, you should always be observing which aspects of your website are successful and which need tweaking. Don't be an annoying, irritating or frustrating e-commerce provider the more helpful your site is, the more popular it will be.
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