Today's users interact with sites and applications expecting to find what they are looking for easily. Consequently, increasingly intuitive, optimized and responsive websites are needed to respond to new requests. These sites should be capable of ensuring easy and fast navigation. To improve the online experience, the first step to take is to optimize the User Experience and therefore the shopping experience in the case of an e-commerce business.
According to data provided by Amazon Service, 88% of online shoppers say they do not want to visit a website again if the browsing experience is negative: it is no coincidence that pages with loading times between 1 and 2 seconds have much higher conversion rates than the others. According to Econsultancy, at least 40% of visitors leave a web page that takes more than three seconds to load, while 78% of consumers have abandoned a transaction or refused an intended purchase due to a poor service experience (Source: American Express).
These are statistics that can no longer be ignored by companies that intend to sell online, for which the website represents an increasingly strategic tool for retaining or acquiring new customersIn this context, it becomes essential to improve the User Experience (UX) of your e-commerce business: let us see what all the advantages and strategies should be implemented to gain competitiveness and meet user expectations.
Build customer loyalty. Understanding people's needs precisely and identifying behavioral habits makes interaction with the brand more satisfying: an added value that helps build customer loyalty through personalized and dynamic navigation.
Get more conversions and leads. Making the UX of an e-commerce simpler and more intuitive is an important goal for companies that sell online: a high level of satisfaction in fact affects the conversion rate and the acquisition of new leads.
Improve search engine rankings. Optimizing a site to improve its usability will inevitably facilitate good positioning on search engines, thanks to visual elements and effective language that allow you to increase interaction with your target audience.But what are the elements to take into consideration to design a truly effective User Experience?
Strategies to improve the user experience concern various strategic aspects of the platform, from design to language to content customization, but there are many often underestimated factors that can bring indisputable benefits to a company's business.
Here are some tips to put into practice to offer a browsing experience in line with user expectations.
Understand your users and their needs. The first step to improving UX is understanding who your users are and what they need and expect from your product or service. This can be done through market analyses, focus groups, interviews, surveys and usability tests. Each element of an online shop, from textual content to graphics, represents a strategic factor for improving communication with the user: from the tone of voice to the images chosen for the different sections, it is necessary to be able to convey the brand's values effectively, together with the strengths and characteristics of the products or services sold. The elements with which the visitor interacts on the screen can significantly improve his level of satisfaction, guiding him in navigation from the beginning to the conclusion of the transaction. For this reason, it is extremely important that all elements are coordinated with the corporate image.
Optimize the product pages and the most strategic sections of the website. To make an e-commerce website perform better, it is essential to make the strategic elements visible and quickly navigable. This will help the user to find what he is looking for and complete the transaction in just a few clicks. Use product images in HD and with professional shots! Customers prefer to see every little detail of what they want to buy. Including detailed descriptions of the products highlighting the technical characteristics, the materials, the conditions of purchase and the advantages will help to respond immediately to the doubts or questions that may arise from users. Featuring customer reviews, ratings, and feedback also helps build trust and credibility. Finally, clarifying any costs associated with shipping and offering multiple payment options by letting the user choose the most convenient method in line with their needs can help a conversion by reducing the cart abandonment rate.
Optimize processes for performance. To improve the online shopping experience, it is equally important to simplify processes, avoiding cumbersome checkout procedures when closing transactions, registering users or verifying data: the navigation path must be as clear and fluid as possible, to help users find what they are looking for quickly, possibly including clearly visible and easily clickable icons and "calls to action" to facilitate conversion. The technical optimization process involves minimizing the loading times of pages, images, clickable and interactive elements, optimizing for different devices and screen sizes and ensuring that the website is stable. Be careful not to use obsolete technologies for programming: if your existing e-commerce or platform are not optimized, it is necessary to focus on restyling the platform by relying on partners specialized in website development and UX design.
Adopt responsive design. The eye also plays its part! The design of a platform, landing page or product sheet can affect the user experience. This includes the layout, font used, color scheme and the content elements therein. Optimizing the website for mobile use and other mobile devices will help you reach more users who increasingly buy from smartphones or tablets: the best way to do this is to prepare the design of each page of your e-commerce business, to simplify its usability regardless of the type of device used. A simple and intuitive language and a streamlined menu, with clearly visible and hierarchically organized items, will make your portal friendly.
Periodically analyze data and collect feedback. To improve the User Experience of a website, it is essential to integrate the strategies listed with a careful analysis of data and user feedback: knowing the statistics regarding the most visited pages, the best-selling products, the bounce rate and the devices from which users surf more frequently can be of great help to continue to improve the offer. Results that can be obtained by contacting specialized companies that take care of creating and optimizing professional websites by offering integrated digital solutions. Collecting feedback is also very important: one of the most effective ways to improve user experience is to get feedback from users themselves. This can be done through a/b testing and surveys.
Mail Boxes Etc. can help you improve the User Experience of your site: the Digital Solutions of MBE help you reach your audience and build an effective online presence. Make your online business even more effective and improve the shopping experience of your e-commerce business with the help of an expert partner.