The new destination for all shopaholics is the online platform. Gone are the days, when people would hop from shop to shop to buy stuff. Today, thanks to digitization, you can buy clothes, jewelry, accessories, home decor, and even your daily grocery through online stores. While for the buyers, online stores are all about convenience and choice, for the online store owners, it means a great business opportunity.
Online stores that opened in 2003, had very little competition and thus could grow easily, without much effort. But today, the competition is huge as there are more than 24 million online stores across the internet and, as per a recent report, 1.8 billion people worldwide shop online.
So, let’s understand how we can cut through the clutter and make our online store stand out from the others, and generate more checkouts.
1. Customer friendly eCommerce Website
It does not matter if you are selling a product that many others are also selling. What really matters is how do you showcase these products on your website. Make navigation simple and easy, if customers struggle to search and find the right products, then they are more likely to leave your online store. So, keep the website load time minimal, design your website with appealing colors, simple font and most importantly – keep it clean and easy to use.
2. Use high-resolution images
Good quality images are very important because only based on the images, the customer is making a decision. Therefore, do not compromise on the quality of product images.
3. Give detailed product descriptions
Google understands the content, so websites that have descriptive product information will have a greater chance of appearing on the top search results. Additionally, descriptions give consumers a better understanding of the product.
For example, if a customer wants to buy a mobile phone, then it is important to mention the specifications, warranty and other information related to the device in detail. This gives them greater confidence to hit the checkout button.
4. Build a strong online reputation
Online purchase is mostly dependent on the credibility of the brand. For instance, if you have a negative mention on any of the social media sites, then chances are that people viewing the post might turn away from your site. Therefore, it is important to manage customers and earn their trust.
Take time to understand their needs and address every query or complaint immediately. Brands that have positive customer reviews attract more business. So, work towards gaining their trust and love.
5. Provide discounts and offers
Giving away a small portion of your profit to the customers in the form of discounts and deals can earn you more new customers. You can design special deals on a weekly basis and promote them through online marketing. Customers are always attracted to these deals and if your offer is better than the others, then you are sure to generate more sales.
6. Plan your production to avoid storage
This point is relevant to those online stores that sell a specific brand and customers usually come to these sites because they want to buy the branded product. For such stores, it is important to ensure that you are always product ready. Today there are different types of production scheduling software available in the market, so pick one of them and automate your production cycle, effortlessly.
7. Lift your site with a strong SEO
‘What you see is what you buy.’
Today in the world of online clutter, if you want to stand out on the first page of any search engine, then SEO is a must for you. With the help of Search Engine Optimization, you can target specific words and make your site appear on top, whenever the customer searches for these explicit keywords.
8. Add a live chat feature
Use a live chat plugin on your site. This feature will give your customers a chance to directly interact with you. Research has shown that websites that have a live chat feature, are more trusted by customers. Through the live chat feature, you can either answer the customer queries yourself or you can integrate a chatbot. A bot is built on artificial intelligence and can respond to customers immediately.
9. Provide all possible payment options
On the online space, every customer is unique. They have specific preferences not only in products but also in the way they choose their payment options. Therefore, give them all the popular payment options, including the choice of cash on delivery.
10. Offer free shipping
Customers do not mind paying for the product, what they dislike is the invisible shipping cost. So, if you can provide free shipping to those customers who register with you, then you will not only have higher registrations but also attract more customers. Initially, it might seem like a burden, but in the long run, you will stand out to be a better choice for customers, who hate paying the extra shipping cost.
Conclusion
The future of retail is e-commerce, so use the above tips and make site the most desired online store. Customers are today spending more than 10 hours a day on the online space, so it’s time you highlight yourself and increase your online visibility.