Have you ever wondered what the customer that lands on your ecommerce website is most annoyed with, if anything? In our previous articles we have written about what customers want to find when surfing an commerce shop, what they expect, what makes their shopping experience a really good one.
Today, we have a very interesting discussion going on in our office and it's about the latest feedback on what clients simply hate when shopping online. This is a good one you may learn a thing or two from so keep reading.
When your inventory is not updated in real time, they will get frustrated
The consultants from Simon-Kucher&Partners have conducted a study that indicated the most common reason for customers to be shopping online - convenience! To make sure your customers do get what they want and that is usually some of the most convenient and most popular products on your shelves, make sure your inventory is updated in real time. If there is something that will disappoint customers, this is finding out that the product they added to their cart is actually not available. That would mean they just spent time browsing on your website for nothing and they will not like that.
If they don't get what they thought they purchased, you will be in for some bad reviews
Imagine being really excited about getting a dress, a pair of shoes or maybe a tech gadget you just bought online for a great deal and then, when it arrives, realizing it does not match the picture or the description there was on the product page. How would you feel? Disappointed? Angry? Fooled?
Basically, it is really, really important to have product images and descriptions that match the reality of the product on the shelves. Images that make the product appear much much better than it really is or bad quality images that don't show what the product really looks like may be deceiving to customers. Also, product descriptions that are not accurate might push the customer away or to your competitor's website as he or she will be looking the find more information about the product.
The final cost of the customer's cart needs to be expected by the customer
According to the Worldplay Globile Online Shopper Report, half of the customers surveyed stated that they abandoned their basket because they were surprised by the final cost displayed. Basically, they did not like to discover that once all shipping fees and tax were added to the final price to pay, it was quite higher than what they expected to spend on your website.
To avoid cart abandonment because of this particular problem, you need to make the customer aware of the additional charges before he gets to check out. Either include these on your product page somewhere where you are sure the customer will see each additional charge to be included or add the info on your homepage.
In some of our previous articles, we have already talked about the importance of being transparent about your shipping and delivery fee. These need to be clear to the customer as soon as he starts browsing your product pages.
'Checking out as a guest' option: s very much appreciated
The people at Nielsen Norman have published some interesting facts about the most common complaints of online shoppers. Among the most popular complaints we find the requirement to log in/register for an account right before making the purchase. According to experts, having customers register at checkout makes your website usability quite low and the best way to avoid cart abandonment is by either simplifying the process of registration or enabling the 'Checking out as a guest' option.
If you still require customers to register in order for them to make a purchase, reduce the fields he or she needs to fill to a barely minimum. Don't include unnecessary fields such as title, date, phone number, sex and so on.
Prove to customers it's safe to shop and use credit cards on your site. Or they will leave.
Recently, CIO Magazine stated that 1/4 of online shoppers don't complete their purchases because they are scared the website they're on is not safe. You need to let customers know that their data and information is absolutely safe with you. One great way to assure customers about payment security is by partnering and branding third-party gateway payment. Find a third-party gateway page that is PCI compliant.
If you want for customers to make a payment directly through your website, ensure PCI compliance by following PCI DSS standards; also, use SSL certificates.
To assure protection in the long term, don't hang onto customer data; purge these while keeping data needed to process refunds and similar.
Encourage customers to read your security and privacy protection policy; you would be surprised how many of them will shop more frequently on your website just because they are certain it's absolutely safe!
Let customers review your services and products; this will help trusting your brand. A lot.
Product and service reviews let new, potential customers know about shoppers' experience with your brand. A customer will always trust more a fellow customer than anything you have to say to build your brand's reputation. Motivate customers to leave a positive review on your product pages by offering an excellent customer experience. Investing in a quality user-experience will pay back in the long run, trust us.
When shoppers can't touch, examine, and look around at physical proof of security and quality just like they would do IRL, it is very important to instill trust in your online ecommerce business. By offering customers data security, quality of products, a reliable shipping, and real time updates on your inventory, you will lower cart abandonment and earn many clients' loyalty.