Consumers moving to online retail has been one of the biggest fashion of the last ten years. Consumers are more at ease with buying products online from daily necessities to luxury goods. Ecommerce has seen significant and steady growth every year. Providing a great customer experience is not an option anymore, it’s a must-have for any retail business to assure growth. Buyers are always making comparisons between the eCommerce customer experience that you offer with that of your competitors. Providing the best service is a necessity, and for that, you need to know a few ways to create the best eCommerce customer experience and make sure your customers are delighted to buy from you.
What is an Ecommerce Experience?
Customer experience is a broad term as it encompasses digital and offline experiences from the very first stage when the customers hear about your company to the post-purchase scenario.
Ecommerce customer experience specifically means the way your customers perceive your service while purchasing online. Ecommerce experience can be widely varying but you need to make sure that the service you’re offering to your customers is simple but satisfying. Your customers shouldn’t be discontented while making their purchase, which may lead them to shift to another platform.
The customer experience needs to be designed and delivered according to your plan. There is no single rule, focus on your business and make sure that your approach is unique enough.
Use the Best Search Engine to Improve Your Ecommerce Website
Research suggests that the majority of customers consider search engines to be the most important feature of any website. You need to make sure that your customers have easy access to various categories of items that you offer. Around 40% of the customers are dependent on the site search engine and users who use the search option are likely to convert more thus increasing your sales by bringing around 40% of the total revenue.
Customers tend to avoid websites that are not user-friendly and they find it difficult to navigate, so you need to make sure that you’re focusing on your search engine to improve the eCommerce experience. Along with website designing, product description, proper navigation throughout the website, and check-out process, make sure to focus on the search.
If your on-site search engine doesn’t work well for the users, you will lose them even before conversion. Failure at a basic level means they have no reason to return. Your search engine helps the customer to navigate through the website once they arrive at your site. A customer will need a proper tool to narrow down their search.
What Does Having a Good Search Engine Mean?
- Loading is quick
Speed is extremely important. Your search engine should work fast, and relevant results should be shown in 2 seconds.
- Auto-Complete
Another important feature your search engine should have. Auto-complete increases sales by around 20%. People are more than happy if they have to do less work and get better facilities. Auto-complete would suggest exactly what they are looking for, just by typing the first 2-3 letters. Customer eCommerce experience will be better perceived if customers have to do less typing or scrolling.
- Typo-Correction
Help your visitors by auto-correcting their typing mistakes. This is a complementary feature to auto-complete. Typo-correction is a must-have because if there’s a single mistake while typing, it may show no relevant results and customers would have to check by themselves, which will slow down the whole process.
- Product Images in Search
Online shoppers would love to buy from your website if you provide authentic product pictures in HD quality. Product images are mandatory if you want your conversion rate to increase, but customers are more likely to check a product page if the images are displayed in the search itself.
- Depend on Synonyms
Many eCommerce websites do not support the functionality of synonyms. In easy words, in case your customer is looking for a product that you sell, but they fail to use the exact terms, the search might show zero results. Thus synonyms functionality is an extremely significant feature that you need to add to your search engine box.
What are the Other Ways to Improve Your Customer Experience?
- Undergo a Customer Satisfaction Survey
First and foremost, you need to understand that customer satisfaction is extremely important for your customer experience to improve. You must know what your customers think about your service to make developments that will be important to your customers.
- Create a VoC (Voice or Customer) Survey
To actively listen to your customers and their needs, creating a VoC is a good choice. You can help you get regular feedback through VoC. You’ll have a better idea about your customers’ likes and dislikes and you can inquire if any area needs development.
- Consistency
You need to be consistent because customers expect the best experience across the increasing set of channels. Try to eliminate data and service silos, to be consistent.
- Product Content
If you put high-quality products on your website, it will help to provide an outstanding eCommerce customer experience. You will always want your products to be displayed in such a way that will attract your customers.
- Quick Response
Customers are expecting fast action no matter what the circumstances. Your responses should be fast enough to give them the idea that you genuinely care for them. Quickly acknowledge if there’s any issue and assure them to work on resolving immediately.
Final Thoughts
Improving customer experience isn’t a one-time task but you need to keep up with your increasing number of customers and their needs. Make sure to keep it simple and enjoyable so that you can gain the loyalty of your customers. Keep in mind that your ecommerce customer experience has an effective way for your buyers to get proper help when there’s an issue, and get all their queries solved. Making the online shopping experience as close to the in-shop experience would make your customers feel delighted.
