According to Statista, in 2021, retail e-commerce sales amounted to approximately 4.9 trillion U.S. dollars worldwide. This figure is forecast to grow by 50 percent over the next four years, reaching about 7.4 trillion dollars by 2025.
There’s no one-size-fits-all answer to the question of what eCommerce best practices businesses should follow in order to improve customer experience and boost sales and business growth. However, there are some key principles that all businesses should keep in mind when developing their eCommerce strategy.
Here are eCommerce best practices that every business can keep an eye on to stay ahead of the eCommerce game.
1. AR/VR Are Transforming eCommerce
Augmented reality and virtual reality are changing the way customers shop online. Now eCommerce businesses can provide a more engaging experience to their customers. A new study says people are more likely to buy from brands that use Virtual Reality (VR).
This means making sure your products can be virtually experienced by potential customers who are using AR/VR technology to find products or services like yours.
With AR and VR, you can build virtual showrooms and enable buyers to explore products like they do when in real showrooms no matter where they are. Buyers can experience all product features and capabilities in the virtual landscape first-hand.
With more and more buyers expecting AR/VR experience, it’s important to make sure your eCommerce website is AR/VR ready. That means having a design that looks good on all AR/VR devices, as well as ensuring that your site loads quickly and is easy to navigate.
Adding this technology means eCommerce businesses can innovate in a varied way to provide a unique experience to their customers. Everything can be experienced from a new dimension.
2. Use voice search friendly product content
Another key element of a successful eCommerce website is the use of voice search. This is important for two reasons: first, because it helps potential customers quickly search using their voice and understand what your product is and whether it meets their needs; and second, because it can help speed up the search process, customers can have more fun in searching the product using their voice.
33.2 million US consumers are expected to shop using a smart speaker in 2022.
In voice search, it is important to use voice search-friendly product content and high-quality product images. Customers want to explore more before they make the final buying decision, so make sure to use clear and sharp voice search queries that accurately represent the products you’re selling.
3. Integrate Chatbots to provide seamless customer service
One of the most important eCommerce best practices is to provide excellent customer service. This means ensuring that your customers have a positive experience when dealing with your business, from the initial purchase all the way through to after-sales support. Chatbots are turning out to be one of the best tools to quickly resolve customer queries and improve their experience.
The #1 benefit of chatbots is 24/7 support, according to consumers.
4. Provide multiple payment options
Giving customers multiple payment options is one of the best ways to improve the checkout experience and boost sales.
Accepting major credit cards, PayPal, and other popular payment methods will make it easier for customers to complete their purchases, which will lead to more sales for your business.
5. Improve individualized experiences.
In the last year, businesses have lost $756 billion because of poor eCommerce personalization. (OptinMonster).
In today’s time, customers expect an individualized experience no matter where and when they buy, and that requires efforts in personalization. Using artificial intelligence and machine learning, behavioral engine, and online tracking technologies, you can change the way your customers shop by proving them a tailored and individualized experience.
Along with that, you should always make sure your eCommerce site has excellent customer service. This includes providing helpful and responsive customer support, as well as offering easy returns and refunds.
6. Automated Process
Customers love automation, so offering it on your eCommerce website is a great way to improve the shopping experience and boost sales. Automation in filling their existing shipping address, recommendation of automatically applying discount coupons, and other lucrative stuff that simplify buying cycle is a great way to encourage customers to shop on your eCommerce site.
Given the growing expectations from buyers, eCommerce trends will see more automation, such as automatic address filling, automated accounts payable, accounts receivable, reordering, and fulfillment. More you resolve customers’ pain points with automation using the latest technology, you can carve an earlier niche for your digital business.
7. Upsell by offering competitive pricing
In today’s eCommerce market, customers have a lot of choices when it comes to where they buy products or services. As such, it’s important that you offer competitive pricing if you want to attract and retain customers.
Discounts and coupons are a great way to attract customers to your eCommerce site. You can offer discounts on certain products or services, or you can offer coupons that can be used for future purchases.
8. Analyze your eCommerce data
Make sure to analyze the data from your eCommerce site regularly. This will help you identify what’s working well and what needs improvement.
Product reviews and ratings are a great way to analyze what customers think about your products and how they feel about using your products. More information about the products you receive, it will help you make informed decisions for sales growth. Including customer reviews on your product pages can increase conversions by up to 58%, so they’re definitely worth considering if you want to improve your eCommerce website.
Moreover, you must analyze data from different channels so that you always get in-depth insights on how is the behavior of your customers across different channels, which channel they prefer to place an order, and which channel has the least traction. Based on these data insights, you can refine your strategy to improve sales.
Besides that, use social media to analyze your buyers’ behavior. Social media is also a great way to promote your eCommerce site. You can use it to share new products, offer discounts, and drive traffic to your site.
9. Keep your eCommerce site secure, updated and up-to-trend
Customers want to know that their personal and financial information is safe when they shop on your eCommerce site. So, make sure your site is secure by using an SSL certificate and keeping your software up-to-date.
Your eCommerce site should always be up-to-date with the latest trends and technologies. This will help you keep up with the competition and attract more customers. A majority of online shoppers use their mobile devices to shop online. So, it’s important to make sure your eCommerce site is mobile-friendly. This will make it easier for customers to browse and purchase products on your site. Keep up-to-date with the latest eCommerce trends so you can stay ahead of the competition. You can do this by reading blogs, attending conferences, and following eCommerce experts on social media.
By following these eCommerce best practices, you can give your customers the best possible experience and keep them coming back for more. So don’t wait, start implementing these strategies today.
