4 features that every E-commerce store needs to have

The modern consumer no longer wants to venture to the high street to purchase items, but rather prefers to shop from home, making e-commerce a convenient solution for businesses and consumers alike. So, why not take advantage of this e-commerce boom? For any online store, here are four must-have features.

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HIGH-QUALITY IMAGES

HIGH-QUALITY IMAGES

The physical retail world is very different from the online world, which may seem obvious at first. Many people don’t see this right away. Shops provide a tactile experience; in most cases, you can touch, handle, and see the product. 

Photos play a huge role in converting traffic into sales, whether we like it or not. We are, however, largely driven by our visual senses over other senses. Visual perception accounts for about 80% of all information we perceive in the world. As a result, we say things like ‘I’ll believe it when I see it’ and ‘The camera never lies’. When we shop online, we usually make up our minds from the visuals even before reading the description. Without a clear photo, customers are less likely to buy.

In fact, a brand’s visual presentation is crucial to conveying its quality to its customers since nearly half of us judge a store’s credibility based on image quality. It’s no surprise that 93% of consumers make their final online purchase decisions based on product images.

THE IMPORTANCE OF REVIEWS

The vast majority of consumers say they are influenced by online reviews when they make a purchase. A company’s success can be determined by its online reviews, and it’s not an understatement. Consider your last Amazon purchase, for example. You probably checked the product’s overall star rating first. 

The purpose of online reviews and testimonials is to build trust among customers. This is especially true when it comes to e-commerce sales since shoppers cannot get product information from store associates.

Curating your product reviews and showing only the best can be tempting, but this can backfire. If all reviews are extremely positive, customers are less likely to trust the reviews if they are 4.7 – 5.0. Those products are less likely to be purchased than those in the 4.2 – 4.7 range.

THE PURCHASE MUST BE INTUITIVE

In order to make the purchase process easier, all potential barriers should be removed. Make it easy for your audience to find and compelling for them to click on your call to action. Make sure the button colour contrasts sufficiently with the surroundings and use short, urgent wording.

The Buy button isn’t the only thing that matters. The average number of e-commerce visitors who abandon their shopping baskets before checking out is 69%. 

A large number of users who add products to their basket are still exploring their options and are not yet ready to purchase. 43% of those who abandon their checkout process before paying, despite having the purchase intent, cite complicated checkout processes as the reason.

LOYALTY REWARDS

Market share can be grown and sustained through customer loyalty programs. New products are more likely to sell to consumers who are already enthusiastic about a brand.

The cost of gaining a new customer can be five times higher than that of retaining an existing one, according to research. A second purchase by an existing customer is usually made within 16 days of their first purchase, and they tend to spend more as well. Rewards programmes are a highly effective way of keeping your customers loyal, ensuring they come back to shop with you again and again. 

WHY FIREBRAND

At Firebrand, we offer a full web design and development service. This service is delivered by our in-house team which combines various elements such site creation, site management, site development, promotion and GDPR compliancy. This combination of skills ensures that we deliver the best results as each element of our management is undertaken by a specialist in their field resulting in a website which is on brand, eye catching, and professional.

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