Your online business is up and running. Great! More and more consumers are relying on ecommerce and it’s easy to see why. Compared to brick and mortar, the benefits of ecommerce are many: It’s expedient. It’s convenient. It’s cost-effective. And with a great, intuitive design, it’s simple.
But often the missing piece when you have an online platform is giving your customers a personalized experience. Providing that tailored experience can make the difference between having repeat customers, and “bouncers” who leave your site without making a purchase. Personalizing the experience has been shown to reduce bounce rate, which directly correlates to increased revenue, and creates loyal, happy customers. A few personal touches have been shown to go a long way toward generating more revenue.
It’s November, and a customer in Florida came upon to your website looking for walking shoes, but the first thing she finds is a banner advertising your winter moccasins. Perfect for your Michigan customers, but you’ve just lost this one who will likely go elsewhere for more beachy footwear.
The solution? Track your site’s Average Order Value (AOV) and personalize your page for individual customers based on their viewing history and location. Using personalized metrics will allow you to target your customer with relevant promotions. Clean, bold banners with promotions and product recommendations at the top of the page will immediately let the customer know they are in the right place.
So you’ve got your customer’s attention with a promotion or a product recommendation. Awesome! Let’s make sure they get march into their shopping carts. There are a few simple ways to use what you know about your customers’ behavior that result in improved AOV and Conversion Rate:
Reduce shopping card advancement, where customers place items in their cart only to abandon them. As mentioned above, part of that is due to unexpected costs in shipping or tax, so be upfront so that you don’t surprise your shopper. Make sure your checkout process has intuitive design so that it is easy and pleasant to use.
You can also add a Wish List button. Perhaps your customer didn’t purchase products that day, but if they are given the option for later purchase with a wish list, they are more likely to come back and buy it in the future. Remember to create urgency using limited offers so that they don’t move on for too long.
If your customer does abandon their cart, another personal touch is following up with an email that has intuitive design for easy access to their saved items direct from their email. This is also an opportunity for providing additional personalized recommendations.
Implementing these features will give your customers the personal shopping experience that translates into increased revenue. The bottom line: Get to know your customers’ behavior so that you don’t miss opportunities to improve your ecommerce business and stand out from the rest.