E-commerce trends continually evolve in sync with advances in technology and financial services. What might have worked well a few years ago may no longer prove sufficient for strategizing your business. Increasing revenue and driving customer loyalty rely upon making a strong first impression and maintaining customer trust.
Best Practices for E-commerce Businesses
In the growing e-commerce space, it’s more essential than ever to prioritize industry-proven guidelines to set yourself apart from competitors and combat market saturation. Below, we walk through the best practices for e-commerce businesses in 2023.
Create a Mobile App
Currently, smartphones account for 73 percent of global retail site traffic. Customers using smartphones generate 63 percent of online shopping orders. In today’s e-commerce world, your store cannot reach its full potential with only a website. Mobile apps are more convenient, and users prefer them. In fact, your current customers purchasing via your website would overwhelmingly prefer a mobile app.
Along with creating a mobile app, ensure that your site is mobile-friendly and encourage conversions. For example, be sure to include short CTAs such as “Buy Now” that make checkout easier for visitors.
Offer a Store Card
Offering your customers a branded store card can increase sales and build customer loyalty. Customers who use private label cards tend to spend more and take advantage of store promotions. These branded cards also give you access to valuable consumer spending data that you can’t get from other payment sources. Plus, processing costs for store cards are considerably lower than costs for credit cards.
Expedite the Checkout Process
In 2023, the average cart abandonment rate is a shocking 70 percent. The majority of cart abandonments, over 58 percent, occur because the user was just browsing. Other reasons for cart abandonment include:
- High additional costs, such as taxes and shipping
- Need to create an account
- Complicated checkout process
- Too few payment methods
- Payment security concerns
- No discounts or promo codes
By improving the ease of checkout, you are likely to retain customers and lower the rate of abandoned carts. There’s not much you can do about the customer who only wants to browse, but you can do a lot to address the other issues. For example, customers want a frictionless checkout experience. Reduce friction by boiling the process down to its essence:
- Shopping cart
- Billing info
- Shipping info
- Shipping method
- Preview order
- Payment
- Confirmation
Additionally, you can cater to customers by adding more payment options, such as digital wallets. Make sure to reassure customers with payment security concerns by prominently displaying your SSL certificate.
Boost Your Site’s Navigational Experience
Is your site easy to navigate? If it isn’t, you are bound to lose customers. The key is keeping navigation simple and intuitive. Add a search bar to direct customers to their desired destinations with ease. A top navigation menu improves UX.
Additionally, get rid of clutter. You don’t want to confuse or alienate potential customers with tons of information from the moment they arrive on your site. Focus on your products, with the top sellers featured prominently. Use the most attractive, high-quality images possible. The downside of an e-commerce store vs. a brick-and-mortar establishment is that online customers cannot feel your products. Keep in mind that in-store shopping is now increasing after the lull of the past few years. Counteract that increase by substituting a premier visual e-commerce experience to drive sales.
Make sure your website and app are fast. Slow site speed is another reason customers decide to shop elsewhere.
Strengthen Social Media
Integrate your site with social media. Integration with top-value influencer platforms like Instagram increases sales from mobile app users. Find out which social media sites are the most popular with your customer demographic.
Besides sales, social media can also strengthen customer service. By addressing any problems promptly through DMs or comments, you can efficiently create a loyal customer base.
Increase Customer Transparency
Customer transparency is a key to customer loyalty. Keep your customers abreast of changes in costs and other factors relating to your business. In addition, by initiating thoughtful and targeted loyalty programs, you do more than increase all-important customer loyalty. Such moves also foster a sense of community among your clientele. A mobile app also increases the rate at which customers join loyalty programs.
Boost Your E-commerce Expertise With Tandym
At Tandym, we want the best for your business. Our digital store cards enable you to drive loyalty and increase revenue. With Tandym, you can reduce your processing costs by 80% while rewarding your best customers. Let Tandym help you reach your e-commerce goals with a personalized store card. Request a demo today!
Sources:
Statista: Global retail site device visit & order share 2022 | Statista
US Chamber of Commerce: How to Build a Mobile-Friendly E-Commerce Website (uschamber.com)
Baymard Institute: 48 Cart Abandonment Rate Statistics 2023 – Cart & Checkout – Baymard Institute
