A good online store is able to build the loyalty and the support of its customers, sustaining itself through repeat purchases from those who not only appreciate the products that you sell, but the experience of buying them as well.
However, there are many online stores that do the exact opposite of this, leaving those potential future sales on the table and making sure that their customers aren’t likely to come back for a second or third purchase.
Here, we’re going to look at the mistakes that get them there, and how you can avoid them.
Poor Website Navigation
If it takes customers a lot of time to find exactly what they’re after, then they’re not likely to want to go through all that effort again. Even if they do make one purchase, it can leave a raw impression, with poor navigation being one of the biggest turn-offs in ecommerce.
When you’re designing your site, make it more appealing to customers not just through slick visuals, but through structured and sensible navigation that makes it much easier for them to find the products they want.
Hidden Fees During Checkout
There are some fees that your business isn’t going to be able to apply until after they have completed some details in checkout, such as delivery costs. That much is expected. However, the more fees you add, such as taxes or processing fees, the more likely you are to not only lose those customers who were ready to purchase, but they might also abandon their shopping cart entirely. Transparency is key, so, as much as possible, display total costs as soon as those items hit their cart.
Slow And Unreliable Deliveries
Getting your product in the hands of your customer is what ultimate builds their confidence, especially in the age of next-day shipping from most of the big online marketplaces.
A lot of customers have high expectations so, if your ecommerce store consistently delivers products late or doesn’t inform customers about delays, it can be a huge red flag.
If you’re not able to provide that yourself, working with professionals who can, like J&J Fulfilment, can make a big difference. Prompt and trackable deliveries can ensure that your customers have little to complain about.
Lack Of Support
Even if your customers are able to navigate your website without issue and receive deliveries just as expected, some of them are going to have questions and problems that they need a little help with. If they aren’t able to find the customer support that they need, then it can become a very negative shopping experience, indeed.
Using on-site chat widgets to make sure that someone is there to help them address their issues, or even AI chatbots for the most common questions, can make sure that they don’t feel like they’re left hanging.
Customer experience must always be at the forefront of your mind when you’re running an online store. It’s significantly cheaper to win over repeat customers than to keep reaching out to new ones, so make sure you’re not neglecting them.
