A digital commerce expert and the co-founder at Kinex Media Inc, a creative digital agency in Toronto.
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E-commerce has gained momentum during the Covid-19 pandemic, and according to one survey, online shopping behaviors have been permanently changed. Looking back from the beginning of the pandemic to the present day, many of us have learned a lot from the changes we’ve experienced. Here are the e-commerce lessons I’ve learned.
Online Ordering With Curbside Pickup Is Key
As e-commerce has grown, so has the popularity of curbside pickup. Many retailers with brick-and-mortar stores have adopted the system of allowing customers to order goods online and pick them up in the parking lot. This method is a massive hit as customers are able to collect their orders without even exiting their vehicles. This tells me that the physical stores are not going anywhere.
The takeaway for e-commerce retailers is that you may want to consider whether you can offer curbside pickup to earn more revenue and make your customers happy. To implement it, first make sure that customers understand the process. Highlight it on your website using real images or videos, and show all of the things (such as signs for your designated pickup area) that you’ll be offering.
Augmented Reality Enhances E-Commerce
Many shoppers expect a personalized experience from retailers. Augmented reality can help with that by allowing consumers to see how products look on them or in their homes. What is AR? Investopedia defines it as “an enhanced version of the real physical world that is achieved through the use of digital visual elements, sound, or other sensory stimuli delivered via technology.” For example, shoppers can use apps with AR features to see how a piece of furniture looks in their living room, or to try on makeup.
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To start using AR technology, first ensure that demonstrations of your products and services can be made interactive. For instance, decorative items, clothing, cosmetics and shoes are a good fit with AR.
Some Shoppers May Benefit From ‘Payment Relief’
The pandemic has caused financial hardship for many consumers, and businesses should take this into account. Consider how you can offer flexibility when it comes to payment for products and services. You could offer extended credit limits, allow shoppers to pay in installments or offer zero-interest financing. On your website, you can call these options “payment relief.”
B2B Sellers Have Made Great Progress Doing Business Online
B2B sales have changed due to the pandemic. The flexibility of e-commerce is benefitting B2B sellers. Many have been able to expand their reach and gain new customers. For B2B sellers that haven’t launched an online store yet, you may want to consider doing so in 2021.
Start your B2B online store by working on the essential things. For instance, make sure your website has call-to-action buttons at the right points — where users make the decision to buy your product or service. But be careful not to overuse this feature.
Focusing on the essentials will give you a foundation on which to build. And with time and experience, you will understand what else to do to have an appealing website.
A Satisfying Mobile Shopping Experience Is Crucial
A poor mobile shopping experience can cause users to leave a website without making a purchase. Small text, unclear images, limited functionality (where websites say to go use a desktop to complete the process), and lack of product information do not provide users with a satisfying experience.
The most important thing to do is make sure that your product and service pages are displayed properly on mobile devices. Also, put your most important messages at the top of the page, and use drop-down menus to provide access to the rest. If there is too much information on a page, users may not scroll down to view it.
Page Speed Can Affect Sales
As shoppers are spending more time online, their patience for website loading time is thinning. One of my clients has observed this firsthand. When a page loads too slowly, many visitors will abandon it before it fully loads, which likely means lost sales. Page loading speed is also now a ranking factor for mobile search. Given all of this, it’s important to take steps to improve your site’s loading speed. I recommend following these five steps from Google. I was able to boost the speed of my clients’ web pages so they load in less than a second.
Take Action
Taking early action is most beneficial for preparing for the future. At my company, we were happy about the end of 2020, but no one knows what challenges the coming years may bring. So my advice is to update your e-commerce website regularly and make it as user-friendly as possible. You don’t want your business to be left behind by your competition.
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Author: Karan Sharma, Forbes Councils Member
