Ecommerce can be very complex. To offer a world class customer
experience, retailers must incorporate technologies and functionality
that exceeds rising customer expectations.
On the flip side however, site fundamentals still play a very
large role in converting visitors into customers. Many retailers
surprisingly lose sight of these site basics and leave significant
sales on the table. This brief examines 4 quick "fundamentals"
every eCommerce manager cannot afford to lose sight of.
Think Fast
Speed has become less of a problem due to the penetration
of broadband, but don't forget that a significant number
of people still shop by a dialup connection. When creating
a site framework, designers and e-commerce teams should
ensure that the site is developed with pages loading in
less than 9 seconds (over a dial-up connection).
Our recommended page size is within 60-70k in bytes. At
that amount, sites will likely load within the maximum wait
time of 9 seconds. Online retailers should avoid flash at
all costs within their transactional site. Flash's artistic
aspects may help you establish a brand presence - but it
will likely lose potential customers before they have even
searched within your store.
Image is important
Images are a very important aspect of selling online and
are often neglected. All product images should be of the
highest resolution possible, be much larger than the product
page original, and have multiple views. Dynamic imaging
capabilities can improve the user experience to an even
higher level by increasing interactivity (zoom & rotate).
At a minimum - retailers should have at least two additional
views outside of the product page image to help build emotion.
Be my guest
Shoppers do not like being forced to do anything, especially
when they are ready to open their wallets. Forcing a shopper
to register on your site before purchasing is a sure way
to drive a portion of your traffic to your competitors.
Too often, shoppers do not have the time or the inclination
to fill out a lengthy form explaining what types of information
they desire.
Always offer the ability to checkout as a guest. You will
see less customer leakage within the checkout process and
can still offer the option to register when the sale is
completed.
Make sure it's "above the fold"
Your homepage is the most important page within your eCommerce
store. It sets the initial tone for the shopping experience
and offers your best promotions and products to your visitors.
Users typically visually scan a web page from top to bottom
and then from left to right. All critical content and navigation
options should be obvious to the shopper without having
to scroll down. If you have your best promotions "below
the fold" - you can bet that a large percentage of
browsers are not scrolling down to see it.
Craig Smith is the founder and managing director of
Trinity Insight LLC. Trinity is a consultancy that helps online
retailers sell more products within the Commerce
marketplace. http://www.trinityinsight.com
