The internet is an incredibly powerful tool for putting manufacturers, retailers and customers in touch with one another – so much so that many businesses simply wouldn’t function without it, and many more could never even be conceived of.

If you’re an online retailer, you’ll have to contend with fierce competition, however – and this means that you’ll need to meet your customers’ expectations if you’re to prevent them from clicking that ‘x’ button and heading to another corner of the internet. Let’s take a look at some of the ways in which we might ensure that your customers follow their purchases through to completion – and come back for more in the future.

Keep Pricing Transparent

While it might make sense for a business to advertise the lowest possible price for their product, if you’re keeping things secret from your customer until the last minute, you’re more likely to alienate them than entice them. There’s nothing more likely to abandon their shopping cart than the shock that comes from a sudden inflation at the end of the purchase, as delivery and VAT is suddenly added to the figure. By keeping the price as transparent as possible throughout the entire shopping experience, you’ll ensure that your customers are kept onside.

Ideally, you’ll want to provide your customer with tools to calculate the total cost. This might be especially valuable if you’re shipping across national boundaries, where shipping taxes might apply.

Keep the SSL Certificate in Date

If you’re a smaller retailer, then you’ll need to project an air of trustworthiness and credibility if you’re to compete with the larger, better-known sites. One thing that’s certain to undermine this objective is if your customer’s browser pops up with a terrifying warning message about how it can’t verify the identity of your website. Be sure, then, that your site comes with an intact certificate.

Make Sure the Site Looks Good

Of course, if you’d like people to spend time navigating your site, then you’ll want to be sure that it looks the part. At the most basic level, this means ensuring that contrast levels are appropriate and that fonts are legible; get a white background and black text, and lay everything out in a sensible way. If your customers have to squint and turn their heads to determine what it is that you’re offering, then they’re likely to look elsewhere.

Provide a Search Function

If you customers know precisely what they’re looking for when they arrive at your website, then they’ll want to be able to access it as quickly as possible. A search function will allow them to do this. If your site’s catalogue is extensive, then this is all the more important. The modern customer is used to powerful search functions which offer suggestions whenever similar terms are offered. They’ll also want to be able to refine the results of a given search, filtering them and sorting them via a variety of different criteria.

Testimonials

Another way to boost the perceived trustworthiness of your site is to allow customers to record their testimonials, and view the testimonials left by others. One without the other is unlikely to be as effective, as it’s impossible for a customer to verify the impartiality of other reviewers – but if they’re free to leave their own thoughts, it’s likely they’ll assume other people have been granted the same freedom. Using a service like Trust Pilot is an easy way to display the reputation of your website, and ensure custom in the future.

Make Sure Shipping Is Handled

The actual online shopping is just a small portion of the customer experience – once it’s done you’ll need to ensure that your packages arrive at their destination in a timely manner, and that they do so intact. Anticipate and avoid the most common shipping problems – use a postcode lookup service to be sure that you’re getting the right address, and package your items securely enough that they’re protected against damage. If you’re offering goods of a sufficiently high value, then you might wish to offer free, recorded shipping on items of a certain value. Again, be sure to advertise this loudly and clearly from the start of your customer’s shopping experience.

In Conclusion

There are a number of different factors that influence a potential customer’s decision to buy something online – and we’ve just scratched the surface here. It’s important for retailers to understand the most common pitfalls and avoid them – and with a little optimisation, analysis, and a postcode finder, they’ll be able to do just that.