Entrepreneurs and business owners that operate through ecommerce understand the challenges, yet necessity, of this feature: allowing their customers to take control of their needs through personalization and simplicity. Companies must adapt to the ever growing trends of ecommerce, which today relies heavily on consumers’ wants to buy anywhere, at any time.
Upon entering a new website and searching for a product of their choosing, visitors must be enticed to stay and browse for as long as possible. Business owners must understand how to engage these consumers as quickly as possible. Not many of those browsing the internet wish to stay on one page for more than a few minutes. In order to hurdle this obstacle, a great strategy you can implement is setting up an automatic email responder upon someone leaving the site depending on whether or not they made a purchase. A message thanking them for their time, or even one offering a discount for future visits is much more likely to bring a customer back than not messaging them at all.
Perhaps the biggest inconvenience customers face through outdated ecommerce platforms is the inability to pay with their preferred method of payment. To stay with the trends, make sure you accept nearly every form of payment possible. While credit cards are accepted nearly everywhere online, PayPal accounts, Venmo, Google Wallet, and others are not. Look into some of the most popular forms of alternative online payment today, and custom shipping options to provide as much ease to your customers as you can.
Artificial intelligence has paved the way for some incredible breakthroughs in the business world, and ecommerce is no exception. Personalizing customers’ online experiences should be a priority for ecommerce businesses if they haven’t already been developed. Algorithms can be created to monitor a customer’s actions on your website, tailoring their results to their personal interests and preferences.
Similar to offering a personalized shopping experience, all ecommerce merchants should be utilizing some form of smart search technology as well. Your platform should be able to understand natural language, and account for slang and synonyms. This can directly translate to an increase in sales and website traffic.
Entrepreneurs and anyone aspiring to become one must know the ins and outs of ecommerce and stay up with the industry’s latest trends. Incorporate a human aspect to your online platform for a connection with your customers, and research the latest developments in the tech world. The better experiences they have through your online business, the larger your client base will grow.