2020 was the year that online shopping really exploded into the mainstream as more customers found themselves at home and unable to browse the shops in person.
What this has meant for the retail industry is that there has been a big boom in sales and a huge increase in traffic across the board.
More Traffic, More Issues?
While this seems like a great thing on the surface, the dark side of more traffic is that a lot of retailers have faced terrible problems with keeping customers happy and engaged, especially when they are placed in virtual queues for the products that they want.
Not only do long delays cause customers headaches, but there are a myriad of other problems that customers face on a daily basis that could be turning them off of buying from your website. However, these problems are easily solvable with a few simple tweaks.
Here are five of those problems and how to solve them so that customers return to your website regularly and become loyal customers.
Accurate Sizes for Clothing
For anyone working in the fashion industry or clothing retail space, you will probably get most of your returns from customers who have either purchased the wrong size or the size marked on your website has been inaccurate.
This could be for a number of reasons – customers don’t always know what their size is, especially if your brand insists on using generic terms like “M” and “XXL” without any real reference to whether an XXL equates to a size 20 or a size 16.
A size-to-fit advisor can help customers to figure out what size is most aligned with their body type and fit preferences. The fit recommendation solution is fueled by machine learning algorithms that perform a 360-degree analysis of user factors like precise body measurements, fit preference, and shoppers’ past purchases.
Mobile-Friendly Checkout
Did you know that most retail traffic is now done on a mobile platform? That’s right, your stunning website that looks fantastic on a desktop is being visited less and less, and it’s being ditched in favor of mobile devices and apps.
Building an app for your store might make sense, but customers are reluctant to install apps from retailers that won’t be useful to them. They are much more likely to visit your business through their mobile browser, which means your brand’s page needs to be fast and mobile responsive, especially when it comes to checkout.
Photos From Every Angle
Aside from long shipping times, one of the biggest pet peeves for customers who purchase online is that they can’t touch/ feel the product or get a sense of how it moves..
There are a few options for you here, and you should consider which one works for your business.
Firstly, you can invest in high-quality photography and photograph your products from every angle. This is a good idea anyway, as it allows your customers to send the photos of the product to their friends and increases your reach.
The second option is to implement a 360-degree view option where the customer sees a suspended animation version of your product and is able to zoom in on the sections they really want to know more about.
You could also add to their experience by offering services such as a video guide on the product or high-quality lifestyle photography that will give your customers an idea of how the product looks in the “real world”.
Account Login Options
Keeping track of purchases is important for retail businesses, and it’s also important for the customers that buy from them.
Invest in a proper cart and accounts section for your website so that customers can log in, track their orders, learn more about the products (such as size and weight) and even reorder the same product again straight from within the app or website.
Be warned with this one, though, don’t spam your customers with hundreds of email newsletters just because they once gave you their email address.
Clear Delivery Info
How long will the item take to arrive and exactly what is the customer paying for?
Free postage is (without a doubt) a big bonus for most customers, but when they are paying for postage, they will want to know what service they get out of it.
This is particularly true for parcels posted under a different logistics name, either because that is your umbrella company or that you’re offering discreet packaging services.
Make sure your customer is fully informed of where the parcel is with a tracking number, and include any changes such as a different business name or group as the sender.