E-commerce Optimization During COVID-19 Crisis and Beyond
In this increasingly homebound era and uncertain Coronavirus crisis, customers are turning to online platforms for everything from groceries to clothes. It is essential more than ever for e-commerce businesses to make sure that their websites and applications are optimized for the highest engagement and conversion.
With nothing to do during isolation and limited options, potential customers are sitting on their phones surfing through online shopping platforms. Now is the prime time to capitalize on the situation. If your company is struggling for market share amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, you must use the strategy of e-commerce optimizations not only to increase sales but ROI.
Optimal E-commerce Website Functioning to Boost Sales During COVID-19
According to Travis Ronnie, an e-commerce growth consultant, “Optimization is analysis and correction of e-commerce marketing, workflow, and systems to enhance the efficiency and value of an e-commerce brand.” In the end, optimization boils down to the design of the platform that does wonders for the business.
Optimize eCommerce Website
Before starting with an optimization strategy, you need to ask yourself, what do you have, who you aim to reach, and what do you want to achieve. By answering these questions, you can use the data to shape your optimization strategy for products and increase the success rate. Here are a few tips.
Design and Ease of Use
According to the E-commerce Times, “The key to e-commerce optimization is understanding the complete customer journey. The journey doesn’t stop when customers place their order and provide payment.” Indeed, e-commerce optimization is an end-to-end process that simply focuses on getting the maximum value out of every website visitor.
When a visitor lands on the homepage of your website, you have but a couple of seconds to convince them that your store is the best option. A website that is impressive in terms of design and visual appeal goes a long way to convert visitors into loyal customers.
Ronnie says, “Using AI technology to improve search, recommendations, and the customer experience can have a huge impact on engagement, sales, and retention. Optimizing each slice of the customer journey is paramount to be competitive in today’s e-commerce marketplace.”
Bonus Tip: E-commerce success is based on trial and error, so start with the design and focus on results.
Minimize Cart Abandonment Rate
Almost 60 percent of the customers abandon their carts because the page is taking too much time to load. For optimal conversion, improve the shopping experience by simply reducing the steps it takes to buy a product. Reduce the steps to confirm the order, including the option of quick payment like PayPal. Instead of several steps, reduce the number of required fields and make it simple.
If you only focus on Checkout optimization of your e-commerce platform, your business can gain around a 35.26 percent increase in conversion rate. It translates into millions of dollars’ worth of lost orders, which are simply recoverable by a better checkout design and flow.
To increase conversion, make sure to include a guest checkout option because most people don’t want to make accounts and sign-in. The study reveals that almost 28 percent of the people abandon their carts because the e-commerce platform wanted them to create an account to proceed shopping.
Bonus Tip: Make online shopping easy to improve sales.
Multichannel Selling Options
When everyone is either quarantined or self-isolating, where do you think they spend most of their time at? It is none other than their mobile phones or tablets. Use this opportunity to your advantage and reach out to customers through several channels and increase your profits.
E-commerce optimization is not just about optimizing the site or app itself, but it’s also about reaching out to offsite platforms to sell your products. Think about places your customers are, look for retail platforms such as Etsy, Amazon, eBay, and other marketplaces. Broaden your reach by creating seller accounts on these websites and start selling your products on a global level.
You can also use social media platforms like Instagram to sell and market your products. For example, Instagram offers the option of integrating your e-commerce website with your profile. You can also tag your products to boost sales. Look for new platforms and capitalize on them whenever possible. You can also consult with e-commerce solutions Dubai based experts regarding optimizing your site at every level.
Bonus Tip: Always go for an e-commerce hosting provider for the fastest optimization of your online stores.
Optimize your Brand
E-commerce optimization does not stop at the website, but it needs to have a wider reach. Optimizing the website is the first step to optimizing your brand. Optimization is about engaging website visitors; who are not ready to buy in any way possible.
Optimization is about increasing sales and finding customers and guide them to purchase. Simple yet challenging!
