As the owner or employee of an e-commerce store, you’ve probably wondered what you can do to make your shop more competitive. It’s difficult to bring in a steady stream of customers and traffic when the world is your competition, especially if you don’t properly prepare your website. Here are a few popular website features that you should consider having in order to increase your competitiveness.
Free Shipping
First off, one element that a lot of online shoppers look for is free shipping. Especially if they are ordering something that isn’t very expensive, they aren’t going to be super excited about paying a lot for shipping. Many customers start to go through with the payment process but quit once they see how much shipping will cost.
That being said, shipping is a very real expense for e-commerce businesses, so set some boundaries when it comes to free shipping. For example, set a minimum threshold that customers have to pay in order to get free shipping. You could also advertise a shipping code that will give them discounted shipping while not eliminating all of it, or include some or all of shipping costs in the initial price.
Diverse Payment Methods
Another feature that many customers look for in an e-commerce store is different payment options. Some checkout processes can be complicated and long, and customers certainly don’t want to risk their information being stolen if they feel that the process isn’t trustworthy. Offering payments methods like Apple Pay speeds up the checkout process. You can also use services like PayPal that allows customers to build up points and use a reliable login to make their payments.
Good Product Information
Lots of customers are looking for good product information when they browse the items that you sell. Having clear, well-lit product photos from different perspectives and various shots of the items can be very helpful to persuade viewers to purchase your products. You can also add item descriptions and information to help them clear up any questions about your products without having to contact you. If customers feel like your product photos and descriptions are accurate and reliable, they’ll be much more likely to purchase from you.
As you are thinking about how to improve your website to make it more competitive, remember the tips that have been included in this article. Make sure you include the features that make sense for your company, but also consider what changes would create more interest. If you put yourself in the shoes of your customers in the online shopping experience, you’ll find more success with your e-commerce business.
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