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It's all about functionality, features, and design when it comes to eCommerce websites.
But which eCommerce features are most crucial to your success, and which eCommerce platforms can assist you in achieving your objectives?
Let's have a look.
Many websites' success is determined by the products offered and how well the website is marketed, the features the website provides, and both the customer and the website owner. As a business owner, it is essential to have the tools to manage your website and that the administrative features fit with your business processes. For example, if you offer payment terms to your customer, you'll need to be sure the platform you're using gives you the ability to set a customer's credit limit. Before diving into an eCommerce project, think carefully about the features needed, or you'll be regretting it later!
The Most Important eCommerce Features Your Website Needs Include:
Content management capabilities
Other must-have features:
1. User-Friendly
This comes from the old K.I.S.S. adage about keeping it simple.
Simplicity should be a goal in good design and you don’t have to sacrifice elegance to achieve it.
Studies show that 76% of consumers say the most important characteristic of a website is ease of use.
The objective is to help shoppers get to what they want faster and without running into unnecessary complexity that can clog up the path to purchase.
2. Mobile-Friendly Website
Mobile shopping accounts for 50% of online transactions.
With a responsive website, content intuitively adapts to whatever device is accessing it to provide the most user-friendly experience.
Walmart increased mobile sales by 98% after optimizing its mobile site.
3. High-Resolution Photos & Video
Gone are the days of posting one photo with a few bullet points and a price tag.
Shoppers want to see multiple angles and people using the product in different environments. They want to be able to zoom in and get a feel for the product.
Technical considerations for images are crucial. Images that don’t load or take too long to load will see a consumer drop-off rate of 39%, according to Adobe.
And, we’re not talking about just professional photos. Vanity Planet found that adding Instagram photos to their product pages increased checkouts by 24%.
4. User-Generated Reviews
Shoppers read reviews. About 95% of them.
And 57% of consumers will only use a business if it has 4 or more stars.
You might think that having negative reviews is a sale killer. The opposite is true.
Having negative reviews can often be positive. It’s shown that products without negative reviews are seen as censored and, in turn, shoppers will assume the positive reviews are fake.
5. Special Offers
Most eCommerce sites are using special offers in their standard marketing practices via email, social, text, etc.
Next-level eCommerce sites take advantage of the prime real estate in the header section to promote special offers.
Others would say “DOH!” when considering elements like special offers, user-generated reviews, and social sharing. They know they should be using these features but just haven’t gotten around to implementing them. It’s never too late!
Finally, the “ahhh” moment when you get excited about planning for robust related items, shareable wish lists, and find-in-store features.
No matter what category you’re in, eCommerce sites have an incredible opportunity to use tried-and-true features blended with innovative new elements to create fantastic shopping experiences.
