Five Customer Habits to Keep in Mind When Creating Your Online Shop
Setting
up an online shop has become extremely easy, but making it efficient and
helpful to your visitors takes more effort. You need to make sure that your
online shop is not only visually appealing, highly functional, and easy to
navigate, but also truly compelling. It should provide offers that your
customers can't refuse and showcase those offers in a way that makes customers
enjoy the shopping experience.
Your customers are the heart of
your business, so putting their needs and habits first is precisely what will
help you grow and be successful.
One of the greatest advantages of
an online shop is the ability to extend your reach globally; but, to
effectively accomplish that, you must know your target customers' needs and shopping habits and
behaviors. Because those needs and habits are continually changing
as a result of ever-evolving technology, keeping up with the pace of change and
understanding them has become more essential than ever.
To design an online store that
will entice your target demographic and compel them to return, you need to keep
their habits at the forefront of your mind. Read on to learn how you can make
your store stand out and truly appeal to visitors.
1.
The Differing Values of Men and Women
The online shopping habits of men and women differ
significantly; so, depending on the product types you offer, you should
carefully consider the gender of your target demographic.
For instance, women tend to
expect a social and comprehensive shopping experience with visuals, reviews,
and forums, and they are highly responsive to discounts, sales, coupons, and
marketing emails. They also tend to search online for products they may need in
the future, but they are not strangers to impulse purchases as well.
Men, however, generally want a
simple shopping experience, and they are not as into discounts and coupons.
They want detailed product descriptions, customer reviews, and a
straightforward shopping experience. Unlike women, they tend to engage in
shopping right when they need a particular product, and they often buy the
first workable one they find rather than spending time researching other
options.
2.
Multi-Device Browsing
Consumers today increasingly use
their smartphones and tablets to search for products to buy online, especially
as mobile devices are becoming more capable of enabling seamless user
experiences and providing excellent convenience.
That's not to say laptops and
desktops are dead and gone. People switch devices frequently during the day: Fully 65% of consumers start
their product search using their smartphones but complete their purchases using
their laptops or desktop computers.
Therefore, although you should
definitely have a mobile-first strategy when designing your online shop—your
website should be responsive and mobile-friendly—you shouldn't forget about
meeting the needs of desktop and laptop users.
3.
Pre-Purchase Research Habits
Before making an online purchase, 85% of consumers conduct
research, according to a 2017 survey by Salesforce. They check out customer
reviews and ratings, testimonials, forums, social media posts, comments, and
various comparison websites.
Why? Because consumers tend to
rely on other people's experiences with brands. They simply want to make sure
the brand is credible and reliable.
What does that mean for your
online shop? You should provide testimonials and encourage customer reviews on
your website, and you should deliver seamless experiences across all channels
to capture the attention of online shoppers who conduct pre-purchase research.
4.
Millennials and Rebates
Millennials will often choose a
rebate rather than a discount.
Instead of cutting your prices or
creating special offers of instant discounts, try offering rebates that will
provide your customers with great savings opportunities and also give them high
value, which is essentially what they are looking for in the first place.
5.
Gift Cards vs. Direct Payment
More and more people are using
gift cards to pay for their online purchases, as they deem the cards safer than
direct payments, especially since cybersecurity threats and identity fraud have
become major issues.
One study on shopping habits
of Millennials found that 64% of them believe that gift cards
are safer than any other digital payment method, and 66% of them believe that
gift cards prevent identity fraud.
That is exactly why you should
offer gift cards, as well as other alternative payment methods, such as PayPal.
However, you should also make payment easy and secure for customers who prefer
direct payments.
Not all online shoppers are the
same, of course. To understand them better and improve your chances for
increasing sales, you should monitor their habits and keep up with the fast
pace of changing trends.
Keep the above five customer
habits in mind when designing your online shop so you can effectively meet the
needs of your consumers and make your shop stand out.
Speaking of standing out, one
more tip: make sure that your design elements are top-notch so they grab and
hold the attention of your online shoppers. And one of the most important
design elements is your logo: It represents your brand's unique identity. So,
if you haven't already, design a truly memorable logo that
people will instantly recognize you by.
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