Factors Effecting Ecommerces
#1. Competitive Pricing
China’s influence of cheap products has made consumers adamant on
searching for the lowest cost with the best product quality. This extends into
specific product pricing as well, a 65” Sharp AQUOS Smart TV may be
$1,200 at one store, but that same TV could be $200 cheaper at another.
Consumers will dedicate hours upon hours to snatch up the best deal. While
10% markup on a product sounds good in theory, it is important for
ecommerce store owners to benchmark their pricing across several
competitors to make sure they are competitive on pricing and not falling
behind.
Shopify created a great list of comparison shopping engines to benchmark
your product pricing!
#2. Product Quality
Just as important as price is product quality. In some cases, this may be out
of your control, but if you make or manufacture your own products, this is an
important factor to take into account. If you’re wondering how much of a role
perceived product quality means to consumers, take this into consideration.
Up to 57% of people are less likely to purchase products that carry the
Made in China stamp. This is because consumers perceive that the
manufacturer chose a quick and inexpensive route when creating their
product and feel that it’s likely of a lower quality than other similar products
may be.
The manufacturing stamp is only a part of what makes up product quality (or
perceived quality.) Off-site or on-site reviews around product’s use or
functionality also have a factor. If a product has unexpected quirks that
cause it to be a hassle to use or inefficient, you can expect customers won’t
buy it. Be conscious of what consumers are writing about your product.
#3. Shipping Time & Cost
When you think of ‘fast shipping’ what’s the first ecommerce retailer you
think of? Likely Amazon, right? Amazon has become the retailer of choice
for many shoppers because of their fast shipping and extensive product
offerings. The company has revolutionized the world of ecommerce by
being able to offer same day shipping in many major cities and 2 day or
same week shipping on most products.
There are many stores that keep it simple with a single shipping option to
allow for flat rate pricing or so that they can offer free shipping. The
incessant need for things to be done yesterday has been ingrained into the
modern lifestyle and it shows when you look at the volume stores do when
they offer fast delivery. To sweeten the deal, add well-priced shipping
options on top of fast delivery.
While it would be hard to offer Amazon shipping speed and pricing, it’s
encouraged to offer faster shipping options for those willing to pay for the
convenience. Even better, offer a lower-price or free shipping when a
customer spends more than a certain amount.
#4. Online Reviews
Product ratings are an integral factor in the decision to purchase. A
whopping 40% of customers say they wouldn’t purchase technology
products without first reading online reviews. That being said, the amount of
research a customer puts in varies based on the price, location and many
other factors. This means that having a wealth of reviews to read is
important. Even if a product has negative reviews, it can increase sales in
comparison to a product with no reviews.
#5. Easy Return Policy
Even with ecommerce becoming more and more popular, there are still very
few sites with a well laid out refund policy. Many bury their refund policy or
make it confusing to understand which can mean many lost sales and many
unhappy customers.
The more transparent you are about refunds, the easier it will be to deal with
customers when they want a refund. If you don’t accept refunds be upfront
and clear. However, even a very time limited refund policy is better than
nothing. If you truly back the quality and satisfaction of your product, people
will be more likely to purchase from you, especially given a simple and well-
crafted refund policy (like the above).
#6. Loyalty Rewards
Many customers focus their sights on the lowest price, which makes
generating sales more and more challenging. Building loyalty is the best
option for generating sales as it can take up to 7 new customers to generate
the same amount of revenue as a single repeat customer. Rewarding your
customer for making a purchase is what can set you apart from all of the
other retailers. Much like many opt to fly with certain airlines because they
want to accumulate points, the goal is to have customers purchasing from
you so that they can redeem their rewards down the road.
#7. Easy Navigation
An easy to navigate ecommerce store sounds like a simple feat until you
learn companies spend millions of dollars per year to hire data scientists to
optimize their navigation and even the best placement for a learn more
button! This of course doesn’t mean that easy navigation is unattainable. I
like to use Best Buy as an example of just how simple you can make a large
store. Their navigation may seem cluttered but a lot went into the logic
behind each department. Considering that their online store holds
thousands of different products (( the navigation is easy to use and logical to
a majority of their target market. Their main navigation is also broken up to
highlight deals, brand based browsing and their vast knowledge base of
guides and FAQs. This may require some additional help from a designer or
developer to achieve but most ecommerce platforms also offer themes that
have been modified and improved over time to help store owners.
