The start of 2020 has been a harrowing one for the Australian retail industry, as we witness the collapse of many traditional and iconic retail stores. As large retail brands struggle to stay relevant in the face of increasing competition online, it is critical for small businesses to ensure your online store stays ahead of the rapid changes in shopper behaviour.
Having a well-optimised online store is worth a lot, both in terms of sales numbers and customer loyalty. Here are seven areas to focus your efforts on when optimising your online store.
1. Optimise for mobile
Online shopping on mobile devices will soon dominate online retail in Australia. According to Statista, the e-commerce market is expected to be worth $35.2 billion by 2021, with 72.9 percent of all shopping worldwide to be done on mobile.
This means a top priority for online retailers should be mobile optimisation. When improving your online store, thinking “mobile first” will help identify differences in what people want and need on mobile versus what they want and need on desktop.
As many as 6 out of 10 Australian shoppers abandon poorly designed mobile sites. Don’t be one of those that gets abandoned.
2. Page speed
According to Google, the average time it takes to fully load a mobile landing page is 22 seconds. At the same time, 53 per cent of mobile visitors leave a page that takes longer than three seconds to load. In other words, it’s easy to lose sales if your website is too slow. Your analytics will tell you if you’re keeping up to speed.
3. Have a clear call to action
How do you ensure your CTAs are getting the attention they deserve? These magic buttons bring your visitors one step closer to completing a purchase so they shouldn’t be overlooked. What you want to ask yourself is:
- Is it clear and visible?
- Is it placed in the most optimal position on your product page, and have you run tests to verify this?
- Which copy makes your customers most likely to buy? (Yes, there is a difference between writing “Buy”, “Buy now” and “Add to cart.”
Also, look at how many steps customers have to take from selecting an item to completing the purchase. The more steps you have, the more opportunities your customers have to drop away. Fewer steps mean higher conversion.
4. Flexible payments and a fast checkout
You don’t want to lose your customer once they’ve made it to the checkout – when they are very likely to complete the purchase. Provided you have a smooth checkout, that is.
Fortunately, there are services out there dedicated to making your checkout fast and easy. Klarna is one of the largest payment providers active in Europe and North America and has been offering hassle-free payments for 15 years. With Klarna in your checkout, you can give your customers more choice and flexibility in how they pay. This means that shoppers without credit cards have the ability to increase their purchasing power with buy now and pay later options.
5. Product pictures
It should go without saying, but high-quality pictures on your product pages are essential. They set the overall feeling of your website and are also crucial for giving your customers a good idea of what your products look like. It’s best to have several images highlighting product details from different angles. Even better? Show your products in motion.
6. Product descriptions
Great pictures are one thing, but it’s also important to thoroughly describe your products. A precise product description might also help reduce returns since the buyer has a clearer picture of what they’re ordering to begin with.
Customers may not expect a long and detailed description for a low cost item, but if they’re going to purchase a high ticket item, they’ll likely want to know the complete details of the product they’re considering. And the more complex the product is, the more detailed you want the description to be.
7. Skip the account
Did you know that one of the most common reasons for online shoppers to abandon their cart is that the site required them to create an account? According to Baymard Institute, 34 per cent of shoppers cite this as their reason for not completing a purchase when shopping online. Being forced to enter their name, address and a lengthy password are enough to make today’s impatient shoppers lose interest. Of course, this isn’t an issue if you offer your customers a way to shop without creating an account.
Consider using innovative tools and payment partners, such as Klarna, which will enable pre-fill details of shoppers, eliminate the need for sign-ups, and minimise drop-offs.
Laurel Wolfe, VP Marketing, Klarna
