As part of the recent BrightonSEO Conference held at the Brighton Dome, 14 September, a roundtable event took place which hosted a range of experts from different specialisms and brands across the retail sector.
Because search engines have proved to be major traffic generators for ecommerce websites, few retailers still remain unaware of this fact.
Regardless of the brand’s popularity, a well optimised ecommerce website will get the targeted traffic from search engines such as Google and Bing.
This is because the majority of internet shoppers are search engine fanatics who constantly seek products that you could be carrying on your website.
And no matter what the customer experience is, the chances are they will leave a review if given the option.
Discussions at the roundtable found that many retailers have replicated the Amazon approach to reviews which helps other customers make purchase decisions and improve the user journey.
Despite some understandable apprehension about potentially hosting negative reviews, retailers around the table felt that the way reviews are dealt with, especially the neutral and negative ones, can have a positive impact on a potential customers purchase decision.
Shopping cart abandonment was also a topic heavily discussed at the roundtable. Why do nearly 60% of online shoppers abandon their carts at some point in the process?
The problem may not be the design of a shopping cart — in the distant past consumers couldn’t figure out how to check out or got tangled on the way. Nowadays, most consumers are very well trained in the steps of using an online shopping cart.
However it is still vital for the user to avoid all sorts of frustrations when using the site, such as getting lost or re-directed to the wrong page.
Retailers should consider adopting a wish-list of products which would solve dipping in and out of the basket – similar to that of the ‘favourites’ button on the Sky remote or Amazon’s famous “people who bought this also bought that” feature.
The Etsy model was one which was highly recommended and described as an inspiration to some of the retailers in attendance.
If a product is sold-out, it was also suggested by attendees that a counter be introduced where users can vote in to bring the product back in stock. A goal can be agreed – i.e. 150 people demand to re-stock this product – which means the product eventually returns.
The importance of social in the retail industry was highlighted as one crucial area and how it is imperative that retailers ensure they make the most of their community by empowering their employees to proactively engage with community members online.
By developing a momentum and being consistent in gaining and retaining ‘followers’ or ‘likes’, online retailers will gain valuable insight and feedback on the activities of the user.
Attendees also noticed that people who enter the ecommerce site via the community are more likely to convert on their first site visit – so the community is directly attributing to sales.
The websites that boast the best reputations are those that focus on user experience, the function of the site and elements such as gamification which includes progress bars, statuses, incentives, and achievements on transaction.
For more information and to book a place on the workshops visit http://www.brightonseo.com/workshops
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