Repeat sales are the backbone of any sustainable ecommerce business.
Without loyal customers, you’ll have to work so much harder to generate new traffic and convert this interest into first-time sales. This process is much more expensive, with much lower conversion rates.
Poor website design gives your customer the impression your business is amateur and untrustworthy. If the shopper is unfamiliar with your brand, you’ll struggle to generate the commitment required to convert their interest into a sale. Instead, they’ll jump on over to a brand they can trust to make sure their money is safe and their product arrives.
We want to make it easier for you optimise your online store and maximise your chances of generating repeat sales, so we’ve put together a little “how-to” guide to help you improve the design of your ecommerce website and retain more customers.
#1. Choose a strong ecommerce platform for your website
A strong business needs a strong foundation.
Choosing the right ecommerce platform is the first of many important steps you need to take to produce repeat sales with your customers.
Shopify is a popular choice for many online store holders.
The platform prides itself on simplicity and a best-in-class user experience. Shopify users have hundreds of themes to choose from. This feature gives you the scope you need to reflect the individual personality and purpose of your brand.
Their ecommerce software also simplifies inventory management, sales tracking, trends analysis, order fulfillment, and online store customisation all in the one place.
Shopify is primarily designed to make managing an online store easy for entrepreneurs without expert digital skills. Here at Transdirect, we can make your experience even easier with our helpful Shopify plugin that allows you to bulk export from Shopify to your Transdirect account for fast shipping and exports.
Another solid option is WooCommerce.
Similarly to Shopify, you can access all aspects of your website from one platform. WooCommerce has access to a wide range of apps to help you build an effective website using an easy-to-use CMS, and it’s totally scalable.
Music to the ears of many ecommerce startups.
#2. Create an eye-catching aesthetic for your online store
Did you know that 20% of your brain function is devoted solely to vision?
Colour catches the attention of the audience and increases their ability to remember information by up to 82.5% according to Australian design software innovators, Canva.
Colour can be used to express meanings and moods, create desires, drive conversion and even convey certain information quickly for your customers about the products on your page.
Essentially, colour is your friend.
Use it wisely.
Use contrasting colours to draw your customer’s attention to critical aspects of your website like calls-to-action, search directories, promotional offers and specials.
Cotton On’s trend directory offers a practical ecommerce, example:
Source: Cotton On
The bold black font on a structured white contrast banner immediately draws the eye.
Simple images are effective. The example above shows you why contrast and minimalist design are the foundations of high-converting ecommerce graphic design.
Look and learn from brands dominating other ecommerce markets (and consider the design strengths of your competitors) to see where you can incorporate simpler, conversion-focused design.
A simpler, minimalist design with smart use of contrast colour can help you drive the user on the conversion path you want them to take.
#3. Make sure your website is fast, clean and easy to use
If your website is vague and difficult to navigate, you’ll find it hard to convert new shoppers, and almost impossible to generate regular repeat customers.
Clunky ecommerce user experiences = increased cart abandonment rates.
There’s one really simple way to quickly improve your ecommerce user experience and simplify the on-site navigation for your customers…
Pop your search bar right up the top of page one.
Even if you need more time and resources to repair the user experience of your online store, you can fix up your search bar right away to help drive up conversions immediately.
Reliable ecommerce platforms will have themes for you with already installed search bars to make your job even easier.
In the same vein, make sure your Contact Us page is easy to find and full of helpful information about your website.
Phone numbers, email addresses and physical addresses are a fantastic place to start but think about including an enquiry bar so customers can send questions immediately.
Finally, make sure you have all necessary information available on every product page. We’re talking things like:
- Prices
- Colours
- Measurements
- Materials
- Care instructions
- Returns Policies
- Shipping
- Inventory levels
- Reviews
People want to know what they’re purchasing and how they’re going to get it.
Reduce uncertainty with your content and attempt to answer as many possible customer questions as possible on your product landing pages.
Better informed customers means more conversions and repeat sales.
#4. Emphasise your shipping policy and make it snappy
Brandish your shipping policy with pride throughout your online store. Helpful information about your flexible shipping policy (and cheap returns if possible) on all of your landing page templates will reduce uncertainty in new and returning shoppers. More certainty means less abandoned carts, fewer customer enquiries and more repeat business.
According to ReadyCloud, 24% of carts were abandoned in 2016 because there was no obvious shipping information provided to customers.
Make your shipping policy loud and clear on the very first page they land on (and every other page before checkout).
More often than not, shipping information is a make- or- break deal for new and returning customers.
Keeping your shipping costs low (or even free) always helps, too.
An eye-catching free shipping offer, combined with the prospect of free returns can be the difference between a customer succumbing to their doubts and uncertainties or the swift conversion you’re looking for.
See what kind of strategies other local businesses have used with their shipping to keep customers satisfied.
Cheap, well-promoted shipping is a trusty tool to help you bump up those repeat sales quickly, with minimal expense or effort.
For reliable shipping your customer can trust, pick Transdirect. Get in touch with us today for more information.
