When we talk about customer experience (CX) and sales, we increasingly think of omnichannel strategy.
The ability to continuously converse with its users, regardless of the devices and channels used, is as important as offering quick and easy online checkouts. Who wants complications during a shopping session?
Through the search engine and social networks, users can search for products and services that before, they probably would have discovered only on our eCommerce.
Online storefronts have become an extension of the physical store and are a full part of the customer journey, amplifying opportunities and services included in the shopping experience. In fact, many finalize the check out starting with the tag of a product seen on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and even TikTok.
Have you ever thought about how complex the check out process is that you offer to your customers?
Check out is that detail that can affect the shopping experience, especially if it requires too complex tasks that you cannot complete in one click, in factit does not help purchases that we might call "impulsive".
If you sell products or services online and you want to increase conversions don't overlook this. Prevent carts from being abandoned because the user doesn't have time and there is too much information to enter.
Online check out from mobile devices grows more and more
In your shopping experience you may have happened to register or log into an eCommerce with social login, choosing from the credentials of your accounts such as Google, Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn. This solution not only allows you to protect your data, but also speeds up access and avoids redundant repetition of information.
Think of doing the same for online check out: reducing the data required and windows displayed to confirm a purchase simplifies the process and enriches the customer experience. Customers feel less frustrated and encouraged to shop more often.
"In physical stores, as in eCommerce, offering customers multiple payment methods certainly facilitates purchases," explains Simone, who runs a small eCommerce with Shopify. "We even include cash on delivery for those who are more hesitant. Not to mention that more and more eCommerce are offering installment payments, we are not talking about large amounts, but it is certainly a detail that has been enthusiastically received by many users, especially these days. Not to mention the automatic workflows linked to email marketing for retrieving abandoned carts, which offer eye-catching communications and additional promotions to incentivize purchase."
From Instagram or Facebook, check outs today can come from any channel, even from those users who have never visited our website before. Working with an omnichannel strategy certainly helps sales, but service and upsell.
In addition, this approach allows daily analysis of visit and conversion data to figure out which social to focus on more for storytelling.
Attention then not only to the quality of products and services delivered, but also to the customer experience. When we talk about customer experience we think not only about purchases but about inquiries, support, after-sales and all the activities that revolve around all our touch points (physical store, eCommerce, social, email, phone, chat).
Simplifying communications and online check out to also facilitate shopping from mobile
Shopping is just a click away, now more than ever, thanks to mobile devices and the inordinate use of social networks. It is no coincidence that many companies today invest in advertising campaigns that increasingly involve influencers and micro influencers, capable of reaching a much larger audience, entire communities.
What do these prospective buyers expect from us? A smooth and frictionless shopping experience, as easy as scrolling from one account to another, from one product tag to its eCommerce.
So let's ask ourselves what generates the most friction -- while we are proceeding to an order confirmation -- other than the demand for an endless stream of information. Probably the worst nightmare for even the most loyal customers!"
No doubt there are some retailers who are taking this aspect to heart. Don't waste your time too, make sure your online check out is as easy as possible. We try with great empathy to put ourselves in the shoes of a busy user interacting with our check out. We don't compromise conversions by asking them to repeatedly fill out lengthy payment forms.
But that's not the end of the story, when it comes to sales the thoughts and details that need to be taken care of are really many, small and crucial.
"In the past year, driven by the crisis due to the pandemic, we have introduced so many changes to our business," Simone continues. "We started with a physical store, we opened our first eCommerce with Shopify and gradually integrated all our social media, even adding new ones.
We stopped to listen and realized that users demand speed, simplicity, and connection. They want to communicate with the company as they do with family and friends. Today, for example many write to us on the chat of HubSpot that we have activated on our website, to receive information, but also to confirm orders. This is also the case on WhatsApp, a channel that we recognize as among the most interactive, compared to emails that you know when you write them and never when they are read.
For online sales in addition to social channels, we also use Google My Business, which helps us not only for geo-localized search. It is a free tool, which entrepreneurs often do not give due importance to, which is essential for collecting customer reviews and sharing posts promoting products, news, offers.
This is a useful service for both small businesses and those with outlets located in the same city or in different regions and countries.
Another aspect that should not be overlooked is just the reviews: we have noticed," Simone concludes, "thatthe increase in reviews is proportional to the increase in visits to the site, they instill confidence, this is important because customers can browse our online store with the same peace of mind with which they would enter our physical store greeted by our staff."
The importance of optimizing the payment experience
One thing is for sure, the perfect, one-size-fits-all recipe does not exist, but there are many shared best practices and, most importantly, a lot of data that we can analyze to understand our limitations and solve them.
Maybe everything is perfect: product description, SEO, photos, shooting and even the ADV campaign with which the user landed on our social or eCommerce, but then the purchase fails on the most beautiful, at the moment of payment.
Imagine you're at the supermarket, you've put products in your cart whose cost was unclear, you've stood in the checkout line, and when it's time to pay, they let you know they only accept cash. How would you react? You would probably never set foot in that supermarket again.
Consumers today expect a transparent, frictionless shopping experience that meets their desires, yet online checkouts still garner a lot of frustration, and this certainly does not encourage purchases, even those that are repeated over time.
Cybersecurity plays a key role in online payments
Online shopping has provided many benefits to consumers, but it has also made them more vulnerable to data leakage.
Nevertheless, most retailers allow users to save their credit card information on the site to facilitate future payments.
The result? More and more consumers are storing payment information on their phones or turning to alternative payment options such as Apple Pay, Android Pay, and Samsung Pay. These platforms power in-app and tap-to-pay purchases, making it easier for users to make payments from their devices.
As this trend grows and consumers continue to make payments on their mobile devices, creating an easy and secure way for them to check out becomes an essential requirement for successful retailers, now and in the future.
The power of online check out
Online check out is growing, it has become almost a standard, that's why you have to pay attention to the user experience on various devices (tablet, computer, mobile) when designing a menu, pop up, contact form and navigation of your catalog in general.
The one-click online check out experience is vital for retail. Not only does it have the ability to reduce cart abandonment, but it also has the ability to improve the customer's connection with your brand.
Now consumer expectations are no longer a secret: By paying attention to reviews, emails, inquiries, and analyzing data in general, companies can understand how their omnichannel strategies are progressing to provide a more streamlined and convenient online check out.
Mobile phones are now used more than computers, shopping is always just a click away. Long payment forms from mobile devices are a thing of the past. When given the option, a customer will always prefer to pay with a simple click, rather than filling out a long form on their cell phone.