5 ways to improve your eCommerce store’s user experience

Your website will leave a lasting impression on visitors. Whether that impression is good or bad can be down to many reasons, a key one being your user experience (UX).

UX became a buzzword around the year of 2005. Chances are, you’ve heard of it and UX is probably something you already consider as part of your eCommerce website. As your website experience impacts whether a user chooses to convert, you need to invest time and resources in ensuring it’s as good as can be.

But how can you do that?

In this blog…

We look at five different ways you can improve your site’s user experience including:

• Mobile-first design
• Guided shopping experiences
• Product personalisation
• User generated content
• UX audits

1) Yep, mobile-first still matters!

In recent years, mobile usage has surpassed desktop. The number of individual mobile internet users stood at 4.28 billion in 2020, indicating that over 90 percent of the global internet population use a mobile device to go online. This number alone highlights the necessity to think mobile-first with your eCommerce store. It’s important to design the best experience for the majority and then translate this into a great desktop and tablet experience.

Taking a mobile-first approach makes us think about what’s most important for these devices. It follows the notion that mobile design is the hardest and often the most important so it should be done first. Once that part is complete, designing for other devices becomes that little bit easier.

As mobile has the most limitations such as screen size and bandwidth, it forces you to prioritise your content ruthlessly. In turn, you’ll create the slickest and least congested onsite experience for your users.

2) Guided shopping experiences

In a report from Klarna, 65 percent of people said they do their shopping in equal measures online and in-store. Bridging the UX gap between these two experiences is more important than ever. One way to do this and to drive more conversions is through personalised guided shopping experiences.

Your website’s homepage is your digital storefront and an important starting point. Once a user lands on your homepage, you already have a potential customer to convert. But you need to make this first impression as relevant and engaging as possible if you want them to continue their shopping journey. This could include highlighting categories they’ve shown an interest in or products that reflect their interests.

Plus, the numbers show it can make a real difference to your conversions. Personalised homepage promotions are reported to influence 85 percent of customers to buy while personalised shopping cart recommendations influence 92 percent of shoppers.

3) Save it for later

When a user visits your site, they may not be compelled to buy in that moment. They could simply be visiting to gather inspiration for when they’re ready to convert later.

Consider adding a favourites button or wishlist option to your site to make it easier for users to purchase when the time is right. A simple solution that can make the buying journey a more intuitive experience, with these additions a user can revisit your website, head to their wishlist and place the item in the basket ready for checkout.

Be sure to clearly display it on your site at relevant touchpoints such as category pages, product pages and checkout.

4) User-generated content

Providing the social proof that online shoppers need to validate a purchase decision, user-generated content (UGC) has cemented itself as one of the most engaging content formats out there. It has comfortably found a home in the digital world as people have come to enjoy its authentic nature and can often relate to it more than polished, branded content.

Extending UGC beyond just social networks could be hugely beneficial to your eCommerce store’s UX. Why not try making your UGC shoppable across your homepage, product pages or even within your emails? This ensures customers are only one or two clicks away from buying a product when inspiration strikes. Plus, fewer clicks means less chance to back out of the purchase – a win-win!

5) UX audits

A great place to start when wanting to improve your user experience, a UX audit can help to form a strong foundation to build upon.

Put simply, a UX audit will help you see what’s working and what’s not on your website. Identifying barriers to conversion and underperforming areas of your site, improvements can be made to deliver results-driven user experiences.

It can also shed light on some pretty important areas such as:

• Why users are abandoning their cart
• Where users commonly leave the website
• Where users are getting stuck during their shopping journey

These audits are ideal for identifying common errors and additional requirements, giving you the insight needed to implement necessary change.

Have you looked at your UX recently?

It’s important to maintain and iteratively improve your eCommerce store’s UX to ensure it continues to meet the expectations of your users. But we recommend taking a deep dive into your UX to gather insights before you start making changes.

Undertake audits, speak to your audience, view your website from the eyes of your customers and get advice from the experts. Our in-house team of UX strategists have the expertise to help you glean insight and analyse the findings. If you feel your eCommerce store would benefit from some UX support, reach out to our team.