8 Tips to Encourage Your E-shopper
After a large number of e-commerce websites evaluation in different product categories and different countries, we have been able to identify some tips for a successful e-shopping experience.
1. The snake - Eye-tracking analyses done on more than 20 home pages allow to draw the standard eye path on a home page. It looks like a snake.
Tip#1: Hierarchy of information is key and most important messages should be carefully placed in the high impact areas of a page, from the head to the tail of “the snake”.
2- The eight check points - Navigation ease is a central point to usability. Not less than 8 dimensions need to be checked.
Tip #2: Navigation ease needs to be observed in real time. If we just ask visitors for their feedback after the visit, participants tend to minor their navigation problems and we loose 2/3 of the information.
3. The telescope effect - In a real store, shoppers have a peripheral vision, which provides a general idea of the extent of the offer. On an e-commerce website, they don’t. Because it reduces the field of vision (“telescope effect”), a website may appear dry and convey an impression of poverty.
Tip#3: The “telescope effect” has to be managed to avoid the impression of poverty conveyed by the digital format : Caroussels, drop down menus, reminders of the number of skus in each category, etc. can help.
4. The Digital Added Value - Web users particularly value functionalities that are only available online (comparators, live animation, geo-locators, etc.).
Tip #4: The web is only one facet of shoppers’ eco-system. Take advantage of the specific digital functionalities (comparators, live animation, geo-locators, etc.) which enable the website to effectively supplement information available by other means.
5. NOT a catalog
Tip #5: An e-commerce website is NOT a catalog, but a dialog, which allows several ways of interaction: Pull, Push, Interactive mode.
6- Talking to me?
Tip #6: The web creates unprecedented possibilities of personalisation, related to the visitor’s profile, history, mood etc.
7- The web tone of voice - The web creates a “closeness”with the visitors, which doesn’t exist on other media.
Tip #7: Closeness is driven by a special tone of voice, made of a touch of playfulness and humour, a call for collaboration and an invitation to a show.
8- The Digital Journey
Tip #8: Providing all the necessary components is not enough. An e-commerce website is a journey, divided into steps, each requiring a specific identity in terms of function, duration, tone, relation mode.
