By Jim Clanin
Business is increasingly global, and increasingly online. Customers are being driven away from brick-and-mortar retail and more toward online alternatives, a trend that shows no signs of slowing. As customers wield increasing influence, the online sector continues to grow and evolve, and we continue to see new techniques cropping up. Some disappear, and some stick around.
If you want your ecommerce business to stay competitive and evolve with the market, you’ll need to make ongoing changes and upgrades to your strategy and your website. Here are our top 5 recommended ecommerce solutions to integrate in 2013.
Be Local
In the past, e commerce website designers avoided creating individual websites for individual locales, but that day has passed. This year, we’re seeing more localized ecommerce websites, and it goes beyond translating the same content into different languages.
E commerce website designers are creating local sites fully customized for a local user experience. This could incorporate anything from different design concepts and language to products and sales. This is particularly effective for businesses catering to a niche market. We predict this will lead to a high level of customization for individual visitors to your site, based on their preferences, browsing habits, even their past purchases.
Be Responsive
A large – and growing – percentage of online purchases are now made from a mobile device. Smart phones and tablets are now so commonplace that ecommerce websites need to be accessible on multiple interfaces, or get left behind.
Responsive ecommerce design makes this easy. Rather than creating individual sites for desktop, smart phone, and tablet viewing, your website simply adapts to whatever device the visitor is using, from a large-screen TV to an iPhone.
Be Cashless
More consumers are purchasing online, and if you want to stay competitive, you need to make your customers feel comfortable conducting an online transaction with you. Any step you can take to simplify the payment process for your customers is one that will boost conversions.
More importantly, your customers are looking for secure online payment methods. Using secure one-page payment methods will help you develop a brand reputation of trust and reliability.
Be Interactive
If you currently use images to show your product line, consider switching to something more comprehensive. Because customers have innumerable options available to them through the web, it’s easy to feel suspicious of photos. It’s often an ineffective way to judge a product, and they’re bombarded by images of the item they’re shopping for that may look mostly the same.
Using interactive tools and product demo videos is a great way for your brand to stand out. Plus, they’re easy to share via social media.
Be Concise
You content should be original. It should be easy to read. Above all, it should be concise. Today’s online users aren’t looking for lavish, rambling descriptions of your products and company, and they’re immediately turned off by buzzwords like “cutting-edge” and “state-of-the-art.”
They want to know how your product will fill their need and benefit them. The more succinct you can be, the more likely you are to keep their attention. Remember to keep your content simple and direct.
We think these trends are good for both ecommerce retailers and online customers. Ecommerce business is only going to keep growing, but you have to keep up with the changing demands of consumers. Talk with your e commerce website designer about how to implement these 5 ecommerce solutions into your online strategy.
What do you think about this growing market? What ecommerce strategies would you add to stay competitive?
