Over the past 20 years, customer expectations have been constantly rising. Technological advancements have created an ‘I want it now’ shopper mentality that eCommerce retailers must meet if they want to stay competitive. After all, your success depends on how satisfied your customers are with your products and services.
Believing that your customers’ expectations will fall in line with whatever it is you offer can be fatal for your business. You need to understand what your target audience really wants and adjust your customer support, services, and products, accordingly.
When it comes to keeping up with customer expectations, there are 5 key areas that eCommerce retailers should address.
1. Provide Outstanding Customer Support
When it comes to customer support, today’s customers expect a number of different options. They want assistance to be available in various forms including live chat, email, social media, and phone. In fact, live chat has become the leading digital contact method for online shoppers, as more than 45% of customers prefer live chat compared to only about 30% for email, and a little above 15% for social media.
But including multiple options is not the only thing businesses are expected to provide; you also need to reply quickly and in a satisfactory manner. The old adage about bad news spreading faster does apply here: Americans tell an average of fifteen people about bad customer service, and eleven people about a good one. In addition, more than 30% of Americans would consider switching companies after having dealt with poor customer service.
Excellent customer service can make a huge difference. If a customer gets disappointed by your assistance, they will probably think twice before getting back to your store. Even worse, they could leave a bad review that will affect the purchasing decisions of future shoppers.
2. Convenience is Everything
One of the reasons people like shopping online is convenience. The combination of hyperconnectivity and hectic lifestyles has resulted in the fast growth of mCommerce. According to eCommerce stats, nearly 55% of all eCommerce sales will take place on mobile devices by 2021.
However, mCommerce shouldn’t be considered separately; today’s shoppers tend to switch devices and channels before making a final buying decision, so you need to focus on omnichannel interactions. As an online retailer, you should try to offer a convenient shopping experience not only on your eCommerce website but also to all the channels you’re present on, no matter what device your customers are using.
Consider offering the option of voice-activated shopping, in-store pick-up, one-click shopping, etc. to make things easier for your consumers.
3. Leverage SEO
When you think about satisfying customer expectations, SEO is not usually among the first things that come to mind. But SEO can do more than just attract organic traffic to your website. In fact, when used right, it can also be a potent tool for improving your shopping experience. It’s not hard to see why: Google wants to deliver the best possible UX to its users, so websites that focus on UX and CX will outrank others in the SERPs.
SEO can help customers find what they need, improve site speed, use interlinking to improve content discoverability, etc. Of course, SEO requires substantial efforts, time, and patience in order to produce results so, if you can afford it, consider investing in hiring a company that offers professional eCommerce SEO services.
4. Provide Fast Delivery
Regardless of where your customers are, fast delivery is one of the most important aspects of eCommerce. About 45% of shoppers in the States expect that orders placed from 1 pm - 4 pm should be delivered the next day, so being able to satisfy this desire for urgency, could really set your company apart from the crowd and boost customer loyalty.
Besides fast delivery, customers also expect a number of different delivery options. For instance, many shoppers still prefer in-store pick-up in order to avoid shipping fees but also because they want to get their hands on the product as soon as possible. By blending the offline and online worlds, you’ll be able to improve the customer experience and boost your chances of making a sale.
5. Offer a Variety of Payment Options
Imagine a consumer dropping their full cart just because you don’t accept their preferred payment option. Just like they want options when it comes to delivery and customer service channels, shoppers also want the opportunity to choose from several different payment options.
Offering this kind of flexibility will allow them to buy on their own terms and really enjoy the shopping experience. As a rule of thumb, you should try to offer as many of them as possible such as credit card, Amazon Pay, Apple Pay, PayPal, Bank Transfer, Visa checkout, etc.
Bear in mind that payment preferences (and hence, payment options) vary from country to country. If you’re shipping to different countries, you should consider accepting popular local payment methods and the most popular global payment methods. For instance, people in Germany prefer Wire Transfer and Direct debit, while credit cards are the most popular option in Japan.
Final Thoughts
With more people shopping online than ever before, their expectations have increased as their tolerance has decreased. If customers can’t get what they need quickly and easily from you, they’ll have no choice but to go elsewhere.
Meeting all customer expectations isn’t easy but it is not impossible either. Follow these 5 simple strategies, use them to learn more about your customers’ expectations, and you should be able to improve your shopping experience.
