Most of the big companies in the market are successful in making best e-commerce store in the world. But they failed to make successful business because they didn’t study customer behavior. There are lots of factors that influence the consumer behavior of online shop and you have to do enough research before launching your products for online sale. Here are some of the key factors that can impact on the consumer behavior of your e-commerce shop:
1) Website design:
Most of the visitors consider website appearance to be an important factor before making any trade. Some the users skip the website because they find it less user-friendly and dislike the aesthetics of e-commerce shop. These days, companies are trying to make their website extremely inspiring by hiring best website designers of the industry.
2) Loading speed of website:
We are living in a high-speed internet world where time is more important than anything else. Most of the consumers don’t prefer an online platform which is slow to load. This situation applied to both desktop and mobile users as they want to browse through several pages on e-commerce store in a quick span of time.
3) Product reviews:
More than 80% of online buyers say that online reviews and testimonials written by existing customers are influenced their purchasing decision. This is mainly because they are keen to read the experience users have after using a particular product. They also search online review portals like Yelp, CNET, and Information to get an in-depth knowledge of the products. The reviews also give them an idea about product quality and kind of issues they may face after using a product they want to buy.
4) Shipping policy:
Shipping policy of online store is one of the most vital factors that influence the consumer behavior towards a particular website. Companies that are offering free and fast shipping tend to attract regular customers on their site. Most of the users prefer to compare the final price they need to pay for the product after including the shipping cost. For an example, you can check the shipping policy page of Amazon, the world’s largest e-commerce portal.
5) Being active on social media platforms:
Most of the consumers tend to take feedback about a company from their friends or relatives before making any purchase. So, companies having an active presence on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc. can impress consumers thereby influencing their buying decision.
6) Payment safety:
Several online shoppers change their decision of purchasing a product because they don’t see trust seal on the website. When a user makes online payment while purchasing a specific product he has to share his bank details and several other confidential details. So, consumers only prefer those websites that offer highly secure payment gateway.
7) Mobile experience:
A recently conducted research has shown that more than 70% of users exit sites that are not optimized for Smartphone. This is because more than 75% of buyers prefer to check the products on their Smartphone as they do online shopping mostly during leisure time. This is the reason why every e-commerce shop owner prefers to make his website responsive and mobile friendly so as to attract a maximum number of visitors.
8) Easy return policy:
E-commerce platforms that are offering easy or no hassle return policy are attracting more buyers as compared to other websites. More than 60% of the buyers check the return policy before making any online purchase. They prefer to make a continuous purchase from online sites that are offering hassle free returns on their products.
9) Customer support:
According to recent data, more than 50% of buyers wish to talk with the customer personnel of sellers before placing final orders. So today most of the websites offering live chat or phone support in order to resolve the queries of customers in quick time.
10) Occasional discounts and coupons:
Festival discounts and occasional offers tend to attract more buyers as they tend to take advantage of limited discounts available on products of their choice. Most of the online stores provide cash back or bonus points on the bulk purchase done by buyers at the time of festivals or specific occasions.
Final Words:
Apart from the key factors discussed above, there are several other factors such as easy checkout, product catalog and site navigation that influence the decision of buyers before making an online purchase. Companies which are doing thorough research on consumer behavior and following right strategies are the ones who are doing successful business in the e-commerce industry.
