It is safe to say that this global pandemic has completely altered how business is done. Walking into a storefront is no longer a requirement for customers to shop for the latest trends; with the world at their fingertips while sitting on their sofa, no face-to-face interactions are necessary. As a result, websites are becoming increasingly valuable business tools and one can even go as far as saying that a website has the capability of either making or breaking your business.
Your boutique’s website plays a critical role in your ability to develop new business. Customers will rely on your website to understand and access your boutique. It is easy to distinguish a mediocre online store from a quality online store: but what makes successful eCommerce stores successful? To ensure your boutique is maximizing its online presence, here are the seven best practices to boost your website’s efficiency and effectiveness:
Best Practices for Ecommerce Boutique Websites
Tip 1: Choose Beautiful and Appealing Images for Your Ecommerce Website
Images and text are what the internet is compiled with. When we search webpages, we rely almost completely on visual senses as we navigate throughout the website. As a marketing specialist, we want you to understand the power of using images as a tool to engage customers.
In a recent study, 67% of online shoppers admit that images of products are more important than customer reviews or product information. With that said, it is important to use images that will grab your customers’ attention.
In order to ensure the best quality of photos, we suggest taking your own photos instead of using stock images. This way you ensure that your website hosts beautifully arranged images that are sure to match your brand.
Tip 2: Use the Power of Breadcrumbs to Personalize the User Experience
Do you remember the fairy tale about Hansel and Gretel? They used breadcrumbs to mark their path home so that they would not get lost. When it comes to using breadcrumbs on an eCommerce website, they show the path from a website’s main page to a current page. This is important because breadcrumbs allow users to get back to a landing page with a single click, AND they have been proven to reduce bounce rate. Breadcrumbs are essential to making it easy for your customer to go back to main product categories and move easily through large catalogs.
Tip 3: Extend Your Navigation Bar to Show Main Product Categories
Minimalist navigation bars on websites are great, but not for eCommerce stores. Including a wide range of categories allows customers to easily find exactly what they are looking for, without giving up in the process by being overwhelmed with all the products they aren’t looking for.
Tip 4: Utilize Filters for an Optimal User Experience
Filters are beneficial for eCommerce stores to utilize because they allow customers to find what they are looking for in a matter of seconds. To help provide the best shopping experience for your customers, optimize your filter capabilities to encompass the goods and services you offer. For example: allow customers to filter products by brand, size, and color.
Tip 5: Describe your Products like a Person
Amazon is an incredible resource when it comes to product descriptions. Their team starts product descriptions by telling you what you can do with their product and how convenient it is before bothering to provide you with any technical specifications.
Tip 6: Allow Customer Photos to Appear with Reviews Under Each and Every Item
Let’s face it, word of mouth is what drives sales. When it comes to the world of eCommerce shopping, word of mouth is still possible. Brightlocal recently released the results from a study about eCommerce shopping. They found that 91% of 18-34-year-old consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
When you utilize customer reviews, you are able to build trust with your customer base. Many business owners worry that negative reviews will ruin your business, but it is far from that. Both positive and negative reviews give you an opportunity to show your customers that you are transparent. Any negative reviews should be replied to by you in a loving and caring manner. This too will help create a sense of loyalty to your brand that will help your business to continue to soar.
Tip 7: Encourage Customers to Shop Frequently with Convenient Payment Solutions
Customers want to shop, and they want it to be easy. With the ability to incorporate mobile payments, simplified checkouts, and guest checkout capabilities, you are making it easy for customers to want to shop your boutique.
Tip 8: Consider Offering Your Customers a Loyalty Program
When you hear the term customer loyalty, you instantly think about an individual who wants to use your brand repeatedly. New customers don’t become repeat customers automatically, which is why a loyalty program is beneficial.
Ecommerce loyalty programs increase customer value to your organization and have the potential to provide your boutique with recurring revenue while diligently working to strengthen customer relationships.
Tip 10: Utilize Influencers to Promote Your Ecommerce Store
Influencer marketing strategies are a wonderful way to get more traffic and sales for your eCommerce business.
