The Importance Of UX in E-commerce Business

Let’s face it. Shopping cart abandonment is one of the major stumbling blocks for any e-commerce website. Baymard Institute statistics reveal that as much as 70% of online shoppers quit at the stage of the checkout process. Visibly, the figure is not too small to ignore.

The reasons are far beyond just the billing amount or other personal aspects. Ask any UI UX design company experts; they would make the long story short and give a straightforward answer: Poor UX.

UX for e-commerce websites

E-commerce is much more than building a shopping website, filling it with nice merchandise, and expecting users to buy your products. It involves a great deal of understanding of customer psychology as much as it involves technical know-how.

User Experience (UX) is putting yourself in the customer’s shoes and coming out with a website design that offers a logical, comfortable, and hassle-free online shopping experience to the customer. And yes, this is not a simple feat.

Why?

Because, right from attracting a customer with a gripping landing page to making sure that they complete the billing process, many aspects come into the arena of UX. We have to cross all the stages such that the customer does not move away to our competitor.

One can rely on custom software development companies who can help you conduct business across boundaries via developing enterprise-ready eCommerce websites and apps customized to business needs.

As we move ahead, let us understand various aspects involved in the UX of e-commerce websites and how to improve them.

Reduces Loading time:

The time taken for a website to load is one of the key factors that can make or break the impression of an e-business. 

A website could be slow in loading due to various factors including:

• Improper optimization
• Heavy content (multimedia, flash content in excess, graphics, high-resolution images)
• Poorly coded backend
• Javascript issues
• Improper caching techniques
• Loaded with ads

Studies find a not-to-miss revelation about loading time and user satisfaction. 

A website that loads below 0.1 seconds satisfies users much more than the one that consumes 1 second. And, any delay in loading that is up to 10 sec is a warning sign that the user will leave the website for a faster one.

Take away: Focus on technical issues that are causing a lag in website loading for better UX.

Good UX boosts revenue.

UX design might seem an optional task when compared to other technical tasks involved in eCommerce website design and development. However, this is the stage that reflects all the research that is done for building the brand face.

Baymard Institute studies indicate that good UX directly impacts sales. They visibly noted that by simply optimizing the user check out process, the sales showed an increase of $260B together in the United States and the European Union.

Also, good UX is critical to retain the existing customer as much as it plays its role in attracting new customers. It is not to ignore the aspect as e-commerce thrives more on the existing customers for attaining its revenue.

Key takeaway: A well designed UX is a way to gain a better return on investment.

Fewer Errors and warning Free

Let us assume this:

Your customer added many favourite products to the bag and while billing the website threw the error: “Sorry! We cannot complete the transaction due to technical error.” 

No prizes in guessing what happens next. The frustrated user might immediately move away from your website. In worst cases, they might not even feel like returning to it. 

So, inspect the health of the code of the website frequently. Focus on bugs and technical glitches that might distance you from your customers.

Key takeaway: A bug-free website ensures a happy shopping experience for the customer.

Lack of transparency

Customers love surprises. But not the ones that burden their pockets. After all, it is their hard-earned money that they are shelling on the merchandise. 

Display all the costs involved with a product at the product details page itself. It might include:

• VAT
• GST
• Shipping Tax
• Other hidden charges, if any.

It gives a complete picture for the customer and helps them decide whether or not to go ahead with the purchase of the product. 

But if such hidden charges stay latent till the final stage of billing, and appear when the customer is moving ahead with the payment details, the business might lose its credibility. 

Take away: Transparency in pricing retains the trust and credibility of e-commerce.

Multi-device compatibility

With a huge range of digital devices all around us, users might shop from any device. Some users might want to add to cart from mobile devices, and prefer to complete the billing process from their personal computers. 

It is because the larger screens make them comfortable with entering payment details. Thus, it is important to customize the e-commerce website for multi-device compatibility.

To achieve this, take into account various aspects such as loading speed, user interface, ads placement, pop-ups, sign in options, social sharing options, feedback forms, etc.  

Besides, if the user is logged in from one device, make it convenient to auto-login from others. It cuts out the processing time and makes the customer happy as there is no need to enter the credentials over and again.

Take away: Design the e-commerce website such that the user experience is the same on tablets, smartphones, and desktop devices.

A better UX helps in Smoother Checkout.

E-commerce is all about convenience and time saving for customers. We need to incorporate this aspect at every stage of UX. Particularly when it comes to the checkout process, make it as smoothly as possible.

With a displayed checkout tab, a customer gains confidence about the transparency of the transaction. Display the details such as taxes and estimated delivery date as and when the user adds the products to the cart.

The main aspect about the user checkout is that it should never feel like a burdening task. Create auto-fill options wherever possible and keep the data filling task by the user at minimal. Split the checkout process into easier chunks such that it does not appear like a separate task for the customer. 

Take away: Create a simple checkout and do not make it look like a Herculean task.

Conclusion:

Building an e-commerce website is now easier than ever. However, retaining the customer and making them purchase is not. It involves understanding the customer mindset from every angle and giving them the best user experience possible. 

The good news is that this is not impossible. It is just that it takes little research and constant care.

Read More:

• 7 Great Tips To Sell Your Art Online
• E-Commerce is No Longer Optional, It’s Unavoidable, According to ERP Advisors Group