e-commerce strategies

E-commerce User Experience:
where your customers get lost?

Want to know why your customers aren’t buying products from your e-commerce site?

According to a study done by the Mobile B2C Strategy Observatory of the Politecnico, 46% of smartphone users purchase a product on platforms other than the one they initially chose. This means many of your customers get ‘lost’ in the maze of your e-commerce site due to an ineffective and poorly designed User Experience.

Have you ever wondered why they abandon your e-commerce site before completing their purchases?

In this article, we explain why User Experience has become the main success factor for modern e-commerce, surpassing price competitiveness.

Different studies investigating online consumer preferences show that the shopping experience is what makes the difference.

Personalizing the shopping experience is one of the most important factors, capable of generating greater customer satisfaction. Product recommendations are among the most appreciated personalization services. In fact, most consumers, especially Millennials and Gen X, report being satisfied with making an unplanned purchase. Even in cases of dissatisfaction, the percentages remain positive: only 15% of people declare they are unhappy with their last-minute purchases, and just 5% actually return the items.

Understanding and anticipating user needs is important, but it must be done wisely. Still, 22% of shoppers state they don’t complete a purchase because online stores recommend products that don’t meet their expectations, and 30% unsubscribe from mailing lists when promotional offers fail to match their needs.

Half of all e-commerce transactions are generated via mobile, so a shopping experience tailored for this device and a smooth checkout process are additional incentives to purchase, especially for the 18-44 age group.

Closely linked to the multidevice experience is the issue of omnichannel shopping: many customers have no interest in directly visiting a webstore but want to shop where they spend most of their time online, including on Facebook. These customers are open to discovering new products but are not inclined to engage in the full shopping experience. Your e-commerce presence must also reach these users. Therefore, it’s better to expand into multiple markets, offering consistent and uniform communication across all channels.

Here are 5 tips that can be a great starting point to improve the User Experience of your e-commerce

Speed up your website loading time
According to research conducted by Akamai, 79% of potential buyers say they won’t return to an online store if they experience performance issues. In short, without adequate website speed, the user experience won’t even begin. There’s no exact benchmark to aim for; just ensure your pages load as quickly as possible.
Communicate clearly
While it’s true that appearance matters, it’s not just about the ‘wow factor.’ Clear and effective communication is just as important. This is especially true for B2B e-commerce, where 46% of users abandon a site if it doesn’t quickly communicate what the company does. Achieving a balance between graphic elements and user experience is crucial.
Use the right words
Images alone aren’t always effective in conveying the unique features of a product. In many cases, the aspects that make a product superior to competitors can only be communicated textually. After all, every page of an e-commerce site is essentially a sales pitch. To make the user experience more satisfying, choose your words carefully, ideally drafting the text before designing the page layout.
Personalize the User Experience
When managing an e-commerce site, every aspect should be approached from the consumer’s perspective. Amazon has always emphasized that one of its secrets to success is adopting a consumer-first mindset. Applying this principle requires investing time and resources into designing an optimal user experience.
Follow the 3-click rule
In a crowded and competitive e-commerce market, it’s essential to ensure that everything users are looking for is easily accessible, regardless of the number of items sold. To achieve this, an e-commerce site should have advanced search filters, attribute-based search options (e.g., size or color for clothing), autocomplete functionality in the search bar, and adhere to the 3-click rule. According to this rule, every webpage of a site with good user experience should be reachable within three clicks, minimizing the chance of users getting lost.

We at Weblink have years of experience and create e-commerce sites in Varese and across Europe for businesses looking to expand through online sales.

Do you need help improving the User Experience of your e-commerce?

We are e-commerce developers in Varese, and we’re here for you!

Fill out the form below and contact us!