If you were surfing on your own Web site, would you buy anything? This must be the acid test of whether a Web site is shopper-friendly, says John Ginsberg, principal consultant at Internet consultancy Net Brothers. "Can you say in all honesty that your Web site lends itself to a positive and rewarding shopper experience?" asks Ginsberg. "If it doesn`t, you`re probably dissipating much of its potential value."
Few Web sites have the ability to whip shoppers into a spending frenzy, notes Ginsberg. Indeed, few sites can even convince shoppers to enter their personal details. Where do they go wrong?
"They go wrong with the three Cs," is Ginsberg`s conclusion. "Online shopping is all about confidence, comfort and credit cards. When it comes to e-commerce, all three are critical."
Industry statistics show that two out of three online shopping carts are abandoned. Does this mean that two-thirds of all shoppers don`t actually want to buy anything?
"No," says Ginsberg. "In fact, it`s in the last few details of the transaction that Web-based commerce can go wrong. You may have loaded your cyber trolley full of goods and proceeded to the online checkout point, only to be asked an inordinate and impolite number of questions. Imagine if a salesperson were as nosey when you were wanting to buy some goods in a physical shop. Under these circumstances, most people would be inclined to leave without concluding their purchase."
So the first rule of online shopping is that the shopper must feel comfortable in the experience; and must have more or less the same overall experience as when buying from a live attendant. After all, we are asking the shopper to part with money.
"The effect on the consumer when entering their details into an unfriendly site is equivalent to a machine voiceover that says, `Please wait while we remove money from your bank account`," warns Ginsberg. "And it`s nearly impossible to convince a person to shop with you after one bad Internet shopping experience."
Keeping your customers coming back is far easier than getting new ones. People want to build a relationship with your company, so help them in every way possible, urges Ginsberg.
"Welcome them into your Web site, and tell them something about your company, and about you. Place a picture of the general manager or your sales team, and with a wave of a hyperlink your visitors will turn into customers."
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