When it comes to the world of ecommerce, understanding a shopper’s psychology is one of the best ways to boost your online sales.
We can use what we know about the consumer mindset and demographic behaviors to better engage with customers, build communities, encourage people to buy specific items, and even make them consider purchasing a related product or service just as they’re completing their checkout.
With the incredible value that this knowledge can bring, it’s not surprising to see a number of companies investing deeply in customer analysis and research into the psychology of online checkouts. We explore this topic and how you can build a better checkout process on your platform.
Product Page Design
Most consumers will make the decision to purchase a product in the first 90 seconds of viewing it. This doesn't leave you with much time, but there are a few proven ways you can make a great first impression.
Offer Multiple Product Views
One of the most challenging aspects of shopping online is not being able to physically interact with the product. While there are some great new developments in the way of virtual retail, this might not be feasible for your brand.
Nevertheless, anyone selling online can overcome this issue by offering clear, high-resolution images from different angles. Websites have seen sales spike by as much as 58% simply by adding more detailed imagery.
Include a Video
Another great way to help consumers feel more comfortable while shopping online is to include video content that accurately shows the product. And if you can show it in action or being used by a model, then that’s even better!
Surveys have shown that roughly 50% of consumers are more confident about making a purchase after watching a video and 45% of customers are more likely to return to a website if they integrate video.
Checkout Page Design
After the customer has added a product to their cart and clicked checkout, that doesn’t mean they’ll definitely convert.
Users may simply change their mind or be deterred by their experience during the final checkout stage. For instance, they may be put off by hidden charges, requests for complicated registrations, or simply how long it takes for the page to load.
Below are a few changes you can implement to reduce these pain points for your customers.
Don't Hide Any Charges
When a customer adds an item to their cart, they're expecting to pay the price they see. Adding a bunch of additional costs at checkout often leaves people feeling a bit cheated, so don't do it.
Be upfront about costs as much as possible and make them clear to shoppers before they hit the checkout page. This includes any additional taxes, packaging, delivery or gift wrapping fees.
Skip Complicated Registrations
We know that any good ecommerce platform runs on collecting customer data, but there's a time and a place for getting that data. If a customer has started the checkout process and you really want them to finish, don't distract them with a complicated registration or account set-up form.
Instead, simply collect the minimum amount of data required to complete the transaction and then follow up with a friendly email outreach campaign to request the information you still want to gather.
Keep the Checkout Process Simple
A lengthy checkout process can be just as bad as a clunky registration phase when it comes to user checkouts.
The goal of the checkout process should be to get the payment information in as few steps as possible. Every new page that loads during the checkout process is a chance for your customer to abandon the sale, so try to keep the checkout on one single page.
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