Make it easy to buy.

Whilst a lot of people browse on mobile devices, statistics tell us that most customers actually purchase on a desktop. That’s because we know what to expect on each device. Fumbling with numbers, the @ symbol in our email and typing out a lengthy postal address is off-putting for most shoppers.
So they’re happy to browse, but will save the actual checkout process until they get back to the desktop.
This doesn’t mean that you should abandon the mobile cart process (pun intended!). Did you know that on many sites, you can change the keyboard that appears for different form fields? For example, having a keyboard that includes the @ symbol in the email field, is going to allow mobile customers to breeze through checkout.

Give your checkout a check-up

Where possible, don’t make people go through the whole checkout process, just to see how much shipping is going to be.
When it comes to customer experience, nothing turns a sale away as quick as the cost of shipping. As a retailer, you can’t always afford to absorb shipping costs, so be transparent when it comes to shipping. If you offer free shipping over a certain amount, make sure that it’s prominent throughout the shopping experience. If an item is heavy or oversize, make it clear in the product description that standard shipping does not apply. Go one step further, and put a shipping estimate calculator INSIDE the product description.

What happens afterwards?

And when it comes to up-levelling the online shopping experience, think about what happens after the sale.
Do you send out standardised email confirmations? It only takes a few minutes to edit the template and give it your own brand voice.
Does your system automatically update the customer through the delivery schedule, from packing and dispatch right through to delivery? Not only is keeping your customer informed a courtesy, it also adds to the hype and anticipation that we all get, when our purchases are due to arrive.

When was the last time you looked at your site through the eyes of someone who has just discovered your store?

Go through and navigate your own store, put items into the cart, and even go right through the checkout process.
Net-a-porter co-founder Megan Quinn, regularly ordered items from her store, to assess the customer experience and quality control, then assessing where in the process any issues may have not be up to the Net-a-porter standard.

Today, the barrier to entry to open an online store is virtually nil. For less than $50, you can set up an ecommerce website.

Being online is no longer enough.
As a retailer that wants to continue to grow, you need to be constantly re-assessing your store, tweaking it to enhance the customer experience, be on top of your SEO and marketing and most importantly, seeking out small ways to make big changes. These three strategies can help you do just that.

If you’re looking for more ways to take your retail store to the next level, grab my free guide on How to Become An Ecommerce Copy Writing Ninja at salenaknight.com/ninja