How Good UX is Designing A Better Future For Online Shopping

Why so many consumers prefer shopping online in 2020?

The obvious answer is ‘coronavirus’, but it’s not as simple as it seems at first. The main reason why people enjoy online shopping is the unprecedented simplicity of user experience.

UX is what separates eCommerce from traditional brick and mortar stores because it’s faster, more comfortable, and even more affordable on many occasions. This is also why the eCommerce industry is growing 23% year-over-year, reaching well over $4 trillion in 2020.

But how exactly is UX solidifying the position of online shopping in modern retail? It does so in many different ways, but we will check out nine features that make UX a focal point of eCommerce.

Improve website performance

We open the list with technical suggestions because they have the potential to make or break the entire consumer journey. Three things are particularly important here:

• Mobile optimization because a huge portion of online shopping is done through smartphone devices.
• Page load speed because customers don’t want to wait for web pages to load for more than a second or two.
• Simplify navigation because you need to allow visitors to find products in a click or two.

Minimalism is the name of the game

Online shoppers don’t want to be disturbed with unnecessary elements and details that make no substantial on purchasing experiences. In such circumstances, it is important to keep things minimalistic and improve UX simply by highlighting the most relevant features only.

For instance, dissertation writers at the online assignment help agency focus on larger fonts and CTA buttons because they want to highlight the fundamentals. Besides that, they use whitespace to divide different segments of the page and ensure simple content scanning.

Add product recommendations to the website

What is the first thing you see when you visit Amazon? We bet you instantly notice product recommendations because this eCommerce mammoth pays special attention to personalized product references. You should follow in their footsteps and add product recommendations to the online store – it will improve UX and drive additional revenue to your business.

Visual elements are mandatory

Online shoppers don’t enjoy the privilege of seeing and touching products with bare hands, so you have to help them by adding visual elements to the eCommerce store. You can do it in many different ways:

• Product images from all angles are the most common solution.
• 3D images enable all-around examination of the product in a 360-degree environment.
• Videos are even better because you can describe products while presenting them. 

Use landing page elements on product pages

Another thing you should know is that landing page elements on product pages can seriously improve your UX strategy. For example, you can add a unique selling proposition and customer testimonials to make the page both salesy and informative. It will help you generate more conversions without compromising the experience of a visitor.

Use chatbots to improve UX

Chatbots represent a simple form of Artificial Intelligence capable of communicating with hundreds of customers in real-time. As such, chatbots are incredible UX booster because they simplify interactions and speed up customer service.

Jake Gardner, an eCommerce-focused essay writer online, says chatbots can solve the vast majority of inquiries almost instantly: “Instead of waiting for a human agent to solve the issue, users can rely on a chatbot for most questions. At the same time, the system can keep them updated about special offers, one-time deals, personalized discounts, and similar.”

Take advantage of AR

Augmented Reality (AR) is getting increasingly important in online retail because it takes UX to a much higher level. IKEA was one of the first brands to take advantage of AR because it introduced a special app that lets customers virtually place IKEA products in their homes to test dimensions and the overall appearance. Lots of other brands followed the same path recently, thus making online purchases simpler than ever before.

Enable easy checkout

Many consumers never make it past the checkout, which is why you should design an easy procedure and help users get through it effortlessly. Some of the most important checkout tricks include the following:

• Eliminate unnecessary form fields
• Focus on payment and shipping information
• Enable guest checkout
• Remove distractions and external links that can interfere with the payment process

Ask for customer feedback

Finally, you shouldn’t forget to ask customers for feedback once they’re done doing business with you. It serves two purposes:

• You get lots of useful information on how to improve the business.
• Customers will feel glad that their opinion is acknowledged.

The Bottom Line

UX is the core of online retail because it makes customers feel comfortable while shopping. But it’s not easy to come up with a good UX design strategy, so we analyzed nine features that already proved to enhance consumer journeys on eCommerce websites. Which one do you think is the most important for online retailers?

About the Author: Ashley Simmons is one of the professional essay writers in the best essay writing service. But Ashley is not only a member of the best essay writing service – but she is also a blogger who specializes in eCommerce, web design, and digital marketing. When not working, Ashley loves travelling and exploring foreign cultures.