Tag Archive for: online shopping

Scottsdale Web Design – Why Your Website Needs a FREE SHIPPING Feature

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FREE SHIPPING boosts your website more than you think. In fact, Gian Fulgoni mentioned during his Comscore’s webinar that 75% of the online shoppers surveyed revealed that they would switch to another website if shipping was NOT free during shipping and payment process.

Additionally, Forrester Research did a survey in 2008 and the conclusion of the study was that online retailers expanded their web department by 18%. However, 40% of the customers mentioned that they very surprised at the high cost of shipping their items. Thus, they decided to abandon their carts. Unfortunately for these online retailers, many customers did not continue with their orders.

Brown shopping bagsHow Free Shipping Saves the Day?

In order to avoid the problems presented on the Forrester Research survey, many websites now offer FREE SHIPPING. This strategy could make customers shift and try shopping in different websites. Rather than choosing  Amazon, where shipping rates are calculated per item, a lot of customers opt for websites such as Wordery and Book Depository. These online businesses offer “free worldwide shipping.” With this, people will seriously consider to transfer. The free shipping strategy is pretty hard to resist.

These are the different ways to offer FREE SHIPPING to your customers:

  • FREE SHIPPING ON ORDERS OVER X AMOUNT.
  • Amazon may not offer free worldwide shipping, but the website uses another shipping strategy. Amazon will unlock the free shipping option if and only if you reached their minimum requirement. If your current order is over $25, you can now click the free shipping option during the checkout process. The free shipping feature only applies to the 50 states of the U.S.
  • FLAT-RATE SHIPPING FEE.
  • There’s also another strategy that is NOT weight-based. Flat-rate shipping will only require a uniform shipping fee without considering the quantity and weight of the order. The USPS’ flat-rate shipping option starts at $6.70. The shipping fee is fixed as long as the package does NOT exceed 70 lbs. The Priority Mail Flat Rate packaging includes USPS Tracking when you send it to any U.S. destination.
  • FREE SHIPPING ON SELECTED PRODUCTS.
  • Offering free shipping when you are selling a bundle is ideal. It encourages customers to try out the product bundle. Instead of just buying a piece, you are enticing them to get a bundle + FREE SHIPPING. For example, you can offer a jewelry set that includes a necklace, a pair of earrings, and a bracelet. Group products that complement each other and offer them as a bundle to take advantage of the FREE SHIPPING offer.
  • LIMITED-TIME OFFERS DURING SPECIAL OCCASIONS.
  • Limited-time offers are a way to cross-sell other items. It’s a subtle way of saying to your customers to browse these items that will sell out soon. So, the customers will start hoarding these items and will be adding more items to their shopping carts.
  • Aside from that, it’s an efficient way to get rid of overstocks. It’s an ingenious strategy to encourage people to purchase multiple copies. A common example is to offer a buy 2, get 2 free.

These are only some of the popular FREE SHIPPING options. Some websites even utilizes all three strategies. In designing a website, it’s crucial to study your customers. You need to know what products sell the most, the sales that were able to attract many customers, the CTA buttons that get clicked the most.  The results are important and it can help you improve your online store.

Scottsdale Web Design – How to Revamp Your Website for Valentine’s Day

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The holidays are over and it’s now the start of a new year. The next thing you’ll know is that it’s going to be  Valentine’s Day. Websites should discard the Christmas decorations and start filling their websites with hearts and flowers. Valentine’s Day is the time where people go the extra mile to show their love for their loved ones. For websites,  it’s the perfect time to spread love. Valentine’s Day promotions are going to pop up anytime soon. So, here are 3 tips for your retail site this upcoming Valentine’s Day:

  • Tip #1: Prepare In Advance.

  • January is the ideal time to start organizing a Valentine’s Day plan. Whatever your business may be, it’s imperative that you should start early. After the Christmas break, you can begin planning what you might want to do this Valentine’s Day. You need time to spread your website campaigns. Even with the help of the internet, promotions and sales will popularize in a snap. Plus, you need to give people time to save up enough money to splurge on this special day.
  • Another reason to start early is that other websites may have started with their own marketing campaigns If you won’t plan now, you will only be left with hardly any customers. Take the first step and start knocking on their generous hearts (no pun intended!)
Heart Cutout on a Coffee Cup

It’s going to be Valentine’s day soon!

  • Tip #2: Use Images to Get People Ready for Valentine’s Day

  • It’s such a happy and joyous occasion. Since it’s Valentine’s day, add hearts, flowers, teddy bears, and chocolate to your marketing ads. Website reminders and email messages just won’t do it. Each time you have a website sale, like on Valentine’s day, make sure to add happy and  lively pictures.
  • You should also follow a certain template. Whether it’s a special photo you took yourself, the cheery banner, or the social media advertisement you carefully planned, there should be a sense of uniformity. All the materials you prepared should use the same color scheme, font, and style. Not only that, it should also contain your logo, your website link, and your various social media accounts. So, people can easily know where to find your products that moment they see the ad.

  • Tip #3: Spread the Word by Spreading LOVE!

  • How do we exactly do this third tip? You spread love through giveaways! It’s time to let your customers do the marketing for you. By conducting a variety of giveaways on your different social media accounts, people can easily spread your Valentine’s day sale.
  • Whether your customers are mainly on Facebook,  Twitter, or Instagram, you start a simple “like and share” giveaway.  Anyone interested to WIN freebies from you will just repost an image or a status update. This way, the giveaway can trigger a ripple effect. So, people are inspired to share and spread the word about your Valentine’s day promotion.
  • Lastly, you DON’T have to do a giveaway at all times. Other strategies include: offering a FREE gift to anyone who reaches the required minimum purchase amount. Just remember that during these special occasions, every online business is brainstorming of a one-of-a-kind strategy to convince people to buy.  If every website similar to you is having a  buy 1, get 1 free, why not add something like an all-expense-paid Valentine’s day date? That additional prize will surely make you stand out from the rest. It’s doesn’t have to be at an 5-star hotel. People will still appreciate having a date at a cozy restaurant. It makes the date more meaningful and more memorable!

12 Tips to Perfect Web Forms

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Person Touching Macbook Pro

In designing web forms, the saying: never judge a book by its cover really does not apply. If you want to create a website that people will constantly have to visit, visuals are everything. The web forms that they have to fill need to be clear, understandable, and unambiguous. Yes, content is important, but poor presentation of web forms can affect your website. The web form design is important especially if you are selling a product online. The data they need to input in these forms need to be accurate. An effective web form ensures a pleasant shopping experience for all your customers.

Follow the below to help you design effective web forms:

  • POST-ITS FOR CONTACT FORMS

    Just to add a little something to a regular contact form.

  • EASY REPEAT PURCHASES ON MOBILE

    Store customer data if they permit you to do so in order that their next transactions would not be as much of a hassle as their first go.

  • NICE DESIGN

    Provide nice web form design to please the eyes of your customers.

  • ALIGNING FORM LABELS VERTICALLY ON MOBILE

    Line up labels especially on mobile sites to make it less squeezed in and compressed.

  • ADDRESS QUESTIONS THAT ARE USUALLY ASKED

    Provide additional information on why your customers need to answer these questions because they naturally would want to know why it is necessary for them to take up these steps.

  • CLEAR DELIVERY OPTIONS IN CHECKOUT

    Provide a clear list of modes of delivery that a customer may choose from.

  • PROVIDE AN EASY TOOL TO GAUGE CONTACT URGENCY

    This is like providing a meter for your customers’ queries. This will determine how eager they are for your reply. This allows you to know if the message is just a mere message or a message that is need in of immediate response.

  • TAILOR INPUT STYLE TO FORM FIELDS

    Use input style that caters to the form fields that your customer is going to fill in. For example if they are about to fill in their numbers, of course it will be more convenient for them to input number keys directly.

  • MIX OF DATA ENTRY STYLES

    Make it more fun and interesting by mixing at matching different styles to your contact forms.

  • CHECKOUT ENTRY PAGE

    Give them the option of guest check out to avoid turning them off by compulsory registration. This means giving them the discretion of checking your site as a guest and not forcing them to immediately sign up. Also, if you want to encourage them to sign up without being a little too aggressive, you can always flash all the benefits and advantages of creating their own accounts.

  • LIVE CHAT IN CHECKOUT

    Providing a live chat session for guest customers and even customers themselves will allow you to entertain questions as they fire up.

  • MOBILE CHECKOUT

    Creating a mobile version of the site’s check out is also a great idea. This should make it convenient for your on-the-go customers. This should be designed to fit the mobile screens. It should clear, readable and straightforward.

Reasons Why Shoppers Abandon Their Cart and Ways to Prevent Them

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Macbook Air on White Surface

According to a Business Insider article, shoppers abandon their cart during login, during the checkout process, and majority leave during payment stage. This post will elaborate the reasons and present possible solutions.

Let’s simplify the three why people abandon their shopping carts.

  • Account creation is mandatory.

  • 37.4% of shoppers leave when they are being forced to sign up. In reality, no one wants to be forced into doing something. Remember that people visited your website to buy and not make an account.
    • Solution #1: Offer a “checkout as guest” option. If they already have an account, logging in is easy. If they don’t, let them purchase what they want as guests. After their transaction, they are more easier to convince to get an account. This time you don’t have to force them.
    • Solution #2: Encourage them to sign up. You can convince by listing the benefits of creating an account. Inform them that an account: will give you a detailed tracking of orders, allows you to access exclusive promos, and account holders get the to be notified first about discounts and coupon codes.

  • Lengthy checkout procedure.

  • Online shoppers are impulsive. Use this to your advantage and do not scare away shoppers by giving them long and winding forms to fill out.  Adding more fields to your checkout process will just increase cart abandonment.
    • Solution #1: Identify the information you need and only ask important details from customers. If the items are to be shipped and billed to one mailing address, do not let them repeat what they typed. Add check box that indicates that billing address is the same as shipping address.
    • Solution #2: Accept online payments and online money transfers. With services like WePay, Google Checkout, Amazon Payments, Paypal, people can conveniently shop and checkout with their email and password.

  • Shocking delivery costs.

  • Websites want their products to appear than competing brand. But during checkout, expensive delivery costs are then revealed. Thus, shoppers just the web page and leave their cart altogether.
    • Solution #1: Offer ‘free’ delivery. Shoppers love the word FREE. When they see FREE, they will most likely to click immediately. For people outside the US, they find websites like bookdepository.com very convenient. Since the website offer free shipping wherever you are in the world, customers don’t need to think about ridiculous international shipping rates.
    • Solution #2: Estimate the cost. Let shoppers know around how much it will cost them to ship an item. One good way is to indicate price and beside it, include the minimum delivery cost.
    • Solution #3: Add a shipping calculator. Allow shoppers to enter their zip code and the calculator will display an accurate price quote to their desired zip code.

You can never stop shoppers from abandoning their cart. There are countless of reasons that are out of your control like a misplaced credit card. Still, it is not an excuse for e-commerce websites to keep making these mistakes that hinders sales conversion. With a little tweak to your website, you will avoid losing money and make your customers’ shopping experience easier.

9 Tips to Prevent Online Fraud

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bank, banking, businessOnline businesses use websites as their trading ground.

It is the most rapid way to get in touch with clients. But you have to watch out for those fraudsters, who are studying how they can pull a fast one on you. These people might sell you something that does not exist or sell something that has no quality. They can also ask details of your identity or your financial information to scam you. Be careful in clicking different links because they might provide a website that looks real just to get your payment details. Always check the authenticity of the website you visit.

If you are the seller, buyers may not pay right away. There are various reasons like the payment cannot be sent immediately, but the buyer wants the items delivered and expect payment later. They may not pay you.

Save yourself from complications. Here are tips to help you:

  • Scammers will set dummy sites. Because they are familiar with the authentic sites, they can add some things, a different spelling or a word. Check the web address to know if they are real.
  • Do not click any links or use a money transfer mode when you want to pay on an auction site. Use Paypal or other similar services that can protect your money.
  • It is wise to know the dispute resolution, terms and conditions of the auction sites before transacting.
  • One of the famous scheme of fraudsters is opening a credible account like eBay. They would buy things to get great feedback, hence, they get positive feedback scores. Smart, right? Be smarter, go and check the seller’s profile and know the true comments from actual buyers. If they don’t have it, you are their target!
  • You need photos to know if the product is for real. Do your research and check Google to know if there is a cut and paste routine. Once you confirmed it, that is warning sign.
  • Very little details? Do not hesitate to ask for pictures that will set the scammer to give you pictures, which you can check later.
  • Bargain price? A lot of fraudster uses this bargain tactic using a good online platform like Gumtree or eBay just to appear reliable. The reality is: it is a fake item or the product does not exist. If you have sent your money, say goodbye to it.
  • No contact number? Sometimes, if not, fraudsters put a number that you cannot contact. Stop right away and do not transact with them.
  • You are asked to communicate outside the official system like using mobile phone or email? Why, when there is an official platform to contact each other.

If these instances happen to you…

Take note of these tips before you buy anything online. To be sure, purchase items at the brand’s official website and avoid transacting with shops in social media. If you buy from other people, you cannot be certain of their quality and authenticity. If you have been scammed, call the right authorities. If you are in the UK area, you can call the Action Fraud helpline 0300 123 2040.

 

How to Identify Fake Reviews

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Brown shopping bags

Before you shop online, be careful on the reviews you see.

Before buying online, it is natural for us to look for the feedback of other consumers about the product or service. The sad part of it is that: a lot of reviews online are fake. So, who does these deception? They could be businesses, retailers, marketers, whose main purpose is to increase their sales and damage their rival companies, writers who use phony names, and people who gets a deal from positive comments, or those who gets paid for their reviews.

Fake online reviews can surely hurt the netizens. People can waste good money in purchasing products that are not good. Products like that may endanger your health and safety.

To help you know whether a review online is fake or not, here are some tips:

  • Language – Real reviews present information on the performance of the product. The fake ones raves and uses superlatives rather than detailed product description.
  • Review the reviewer – A reviewer who writes a review for a certain company shows that the reviewer has a vested interest.  The reviewer can use photo of the product purchased to show authenticity. Investigate the site. Some allow posts from consumers who purchased in their site. Know their policies on this.
  • Be sharp on the detail – If a reviewer can tell why he or she like or dislike a certain product or service, that is not fake. If the review uses general statement like, “It was horrible!” or “It was so good,” it only means the review was written to  blatantly credit or discredit a certain product or service, to get a negative or positive feel to the reader.
  • Too negative or too positive – Do not believe reviews that gives a crushing 1-star or a fabulous 5-star.  A real review is in the middle of the spectrum.
  • Well-written reviews – Be cautious if the review is written well and everything is perfect. A marketing shill or a person who has vested interest could have written it. It also uses superlatives to describe the product.
  • Keyword stuffing – some online fake reviews will use the game search engine results to create traffic to the product purchase page or site. This is done by repeating the same product over and over again to make the product appear in the search results. This tactic is used to manipulate the ranking.
  • Reviewer’s history – Findout the history of the reviewer by checking the different online stores to know how many reviews the reviewer has written.
  • Same text over and over again – If a review is seen again and again, it could be bot generated. Also, reuse of the same content taken from another review is fake.
  • Check the reviewer’s ID – a long line of numbers on its username should you that profile could be fake. An example would be “Reviewer 072514123789”. A username like that could mean that that profile could be a bot.

Do Online Shoppers Check Product Reviews?

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buy on a computer

People search for reviews before purchasing online.

Today, consumers trust their fellow consumers more than they trust the different advertisements shown in both the social media, print, and television. The past years have seen how much product reviews has become a powerful tool to convince consumers to purchase. A research done by Jupiter Research confirms that 77% of the consumers refer to the product reviews before they decide on their actual purchase.

Another study also showed that 90% of the consumers admits that the product reviews that they read online has an intensifying effect on their purchase. The customary way of sales and marketing has not retained its power as to the user generated content more specifically, the customer reviews. Sadly, most corporations has not use this kind of marketing and branding. The truth is: product reviews can establish trust among potential consumers which later on can become purchase.

It is wise for businesses to allow the consumers to air what they think of their product/s whether the comment is positive or negative. Even bad reviews has their advantages too. It has the ability to help build the trust of the consumers. Bad reviews has more honesty and credibility which helps the consumers modify their expectations.

Reevo states that negative reviews does improve the conversions to purchase by 67% which is a pretty much large number especially when translated to sales. Reevo also discovered that negative reviews of products are actually the ones that convert more. This also means, consumers are paying close attention. Surveys likewise shows that 68% of consumers trust the reviews no matter if they are good or bad. On the flip side, 30% thinks that the reviews went through censorship or if not, they are just fake reviews because no negative comment was written about the product.

Types of reviews:

  • The brief overview review – This type is usually written in one page for consumers to quickly see which products has the highest and lowest ratings. Brief overview review are found in affiliate sites which is usually done in one or two paragraphs. It also has a star rating or any kind of rating. This comprises product image and a link.
  • The comprehensive and full review – A longer review is much better that the brief overview review because it goes into details. It shows the advantages of the product, its features, and it also tells what is good and bad about the product. Included in the review would be screenshots, and product photos.

CEO Matt Moog of Power Reviews also added that, “We try to focus on identifying the valuable reviews. If the product is popular and selling at a high price point, that review will have more impact.” Product reviews are not just for consumers but also for retailers and brands. Reviews can result positive eventuality like offers, get suppliers and develop their products more. This can help change the products. Matt Moog said, “It’s the best form of market research—real-time and specific, from people you know have used the product.”