How to Develop the Best E-commerce Customer Experience in 2024

If you have been running an e-commerce company for a long time,  you know that offering a perfect product is not the only option to survive in the digital market.  

Yes, the products your business provides have a huge impact on the success of your business. But, you cannot rely on more than just product quality to attract and retain your online customers.  It is no longer the main reason to do business with a brand. According to today’s user standards, delivering a valuable experience to your e-commerce customers is essential.

Therefore, this article curated by our e-commerce developers from the top e-commerce web development company in India will discuss creating an e-commerce customer experience in 2024 and beyond to improve customer loyalty, retention, and lifetime value. 

What is E-commerce Customer Experience? 

E-commerce customer experience is the overall impression customers develop when interacting with a company, whether such interactions occur online, in-store, or on mobile devices. 

In the e-commerce industry, customer experience is primarily concerned with how effectively a business communicates and connects with its customers, which often plays a crucial role in shaping their future behavior.

Why is Customer Experience Essential? 

According to a survey by PwC, one negative experience is enough to make a third of customers switch to a different brand. However, 65% of respondents in the US said a positive experience is more convincing than better advertising.

Customer experiences impact customer retention and loyalty towards the brand to encourage positive reviews and marketing. A negative customer experience gives the opposite results. So it is time to reinvest your advertising budget.

Digital Transformation in Driving Customer Experience 

What creates a good experience? 

Despite the rising demands of increasingly connected consumers, 32 percent of those surveyed point to technology as a business’s ability to meet its desired needs.

PwC found that in the era of instant gratification, people make the connection between technology and customer experience. 

Also, Gartner predicts that chatbots will be integrated across 25 percent of customer support operations. So, it would be foolish for a business firm to take people out of their support plans.

Chatbots can help companies reduce response times and provide an around-the-clock presence. A Chatbots.org survey found repeating data to a live agent after explaining the situation to a chatbot was frustrating for 59% of users.

Indeed, making technology more human is key to enhancing the customer experience. Although improvements in AI are coming through, these bots still need human backup.

Get top-notch e-commerce website design in India.

How E-commerce Customer Experience Impacts Your Business? 

Making your e-commerce website stand out is essential for a business. One of the ways to accomplish this is a great user experience. 

The e-commerce customer experience can influence many business parts including- 

Brand Loyalty 

A good customer experience can foster a connection with your brand to increase customer loyalty.

Customer Retention 

A positive customer experience will leave your site visitors satisfied to buy again, and less sensitive to minor mistakes or changes.

Conversion Rate 

When it is easy to navigate your website and make purchases, it becomes easy to complete a transaction. 

Competitive Advantage 

Offering a superior customer experience can help you stand out from competitors. And attract more customers.

Revenue 

If your customers are happy, they will make repeat purchases. Also, recommend you to their friends which impacts your business sales. 

Brand Reputation 

A lot of bad experiences and reviews can damage your brand’s reputation in this age of social media. 

Market Growth 

An exceptional customer experience can develop a strong e-commerce platform for opportunities to expand your product offerings and enter new online markets.

For instance- Starbucks’ brand loyalty program is the best example of developing an excellent customer experience. However, they use the brick-and-mortar system, and their mobile app offers around 50% of all sales. 

The Starbucks app lets customers order their favorite beverage, receive personalized messages, and skip the waiting queue at the store. 

To know more about the impact of e-commerce customer experience on your business, meet the expert developers at Indglobal, the renowned e-commerce web design company in India. 

Top Ways to Improve E-commerce Customer Experience 

A perfect e-commerce customer experience can help businesses attract more customers and increase their lifetime value. Here are the top strategies added by our e-commerce web development in Bangalore team you can look further to improve customer experience. 

• Use an omnichannel experience 

An increasing number of consumers now demand a seamless and hassle-free omnichannel experience. Therefore, instead of directing traffic to a specific website or selling channel, owners must ensure that their products are available wherever their audience is likely to be. This means being present on platforms like Instagram or offering their products to Amazon Prime members.

E-commerce sellers who offer multiple buying options across various platforms including websites, social media, third-party marketplaces, and physical retail stores can provide a superior customer experience. And, social commerce is the fastest-growing driver of online sales and an area of focus that many sellers should consider.

• Design appealing product pages 

A product page that is easy to use and understand helps customers make informed decisions without overwhelming them with too much information. 

Using images and graphics is an effective way to provide lots of detail about the product, but it’s also important to include specific details such as size, color, weight, material, model numbers, and expected shipping times. By providing detailed information, you can increase your chances of making a sale while also reducing negative feedback. 

When customers have all the necessary information, they are more likely to be satisfied with their purchase.

• Offer effective customer service 

If you maintain a presence on multiple online platforms, you should receive support inquiries from each of them. Nowadays, customers anticipate timely responses to their support requests regardless of whether they communicate with you through email, tweets, or social media platforms.

To provide the best e-commerce customer experience, it is perfect to deliver friendly and effective customer service. If you engage with the users, they can forgive you when something goes wrong. 

• Deliver fast and free shipping

Consider offering free shipping to enhance your e-commerce customer experience as 75% of online shoppers expect this. 

According to a survey conducted by Deloitte in 2019, 85% of consumers in the United States prefer free shipping over fast shipping. However, shoppers’ expectations regarding free delivery times have also increased. 87% of those who prefer free shipping now expect delivery within seven days. 

• Focus on return policies 

A user-friendly return policy can build trust and confidence. Although many e-commerce companies do not offer free returns, therefore they can have an upfront return policy with clear instructions to deliver a positive purchase experience.

But this is not enough. 

Anything you offer for a hassle-free return process is remembered and appreciated. Therefore, additional perks can provide a better experience such as prepaid return labels or extending the return window during different seasons. 

• Provide the best mobile experiences 

This year, nearly half of all online sales in the United States are expected to occur on mobile devices. Therefore, e-commerce merchants must optimize their product listings and images for mobile users, or have a mobile app available. This is applicable whether they sell products through their website or a third-party online marketplace.

 Check Your E-commerce Customer Experience 

Online merchants have access to various e-commerce metrics to monitor customer experience. However, keeping track of certain key goals is critical for fostering a customer-centric company environment. By monitoring these three metrics, you can gain a deeper understanding of your customers’ experiences and take steps to improve them.

• Net Promoter Score (NPS)

Net Promoter Score measures the percentage of customers who would recommend your store to others, helping you evaluate customer experiences and their impact on conversions.

To get your NPS, conduct a survey of customers with the question: How likely do you recommend this brand or product to a friend, colleague, or family? Calculating NPS is a more complicated task than getting your customer satisfaction rate.

• Customer Satisfaction Rate (CSR)

To see how your business is doing, you need to ask customers how satisfied they are with your business’s products or services on a rating scale of one to five.

• Very Unsatisfied

• Unsatisfied

• Neutral

• Satisfied

• Very satisfied

To calculate your percentage, divide the number of satisfied customers by the total number of responses and multiply it by 100. The higher your score, the better the result.

• Customer Effort Score (CES)

The CES metric calculates how much effort customers made to interact with your brand. It is an essential element of running your e-commerce customer experience. You can ask the users about their interaction with your brand, on a scale from one to seven.

• Extremely easy

• Very easy

• Fairly easy

• Neither

• Fairly difficult

• Very difficult

• Extremely difficult

To calculate the CES score, divide the sum of all your scores by the number of responses. Your score will be between one and seven. The lower it is, the better.

Conclusion 

Providing excellent customer experience is crucial for the growth of your online business through repeat business and word-of-mouth marketing. Business firms that provide good customer experiences have an incredibly influential e-commerce marketing tool in their hands. 

The customer experience in e-commerce has a significant impact on consumer behavior. It can influence consumers in more ways than even the most extravagant advertising campaigns. Therefore, it is crucial to use every resource to develop a superb e-commerce customer experience, including technology utilization and personalization, as well as executing competent site design.

And, to further elevate the customer experience for your business, meet the e-commerce developers at the best e-commerce website development company in India, Indglobal Digital Private Limited. We offer our customers fast responses and improve their business productivity rapidly.