On-line Shopping

On-line Shopping

Kriska Aviola | 28/02/2011

I'm a great advocate of online shopping. Online shopping is quickly becoming a preferred choice for many, and is clearly the trend of the future.

For some, it is convenience that has driven their motivation to use online stores. For others, it is the allure of the bargain, with products seemingly more widely available and cheaper than on the high street. For me, it’s the endless choices... A vast array of trendy and cheap items is just a click away. Whether we like it or not, e-commerce is reforming and reshaping the economy, evolving traditional retail methods and becoming a more convenient method of shopping for millions of people worldwide.

These are some important functionalities that I think is important for an e-commerce website:

1. Customer Reviews - If I see a product that has high visitor ratings and positive reviews, I’ll be way more likely to buy the product. I personally like browsing through different reviews especially with shipping. That’s a primary concern to ensure that the service you provide is reliable and on time.

2. A more straight-forward less complex shopping cart process – An overly long shopping cart process with way too many un-necessary fields is a sure way to lose potential sales.

3. Live text chat service - One of the best ways to help ensure the process of buying from you is to offer them the option of live help at any step. It adds an air of security and assurance for consumers as their questions are being answered directly in real time.

4. Show offers and discounts of related items during browse and checkout - one of the easiest ways to sell more products to an individual is by offering related items on product pages, during the checkout, and after the sale has been completed.

5. Improve your browse and product search results - One of the most important parts of an ecommerce site in my opinion is the browse and search functionality. It’s much easier to browse through products if your site offers sorting and filtering options. On fashions online sites I appreciate being to sort through prices, sizes and even the colour that I’m looking for.

tags: e-commerce