Have you ever walked into a store and within minutes you knew the experience would be one that leads to frustration? A store where the aisles were cluttered and hard to walk through, items on the shelves were messy and there seemed to be a general lack of organization. But you stick it out because you need to get this one specific item and the thought of driving to another store is even more frustrating.
Now, imagine this experience happened to a customer online. They arrive at a site that is cluttered, not organized and hard to find anything what are the chances they are going to stick it out? Probably not likely.
The time invested is seconds of that of an in store experience. The customer can just click over to the next site and hope for one that is easier to use, better display the content or just a better experience overall.
When dealing with only seconds to make an impression website usability is a critical factor.
“Today’s online shopper is extremely web-savvy and expects more than ever, forcing retailers to raise the stakes.”
“Companies are investing in new features that will keep customers coming back, and homepages everywhere are getting a major facelift.”
Scott Silverman, executive director of Shop.org
Forrester Research shows that consumers are more internet savvy than in the past and are more aware of all the choices afforded to them. Users are demanding a better user experience.
Ecommerce retailers are also becoming increasingly aware of this trend. The research shows that close to 90% of retailers are planning to improve their content pages, product detail pages and homepages.
The need to capture your customer within seconds is crucial in the success of your website. Seconds count. Look at your homepage with a critical eye making sure that it is simple to use and easy to understand. It may be you are one of the 90% of companies that needs to improve your ecommerce site.
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